Quote Template

What is a Quote Template?

A quote template is a customizable document or framework businesses use to deliver cost estimates, pricing details, and specific product or service terms to potential customers. Using a standardized format helps you deliver this information faster and makes it easier for customers to understand your offer.

In the CPQ (configure, price, quote) process, quote templates play a crucial role. Once a sales rep configures the product and pricing to fit the customer’s needs, CPQ software auto-populates a template with all the appropriate details.

Your CPQ system stores all your sales quotes and templates on the cloud and applies specific templates based on the product, customer segment, or sales scenario. For active deals in your pipeline, it helps you create and send estimates to customers, track their activities, and eventually transform them into contracts (which are also templated).

Synonyms

• Price quote template
• Sales quotation template

Purpose of Quote Templates

There are plenty of reasons to use quote templates, but the main one is that they streamline the quote-to-cash process. By automating quote generation, you’re eliminating most of the friction and manual work traditionally required when creating professional quotes.

Moreover, using a customizable template for quoting helps you:

• Consistently deliver a professional, branded appearance
• Ensure accuracy and completeness when entering pricing and product information
• Save time by eliminating the need for manual data entry and formatting
• Create and send quotes faster, giving you a competitive edge in closing deals

Without a template, you’d have to manually configure a table with line items and pricing calculations for every quote. You’d also need to add a company logo, contact details, and terms of payment. Depending on how well business is going for you, you might end up doing this several times per day.

With a predesigned template handy, all you have to do is load deal information from CPQ. Your sales reps can look over them to ensure everything is there, edit anything they need to in a drag-and-drop editor, and get the estimate over to the prospect in a few minutes.

Components of a Quote Template

Header Information

Your header is meant for your company’s logo, address, and contact information. It goes at the very top of the page, and it’s also where you’ll include the quote details, like identifiers and issue dates.

1. Company Logo

Your company logo should be displayed prominently at the top of your quote template. This helps reinforce your brand and makes it easier for customers to identify who they are receiving a quote from.

It doesn’t have to be huge, though. It looks best in the upper-right corner of the template.

2. Company Name and Contact Info

Include your company name in large, bold font (for an added aesthetic touch, incorporate the brand colors). Below, include the phone number, email address, and physical address (if you have one).

Also include your website. Since it’s an electronic quote, customers will appreciate you making your site easy to navigate to.

Placement is straightforward. Add this information on the upper left-hand side, opposite your logo.

When you’re finished, it should look something like this:

{Your Company Name}

{123 Street Address, City, State, ZIP/Postcode}

{Your Website, Email Address}

{Your Phone Number}

3. Quote Number

Your quote number is a unique identifier that your quoting software will automatically assign. It’s helpful to add the quote number so that both you and your customer have a reference point for future correspondence.

4. Date of Issue

Sometimes, your CPQ software will also auto-populate the date of issue. Regardless, it’s best to include it on the template in case there are any issues or confusion with version control.

Customer Information

Customer information goes in the section right below the header. It includes the customer’s name, address, and contact information. You’ll also add in a “bill to” and “ship to” fields if they are different.

1. Customer Name

If your customer is an individual, add their name first, on the left-hand side of the quote (normally, this is under “Bill to”). If they represent a company, include the business details below their personal name.

2. Billing and Shipping Addresses

Populate two separate fields for the billing and shipping addresses. If they’re different, include the customer name (buyer or buyer and company) in a “Ship to” slot to the right of your billing information column.

3. Contact Information

Contact info is how you’ll connect with your customer. Include their email and phone number below their billing address. Include their phone number again under their shipping address.

Your finished customer information section should have similar fields to this:

Bill to:

{Contact Name}

{Company Name}

{Customer Address}

{Customer Phone Number}

Ship to:

{Customer Name or Company Name}

{Department}

{Customer Address}

{Customer Phone Number}

Product/Service Details

Each line item should have a basic description and overview of what goes into it. This doesn’t have to be complicated — only include the necessary information so your customer knows what goes into the quote.

1. Item Description

Product and service descriptions should be a brief overview of the product or service, including any specifications or features that might be relevant. If it’s a physical product, you can also add in a part number (e.g., a SKU) for easy reference and tracking.

For example:

“Subscription to Monthly Marketing Services for Q2 2024”

or

“Item XYZ REF#12345 – Stainless Steel Pipe, 1/2 inch diameter”

2. Quantity

All you have to include in the “Quantity” section is the number of units the customer is purchasing. It’s as simple as that.

3. Unit Price

“Unit Price” is equally straightforward. Enter the unit price in a small box next to the “Quantity” column.

4. Total Price

Your price quotation template might handle the calculation for you. If it doesn’t, multiply each “Quantity” and “Unit Price” field to get the total price of each item.

Add those up, and you’ll have the total price of your quote, which goes at the bottom.

Description	Quantity	Unit Price	Total Price
Basic T-Shirt (White)	100	$5.00	$500.00
Basic T-Shirt (Black)	100	$5.00	$500.00
Custom Design Fee (Per Shirt)	200	$0.50	$100.00
Shipping & Handling	1	$20.00	$20.00
		Total:	$1,120

Terms and Conditions

The T&C section is where you’ll outline the conditions of working together. You’ll set boundaries for what’s included, what isn’t, and how you work with your customers. It also includes information about payment schedules and refunds.

1. Quote Validity

Most quotes are only valid for a limited time. Set a time limit of 7-14 days to create urgency for the customer to make a decision quickly and ensure your prospect values your time.

2. Payment Terms

Quote templates have slots for payment terms, where you can define:

• When to pay
• The types of payments your company accepts
• What happens if payment is late
• If you offer an early payment incentive
• How to receive a full or partial refund, if possible

3. Delivery Terms

Delivery terms cover when and how your company delivers the product or service. If it’s a physical product, you’ll provide shipping and handling information. If it’s an online service like web design, you will give your prospect a timeline for milestone/project completion.

4. Warranty Information

Physical products normally carry some sort of warranty, especially if they’re complex engineer-to-order or production-based products.

A warranty is a great way to add value for the customer, especially if you’re providing a high-end product. The warranty section also includes information about how to activate the warranty and what’s covered under it.

Customization Options

Depending on the quoting tool you use, you’ll have various customization options to make your quote template more suitable for your industry or product catalog.

1. Configurable Fields

In customizable sales quote templates, you can add additional fields like:

• Multiple currencies
• Tax rates
• Specific terms and conditions for your industry

You can also use these fields to add specific product information like SKU numbers or images. For example, contract manufacturers sometimes include 2D renderings of the product or send a PDF schematic of the product as an attachment in your quote.

2. Discount Options

You might use bundle pricing for customers who purchase multiple types of complementary products. For high-volume orders, you’ll probably offer price breaks.

By configuring your pricing and product rules in CPQ, you can set automatic discounts that apply as soon as your sales rep hits a specific order quantity or adds certain items to the quote.

You can also configure discounts for individual items and customers, then send them off to a manager for approval.

3. Add-ons and Upgrades

Guided upselling and cross-selling are part of what makes CPQ such a great sales tool. It makes product and add-on suggestions based on customer needs. These options are easy to configure in your CPQ tool, so you can offer additional products and services without having to update your quote template each time.

4. Localization

If you serve customers in various countries, translation and localization are important features to consider when choosing a CPQ tool. You can add different languages and currencies, so the price and quote information are clear to your customers, regardless of location.

Benefits of Using Quote Templates in CPQ

Time Efficiency

The average sales rep spends ~28% of their time actually selling. Most of their day-to-day revolves around clerical work, like creating and sending quotes. Eliminating friction and automating aspects of the deal cycle through CPQ drives sales efficiency by eliminating the need for manual quote building from scratch.

Consistency and Standardization

Creating a template library and automatically populating the right quote based on who the customer is and what they’re purchasing makes a world of difference. Sales reps no longer have to guess if they’ve included every service in the quote, or how much to charge.

Professionalism and Brand Image

It sounds silly, but branding every aspect of your business shows potential customers you’re competent and established. It also indicates you’re a professional company, not someone selling products out of their garage. Practically all of your competitors will do this, and subtle differences that affect how your prospects view you could make or break a deal.

Accuracy in Pricing

Assuming you monitor your pricing/product rules and approval workflows and keep them current, pricing estimate templates in CPQ eliminate virtually all human error.

Guided selling in CPQ helps reps pick the right products and bundles each time. Auto-filling fields eliminates the risk of a typo. And escalation for custom pricing and discounting means every quote meets the appropriate margin guidelines (or is sent along for approval).

Streamlining the Quoting Process

Using a quote template in CPQ means you can generate a brand new quote with all the necessary information in seconds. No more copy/pasting. And no more manually inputting prices or product descriptions.

Best Practices for Quote Template Management

Regular Updates and Revisions

Quote templates require frequent updates, especially for pricing and product rules. Maintaining up-to-date pricing and product information is essential. Otherwise, your reps won’t be generating accurate quotes.

Version Control

You might not think saving old versions of quotes and templates is important. But without a history of document changes, it’s impossible to backtrack and understand why you made certain pricing decisions. You also need this for regulatory compliance and dispute resolution purposes.

Collaboration and Approval Processes

Alignment between sales reps and leadership is crucial for maintaining a smooth sales cycle. Collaboration features in your CPQ let reps quickly send quotes to managers for approval, without having to leave the platform. With CRM integration and quote syncing, it’ll update your quote’s status in real time on the Opportunity you’re working on.

Challenges in Using Quote Templates

The main challenges you might run into when using a quote template are adaptability to varied product/service offerings and integration issues with the rest of your tech stack.

• Quote templates may struggle to accommodate a company’s diverse range of products or services. Customization and scalability are challenging for unique or complex offerings if your CPQ isn’t built to support them.
• You have to integrate your entire quote library with CRM, ERP, and accounting software. Incompatibilities or integration difficulties can lead to inefficiencies, data errors, and compliance issues when it comes to billing and revenue reporting.

It’s also worth mentioning that implementing a new or updated quote template often requires training for staff. Ensuring all team members understand and correctly use the template can be a significant challenge, impacting the efficiency of the sales process.

Trends and Innovations in Quote Templates

As CPQ software gets more and more advanced, more and more features and intelligent tools are being added to make the process even easier for your sales team.

• Most CPQ platforms have native billing tools that accept practically every payment method.
• CPQ can automatically transform quotes into other sales documents, like contracts and invoices.
• Intelligent CPQ recommends the most profitable upsells and cross-sells for specific products, customers, or industries.
• Some platforms offer AI-driven pricing that factors in a variety of internal and external data points to create real-time, optimized prices for each quote.
• Machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) improve the quoting and contracting process by using generative AI to create custom quotes from scratch.
• CAD automation allows reps to create quotes for custom products, including renderings and 3D visuals, then automatically send quotes and POs to the engineering team.

All these features work natively with a quote template, meaning you can focus on building a top-of-the-line template library, and the CPQ software handles the lion’s share of the workload.

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