How Do I Create a Proposal?

Proposals are more detailed Estimates that enable you to add rich text content and images to your Estimates, making it easy to showcase the value you bring to prospective clients. Proposals also give you the benefits of Estimates, which allow you to send an outline of your Items or Services to your Client for approval before beginning the work, giving you the best of both worlds.

Proposals are available on the Plus and Premium plans only.
 
 

Create Proposals

Create a new Proposal, which is similar to making a new Estimate, by using these steps:
  1. Go to the Estimates section
  2. Click on the Create New.. button
  3. Select Proposal, or Create from Recent...
From here, you can customize your new Proposal by going through each section below:

New proposal screen.
 

Proposal Details

  • Business, Client, and Proposal Details - Choose a Client and if needed, modify the Proposal Date, the Proposal Number and include a Reference Field with the steps here
  • Add a Line - To outline the cost for your goods and services, click on the Add a Line button, and add Items, Services and Taxes with the steps here
  • Subtotal Area, Notes, and Terms
    • Add a Discount - Reduce the Proposal's total by applying an amount or percentage-based discount
    • Notes - Notes are unique to each Proposal and will not be remembered for next time, this is useful for any comments, details and temporary information applicable to this specific Client only
    • Terms - Terms are remembered from the last Proposal created, this is useful for terms of service, contractual obligations or payment instructions that is applicable to all Clients. If you need to change your Terms, ensure your updated Terms are on your most recently created Proposal
    • Attachments - Click on Add an attachment and upload any files (images, pdfs, csvs, spreadsheets, etc up to 30MB each) you'd like to share with your Client on individual Proposals only. These files will also be included if you download the Proposal as a PDF
      Add an attachment button at bottom of Proposal.
Other Actions
  • Hover over the left of any line item or section, click and hold down the three lines icon to drag and rearrange the order of your line items and sections
    Line item on invoice with drag icon showing.
  • Hover over the right of any line item and click on the trash can icon to delete that line item
    Line item on invoice with trashcan icon showing.
 

Add A Section

You can also add as many optional sections which can utilize rich-text formatting as well as insert images. Use the below steps: 
  1. Above the Pricing header, click on the Add a Section link
    Add a section link above Pricing section of Proposal.
  2. Choose between Blank SectionOverviewScope of Work, or Timeline for your section's heading
  3. The new section will appear and you can customize this section with any of the following:
    Blank section with fields to fill out with formatting menu above it.

    1. Rich Text Formatting - Bold, Italic, Underline, Numbered List, Unordered List
    2. Insert Image - Upload PNG, JPEG or GIF files up to 50MB each
 

Proposal Settings

These settings control the look of your Proposal and allow you to modify Client-specific settings as needed:
 
For This Proposal
  • Require e-Signature - Request your Client to electronically sign the Proposal before beginning work; click on this, check off the box next and click Done to enable. This adds a new line at the bottom of your Proposal: 

    Client area where signature goes.


    This will require your Client (Primary Client only) to click on the Accept button and sign before they can accept the Proposal:
    Proposal with a signature pop-up showing signature.

    Once the Proposal is signed, no further edits can be made unless you copy the Proposal and make a new one instead.

  • Customize Proposal Style - Change the template, logo or banner, color and font with the steps here
 
For Client
  • Currency & Language - Update your Client’s Currency or Language with the steps here
 

Save or Send Proposals

Once the Proposal looks the way you want it, you can either click on:
 
Save
  • If the Proposal is new, this will save as a Draft
  • If it’s an existing Proposal, it will save only the updated information, the status remains the same
 
Send... To
Click on this to send the Proposal by email:
  1. In the To: field, the Primary Client's email is automatically checked off as a sender, along with any Secondary Contacts you’ve sent to on a recent Invoice, Estimate or Proposal (see details here)
  2. If needed, check off any additional Contacts' emails to send the Proposal to
  3. Personalize the email to your Client as needed
  4. Click on the Send Proposal button and you’ll be taken back to the Estimates section. The Proposal will be marked as Sent.
 

Accept Proposals

When you send a Proposal to your Client, they receive an email with a link to the Proposal and a button to Accept it with a single click. Only the Primary Client can accept a Proposal.
The Client's view of the Proposal will look similar to below:
Client view of a proposal.


To Accept a Proposal yourself, you can use the steps below:
  1. Go to the Estimates section
  2. Check the box off next to a Proposal that has not been Accepted yet
  3. Click on the Actions button
  4. Select Accept and the Proposal will now be marked as Accepted.
Note: If you have e-Signatures enabled on your Proposal, the Client needs to click on the Accept button first, then sign it, before it can be accepted by you or the Client.
 
You can also add comments to a Proposal. Just click on the header above the Proposal, and scroll to the bottom to type a comment. This will send your Client an email with this new comment.
Comments on a proposal.
 

Convert Proposals

Convert a Proposal into an Invoice to collect payment, or convert a Proposal into a Project or assign it to an existing Project to start tracking time towards it, with the below steps:
 

Convert to Invoice

Once the Proposal has been reviewed by your Client, use these steps to convert it into an Invoice:
  1. Go to the Estimates section
  2. Click on the Proposal you want to convert
  3. Then click on the More Actions button
  4. Select Convert to Invoice
    Convert Proposal to an Invoice button.
  5. Continue with editing the Invoice as needed with the How Do I Create an Invoice? steps here, and click Save to save the Invoice as a Draft, or click Send To to email it to your Client.
 

Convert to Project or Assign to Project

Once the Proposal is ready, you can convert the Proposal into a Project or assign it to an existing Project with the below steps:
  1. Go to the Estimates section
  2. Click on the Proposal you want to convert
  3. Then click on the More Actions button
  4. If the Project doesn't exist yet, select Convert to Project
    Convert Proposal to a Project button.

    1. For the Project Type, choose between Hourly Project or Flat Rate Project
      Choose project type with two options - hourly or flat rate project.

    2. Click on the Create Project button
    3. Continue with editing the Project as needed with the What Are Projects? steps here, and click Save to finish
  5. If the Project already exists, select Assign to Project
    Assign Proposal to Project button.

    1. In the Choose Project field, type the Project name or search for the Project in the list, then select the Project
      Field to add project name to.
    2. Click on the Save button to finish and the Proposal will be linked to the Project, including in the Project Overview.
 

FAQs

How do I manage my Proposals?
When viewing any specific Proposal, you can click on More Actions and select any of the following:
  • Accept - Mark the Proposal as Accepted
  • Send by Email - Send or resend the Proposal by email
  • Convert to Invoice - Convert the Proposal into an Invoice to bill to a Client
  • Convert to Project - Convert the Proposal into a Project with any Services on the Proposal automatically assigned to the Project
  • Duplicate - Copy the Proposal and modify as needed for the same Client or for a different Client
  • Print - Print the Proposal
  • Download PDF - Download the Proposal as a PDF file
  • Archive - Move the Proposal into your list of archived Proposals
  • Delete - Delete the Proposal
 
From the Estimates section, hover over any Proposal to quickly perform any of these actions: 
Quick actions bar with four buttons over a Proposal row.
  • Edit - Click on the pencil icon and you’ll be taken to the edit view of the Proposal where you can adjust and save afterwards
  • Duplicate - Click on the two papers icon to quickly copy your existing Proposal and modify as needed
  • Archive - Click on the box icon to move the Proposal to your Archived Proposals list
  • More Actions - Click on the three dots icon to access additional options like:
    • Accept - Click on the checkmark icon to mark your Proposal as Accepted
    • Convert to Invoice - Click on the invoice icon to convert your Proposal into an Invoice to bill to the Client
    • Download PDF - Click on the down arrow icon to download the Proposal as a PDF file
    • Delete - Click on the trash can icon to delete the Proposal. You can view all deleted Proposal by clicking on the deleted link at the bottom of the list
 
How do I unaccept a Proposal? 
If a Proposal was mistakenly accepted, you'll need to duplicate the Proposal and delete the original one. Use the below steps:
  1. Go to the Estimates section
  2. Check the box off next to the Proposal you want to unaccept
  3. Click on Actions
  4. Then select Duplicate
  5. Save/send the duplicated Proposal as needed
  6. In the Estimates section, check the box off next to the original Proposal
  7. Click on Actions
  8. Then select Delete to delete the original accepted Proposal.
 
What happens to my Proposals that I created during my trial or before I downgraded?
If you've created Proposals while on trial or downgraded to a plan that doesn't have Proposals included, you'll still be able to view and edit only your existing Proposals.