Are your customers getting back to you seeking more information after you send your quotation? Most likely, your quotation format is to blame!
Or are you getting started with your new business and looking for the right quotation format?
Quotations are one of the most common and equally important sales documents that you are ever going to use. It clearly outlines the details of products and services you are offering. Other important information such as payment terms, how long the prices quoted are valid etc. will be followed.
Taking a purchase decision is time consuming and involves many risks for your customers. That’s why most businesses get quotations from multiple suppliers before finalizing the purchase.
A well drafted quotation helps in the following ways:
- It gives complete clarity to the customer about what you are offering, at what price and under what conditions. This helps them to easily compare and make a decision.
- Creates a positive impression about your business in your customers mind.
- Avoids unnecessary back and forth communication for clarifications thereby closing the deal faster.
There is no hard and fast rule to choose which is the right quotation format you need to use. Ask yourselves the following questions and you can easily choose the right quotation for your business.
Are you on linux, mac or windows?
If you and your team use windows, then word or excel based templates will work well for you. But if you are on a Linux or Mac operating system, then it is better to use Quotation templates in google sheets or google docs.
Though it is possible to open and edit word and excel files in non windows operating systems, it is not the easiest option available.
If your team uses different operating systems or you primarily work with your mobile, try using online quotation generators and online invoice generators for making sales documents.
Do you sell products or offer services?
If you sell products, then most then you can easily capture the details of your products in a tabular format. For each product specifications, if any can be provided. An Excel or Word quotation format would be a good place to start in this case.
Things are quite different if you are in the services business. For most services, you will need to provide additional information. This includes information about the timelines related to delivery, terms and conditions, quality of services, acceptance criteria, payment schedule etc.
If you are into services, it is better to choose a quotation template in word. You will have to add a lot of text to cover these additional details. Select a template where the basic information will be captured on the first one or two pages. You can add additional pages to capture more details.
You can use excel for templates for services quotations. When compared with that word provides much more flexibility in adding long texts compared to excel. Moreover printing multi page documents is relatively easier with Word or Google Docs compared to spreadsheets.
How many products are usually present per quotation?
If you include less than 5 products in a quotation, then the calculation is simple and you can go with a quotation template in Word. You can calculate the total amount and add it manually in the summary.
But if you have more products in the quotation, then it is better to use Excel templates. You can add formulas and calculate the total in the sheet itself.
Do you sell a lot of products and services?
One common mistake sales executives make while creating quotations is to add the wrong product details in the quotation. This happens mostly when you have a large number of products and services with similar names or variants of the same products.
If you sell large numbers of products, then it is better to use a quotation management system. This lets you store product details such as product code, description, pricing and tax details. You can search and add products directly to your quotations and invoices and the details get automatically filled.
Using a proper tool for creating and managing quotations can save time and reduce errors. Check how you can store your product details and automatically add these to your quotations with Zenys.
How many quotations do you make in a year?
You can create a simple quotation format in word or excel if your usage is limited. Most of your customers do not request for formal quotations or bill formats in such cases.
But if you need to create lots of quotations you should definitely consider a tool for managing your quotations. Free online sales management tools such as Zenys help you create and manage a large number of quotations.
Such tools also come with lots of time saving features as well. For example, Zenys allows you to store the customer address, standard texts, and information that you need to include in all quotations. These will be automatically applied when you create a quotation.
Similarly, Zenys automatically keeps track of quotation numbers and applies quotation numbers sequentially. Once your quotation is approved by your customer, you can directly create an invoice from the quotation. You can share a payment link as well.
Zenys also provides you lots of other features to automate your sales process. They include automatically creating follow up reminders on creating a quotation, sending automatic email etc. to save your time.
Are you the only person who will create quotations?
If you are the only person who creates quotations and invoices in your organization, you can start with excel or word templates.
If there are more people in your organization for creating quotations, then using such templates is a sure-shot way of inviting disaster. You can expect lots of issues such as inconsistent numbering, improper branding and lots of data entry errors.
For sales teams, it is better to use an online quotation generator such as Zenys. It will automatically keeps track of numbering and has built-in features for applying your branding and logo.
What are the must have terms that you need to capture in your quotation?
The content of quotation varies significantly based on the business. For example, shipping details may be required when your product is to be shipped. However, this is not required if you are providing services.
Make sure that all the required fields in quotation are present in the template which you choose.
Do you end up revising quotations?
It happens many times that after sending a quotation, it might have to be revised. This may occur after further discussion with the client. If this is a common scenario in your business you should look at using a proper tool for managing quotations.
Such a tool should allow you to cancel the quotation and easily create a new one. With the latest quotation number you can avoid invoicing errors in the future.
Summing it up
As we said earlier, there are no hard and fast rules regarding selecting the right quotation format. It depends on your specific business needs and situation. The key is to choose what is practical to you to create error free professional quotations that your customers will like.
The most important factor here is to take a call between using templates in word/ excel or pdf vs using a proper tool for creating sales documents and managing your sales process.