How do I create a proposal?

Proposals are more detailed estimates that allow 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
  • Proposal Details
  • Add a Section
  • Proposal Settings
  • Save or Send Proposals
• Accept Proposals
• Convert Proposals
• FAQs

 

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. Select 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:

 

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 in How do I create an estimate? here
• Add a Line - To outline the cost for your goods and services, select the Add a Line button, and add items, services and sales tax with the steps in How do I create an estimate? 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 - Select 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
    

Other Actions

• Hover over the left of any line item or section, select and hold down the three lines icon to drag and rearrange the order of your line items and sections
  
• Hover over the right of any line item and select the trash can icon to delete that line item
  

 

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, select the Add a Section link
   
2. Choose between Blank Section, Overview, Scope 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:
   
   
   1. Rich Text Formatting - Format your text with bold, italic, underline, numbered list, unordered list styling
   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; select this, check off the box next and select Done to activate it. This adds a new line at the bottom of your proposal: 
  
  
  
  This will require your client (primary client only) to select the Accept button and sign before they can accept the proposal:
  
  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 in How do I customize my logo and theme? here

 

For Client

• Currency and Language - Update your client’s currency or language with the steps in How do I change my client's currency and language? here

 

Save or Send Proposals

Once the proposal looks the way you want it, you can either select:

 

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...

Select 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 (review secondary contacts 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. Select 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 the proposal. Only the primary client can accept a proposal when viewing the 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. Select the Actions button
4. Select Accept and the proposal will now be marked as accepted.

Note: If you have e-Signatures activated on your proposal, the client needs to select the Accept button first, then sign it, before it can be accepted by you or the client.

 

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. Select the proposal you want to convert
3. Then select the More Actions button
4. Next, select Convert to Invoice
5. Continue with editing the invoice as needed with the How Do I Create an Invoice? steps here here, and select Save to save the invoice as a draft, or select 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. Select the proposal you want to convert
3. Then select the More Actions button
4. If the project doesn't exist yet, select Convert to Project
   
   
   1. For the Project Type, choose between Hourly Project or Flat Rate Project
      
      
   2. Select the Create Project button
   3. Continue with editing the project as needed with the What Are Projects? steps here, and select Save to finish
5. If the project already exists, select Assign to Project
   
   
   1. In the Choose Project field, enter the project name or search for the project in the list, then select the project
      
   2. Select 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 select More Actions and select any of the following:

• Accept - Mark the proposal as accepted
• Send by Email - Send or resend the proposal by email
• Share via Link - Quickly create a link to share the proposal outside of 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
• Assign to Project - Assign the proposal to an existing project for accurate project profitability
• Print - Print the proposal
• Download PDF - Download the proposal as a PDF file, or use the browser's print option to save as a PDF, especially if text is splitting between pages
• 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: 

• Edit - Select the pencil icon and you’ll be taken to the edit view of the proposal where you can adjust and save afterwards
• Duplicate - Select the two papers icon to quickly copy your existing proposal and modify as needed
• Archive - Select the box iconto move the proposal to your archived proposals list
• More Actions - Select the three dots icon to access additional options like:
  • Accept - Select the checkmark icon to mark your proposal as accepted
  • Convert to Invoice - Select the invoice icon to convert your proposal into an invoice to bill to the client
  • Download PDF - Select the down arrow icon to download the proposal as a PDF file, or use the browser's print option to save as a PDF, especially if text is splitting between pages
  • Delete - Select the trash can icon to delete the proposal. You can view all deleted proposals by selecting the deleted link at the bottom of the list

 

How do I view proposal activity? How do I leave a comment for my client on the proposal?

You can use the history bar, also known as an autobiography, to view any activity on the proposal, including when your client viewed it and any comments. Select the chat button or View History button at the top of the proposal to reveal the history.

From here you can:

• Review activity
• Add a message and press Send to send it to your client as an email with the proposal link included

 

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. Select 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. Select 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 can view and edit only your existing proposals.