Sales and customers
Proposals
Do you need proposal software, and what should a proposal tool do?
Six short steps. No email or account.
- Who needs it
- Consultants, agencies and professional services pricing engagements rather than visits.
- When it matters
- Once engagements are large enough that a quote alone is insufficient.
- Compare first
- Templates and reuse
- Matters most when
- growing, mature
Is this the right tool for you?
A proposal is where the customer decides between you and someone else, and a slow, inconsistent or hard-to-sign document loses work you had already won in the conversation. Proposals built from scratch each time also drift on scope and terms, which causes disputes later.
Signs you need it now
- Each proposal is rebuilt from an old document and mistakes get copied forward.
- You do not know whether the customer has opened the proposal.
- Signing means printing, scanning or chasing a reply email.
- Scope disagreements come up mid-job because the proposal was vague.
When another area fits better
- Your quotes are line-item prices for routine jobs rather than scoped proposals. Read the estimates and quotes guide
- You need contract templates and legal terms, not a sending and signing tool. Read the contracts and signatures guide
Recognise two or more of these? Sort out proposals next.
Tell us how your business runs and get a plan that puts proposals in order with everything else: what to set up first, your must-haves and what to compare.
What matters at your size
Working alone
A clean template, a clear scope and an electronic signature cover most needs. Consistency matters more than design.
A small team
A library of reusable sections and pricing options, tracking of opens and signatures, and a deposit request on acceptance.
Several teams or locations
Approval steps before proposals go out, locked legal terms, connection to the CRM and reporting on win rates by service or salesperson.
How the way you work changes the choice
- Professional firms and agencies
- Proposals are the sale. Look for polished templates, scope and pricing options, and engagement terms signed in the same step.
- Remodeling and larger trade projects
- Good, better, best options, photos, a payment schedule and a deposit on signing. Change orders should follow the same path.
- Routine service work
- A full proposal tool is usually overkill; a quote with acceptance and signature built into your job or invoicing tool is enough.
What to compare
Templates and reuse
Rebuilding each proposal from scratch is the cost you are removing.
Signature and payment
Closing inside the document removes days from the sales cycle.
Visibility
Knowing the client opened it changes when you follow up.
Cost and setup effort
- Pricing is usually per user each month; some plans limit the number of documents or signatures.
- Most of the setup is writing your standard sections and terms once. Have your legal terms reviewed before they go into a template.
- Check whether your CRM, quoting or invoicing tool already sends documents for signature before buying a separate one.
Trade-offs to weigh
- Dedicated tool or built-in
- Dedicated proposal tools look better and track engagement; built-in quote acceptance is simpler and keeps everything in one system.
- Fixed price or options
- Offering tiers lets the customer choose instead of compare you on one number, but adds work to every proposal.
When to sort it out
Once engagements are large enough that a quote alone is insufficient.
Your next step
Answer six short questions about how your business runs. You get an operating plan: where proposals fits among your priorities, the must-haves to hold every option to, and what to compare when you choose.
Where this comes first
Trades and businesses that usually sort this out early.
Often decided alongside
Other parts of sales and customers.