Sales Quotes ​​Introduction

Providing sales quotations to a customer is a fundamental function of any business. A quotation is a document that a seller provides to a buyer to offer goods or services at a stated price, under specified conditions. Also known as quotes, estimates, sales quotes or sales quotations, quotations are used to let a potential buyer know how much goods or services will cost before they commit to the purchase.

A sales quote directly represents your brand identity and professionalism. If it appears to be unpleasant and not well-structured, your prospects will assume that your business runs the same way. Contrary to this, a good quote exhibits your attention to detail and the value of the service you are pricing. Many businesses unreliably use accounting, text documents, and spreadsheet packages to produce quotes – we are changing this. As a summary, a Quote in Jacktrade provides

  1. An itemized list of goods and/or services requested by the client or customer.
  2. Prices for each item include labor costs, taxes, and discounts.
  3. Disclaimers on the scope of the product or project.
  4. Company branding in the form of a logo, colors, and letterhead.
  5. Ability to add your own sections per Quote as needed

 

Track, Manage, And Measure

If invoices aren’t getting to their intended recipients, you are not going to get paid. And if you’re using net 30 payment terms with your customers—and you don’t receive automatic confirmations of receipt – then it may be sometime later you even realize that the invoice is missing. This can significantly impact your cash flow.

Avoid this problem by using Jacktrade’s Job management which not only tracks but automatically mails or sends payment information directly to the right person – the customer or your accounts payable group. It also provides status when the invoice email has been opened and viewed. Make sure the correct email address is associated with each customer’s account and that you regularly check for “unopened” emails associated with invoices. That’s a signal that they’re not being received or reviewed. 

 

Resolve Confusion With Clarity

While Jacktrade has built an invoicing system that is well-structured and well-formatted, part of the invoice depends on your data. While the language used on your invoices may be clear enough to you, your customers may view that messaging through a different lens. Confusion can be especially problematic if you are selling multiple products or services to the same customer and invoicing them multiple times.

Circumvent this problem by being as clear as possible with your invoicing language and format. Here are some general guidelines:

  1. Include good names and descriptions of your product and services – just reading them should give them clarity. 
  2. Include images for products so your customers can relate to the right product. 
  3. Include as many customer details as possible. Double-check if you have the right contact information including the email of the right person. 
  4. Include any terms and conditions, and longer descriptions that provide further details of your products and services if needed. 
  5. How and what customers should pay you and by when. For example, instead of simply using “upon receipt” as a due date, be specific about exactly when an invoice is due. That will help your customers manage their payment schedules without having to guess when an invoice is due. Note any discounts or incentives for paying early as well as late penalties and types of payments accepted.

By making the invoice as simple to understand as possible, the approval process will go more smoothly because both sides understand exactly what they’re paying for.

 

Quality In Your Contact Information

Most companies update no or basic information about your customers in their contact list. CRM in Jacktrade is meant to build your data to gold standards but that depends on you and your team keeping it updated and fully complete. Realize that people move into new positions or leave companies altogether, so review and update contacts on a regular schedule, say every six to 12 months. Updating the contacts proactively by reconfirming:

  1. The correct recipient for your invoices, knowing that there may be multiple different employees assigned to your account, depending on the diversification of your products and services. 
  2. The invoice data automatically builds system tags per customer but meaningful tags can also be saved by you that help you search and identify. You should think of other data that lets you, group customers, in a way that is beneficial to your business. Example: gender, customer type, source of lead, likes, and dislikes, etc. 

If you’re making any or all of the invoicing mistakes outlined in this article, think about how these seemingly minor errors are impacting your cash flow and bottom line. Perhaps more importantly, consider how they are negatively impacting your customer relationships. 

By taking the advice outlined here, you can sidestep many of these issues, improve your customer relationships and run a more profitable organization

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