Sales Quotes
Sales quotes allow a new or existing customer to see the price for products and services. Once entered, a Sales Quote can be sent to the customer, tracked, and converted to a Sales Order if accepted.
Sales List
The Sales list can be found by clicking Sales in the left menu of Acctivate. The Sales list allows you to filter, sort and view sales quote information.
Sales Quote Entry
Sales Quotes can be created in various ways; however most users will find the following methods are the most common way to start the creation of a Sales Quote in Acctivate:
Start with the Customer list:
- Using the Customer list in the left menu, search for and select the Customer you want to create a Sales Quote for.
- Use the +Create... menu to select Sales Quote
- The Enter Quote window will appear with the customer added to it.
Start in the Enter Sales Quote window:
- Select Enter Sales Quote from the Sales menu at the top of Acctivate.
- Click New in the window that appears.
- Use the magnifying glass lookup icon to select a Customer.
Once the Sales Order window appears, you can begin adding line items:
- Click in the Product ID field and either type in the Product ID or use the Lookup to open the Choose Product ID lookup window.
- Enter the Ordered quantity. Acctivate will set the Scheduled quantity to the quantity available.
- Add additional line items and any other sales order information. Use the Sales Quote Fields Guide to fill out the necessary Sales Quote fields.
In addition to the above steps, there are additional ways to enter a Sales Quote:
- Create a Sales Quote from a Business Activity.
- Import a Sales Quote from a text file.
Sales Quote Fields
Header Section
The Enter Sales Quote header section is visible at all times and includes information such as the quote number, quote date, and customer.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Quote # | Text / 40 Characters | Required. The Quote # field will automatically assign the next quote number when you Save the sales quote. The quote number assigned will be based on the Order sequence in the Company Numbers section of the Configuration Manager; sales quotes and orders use the same numbering sequence. You can enter your own quote number before saving or edit it after saving as long as it isn't a duplicate. |
Customer | Text / 41 Characters | Use the Magnifying Glass to lookup and select a customer. Alternatively, you can type in the customer name. If a match isn't found, you will be asked if you want to create the customer. |
Date | Date | The date the sales quote was received from your customer. This can be back dated to match the date the quote was received. Different than the quote's entry date which can be found on the Additional Info tab. |
Location | List | Displays a list of locations saved in the Ship To tab of the Edit customer window. |
PO | Text / 25 Characters | The customer's PO number. |
Ref | Text / 30 Characters | An additional reference field. A default Reference can be defined in the Reference field in the Customer tab of the Edit Customer window. |
Detail
The Detail section of the Enter Sales Quote window includes the customer's bill to, ship to, and contact information as well as the ship via.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Billing Address | Text / Up to 5 lines, 41 Characters per line (500 for QuickBooks Online) | The billing address comes from the Billing Address field in the Edit Customer window. This field can be manually overridden. |
Shipping Address | Text / Up to 5 lines, 41 Characters per line (500 for QuickBooks Online) | The Location field at the top of the Enter Sales Quote window will determine which shipping address is displayed. You can change the Location field or manually overwrite the Shipping Address fields. |
Contact Name | List or Text / 50 Characters | The contact for this sales quote. The Contact Name field will display a list of the customer's billing contact, ship to contacts, and additional contacts from the Contacts tab of the Edit Customer window. You can type in a contact for this quote as well, however it will not be saved to the Edit Customer window. |
Contact Phone | Text / 50 Characters | The contact phone number for this sales quote. |
Contact Fax | Text / 50 Characters | The contact fax number for this sales quote. |
Contact Email | Text / 253 Characters (100 for QuickBooks Online) | The contact email for this sales quote. This will be the email used for any documents emailed from the sales quote. |
Ship Attn | Text / 50 | The ship attention for this sales quote. Will default based on the ship to Location selected but can be overridden. |
Terms | List | Required. Defaults to the customer's terms code if one is assigned (Credit tab of the Edit Customer window). The list includes all terms codes setup in QuickBooks. |
Branch | List | Required. Defaults to the customer's default Branch if one is assigned (Customer tab of the Edit Customer window). |
Ship Via | List | The Ship Via to be used for the sales quote. |
Service | List | Displays the Carrier and Carrier Service to be used for shipping. The Ship Via can be configured to set a default Service. |
Expected | Date | The expected date represents the date you expect to receive a response from the customer regarding the acceptance or rejection of a sales quote. |
Detail Grid
The Detail grid is where product details are entered.
A row of buttons appear above the right side of the grid:
- Move: The Move button allows you to insert rows, move the selected row up or down, or delete the selected row.
- Options: The Options button contains a menu of options for the grid:
- Find: When the sales order is not in edit mode you are able to search the order lines. Using the Find option will filter down the rows to show only those that match the Find text.
- Send to Excel: Exports the order grid as an Excel file.
- Restore Grid Settings: Restores the grid back to its default columns and sizing.
- Show Columns: Lists the optional columns which can be hidden or shown. Requires a System Administrator to change and the selected columns apply to all users.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Type | List |
|
Product ID | Text / 159 Characters | Use the ... lookup button to open the product lookup window, or type in the Product ID. |
Description | Text / 4095 characters | The product's description. This will default to the description used in the Edit Product window, but can be overridden per Quote if the Allow Product Description Change sales order option is enabled. |
Instructions | Text | The Special Instructions field is a lengthy text field allows line specific instructions to be recorded. Use the ellipsis lookup button to 'pop out' the window for easier authoring and viewing of the special instructions. |
Reference | Text / 30 Characters | The Reference field allows entering reference information per quote line. |
W/H | List | After adding the Product to the sales quote, you can choose the warehouse the product will be picked from. If the Branch has a default warehouse associated with it, the product will use that warehouse if it's stocked in it. If the product is not stocked in the Branch's default warehouse, then you will be asked if you want to add the warehouse to the product.
When using the Product lookup window to add a product to the warehouse (by clicking the ellipsis button in the Product ID field), if the Available in filter is set to a warehouse or "Any" and you select a row, the warehouse of the row is used. For example, a product would appear twice in the product lookup window if it's stocked in the "D" and "F" warehouse and the filter is set to "Available in". Selecting the product row for the "F" warehouse will add the product and use the "F" warehouse, regardless of the Branch's default warehouse. |
Qty | Numeric | The quantity quoted to the customer. |
U/M | List | The sales unit of measure. Will default to the sales unit of measure defined in the Edit Product window, but can be overridden per quote. |
Length | Numeric | This is a read only field displaying the length of one stocking unit of the product. |
Weight | Numeric | This is a read only field displaying the weight of one stocking unit of the product. |
Pr Cd | List | The Price Code field will default to a price code if the customer is eligible for a price code assigned to the product, see Sales Price Selection. Use the ... lookup button to view all the price codes available for the product and make a selection. The price code field will display one of the following symbols
|
Price | Numeric | The price to be charge for this product. See Sales Price Selection. |
U/M | List | The unit relating to the product sales price. |
Pr Qty | Numeric | The Price Quantity field displays the number of pricing units which make up the scheduled quantity. E.g. a quoted qty of 120 Ea priced at $20 per Dz, would result in a Price Quantity of 10. The price multiplied by the price quantity results in the total line amount. Products configured for variable pricing, such as weight and length based pricing, will allow you to manually enter the Price Qty. |
% Off | Numeric | A number entered in this field will be interpreted as the percentage off of the sales quote line's total amount. E.g. "10" would result in a 10% off the total line amount. |
Class | List | The Product Class for the sales Quote line. This will default to the product's Product Class. If the Allow Product Class Change on Order Entry sales order option is enabled you can change the Product Class for this quote. |
Cost | Numeric | The current Average Cost, Last Cost, or Management cost for the product and warehouse. The cost used is selected from the Options menu above the grid. |
Margin | Numeric | The Margin amount based on the current Average Cost, Last Cost, or Management cost for the product and warehouse. The cost used is selected from the Options menu above the grid. |
Margin % | Numeric | The Margin percentage based on the current Average Cost, Last Cost, or Management cost for the product and warehouse. The cost used is selected from the Options menu above the grid. |
Amount | Numeric | The total line income amount calculated by Acctivate. |
Tax | Checkbox / List | In US editions, if there is only one taxable and one non-taxable tax code then a checkmark will be displayed for taxable lines. If more than one taxable or non-taxable tax code exists then a tax code list will be displayed. In VAT editions, the tax code list will always be displayed. The tax code determines if tax will be charged on this sales quote line. |
Detail Tab
While on a sales quote detail line, a Detail tab will appear in the footer of the sales quote window. This footer contains read-only information such as the Product image, Product ID, Primary UPC, Primary Alt Product ID, Customer Product ID, Description.
Buttons and Links will also appear for the following information:
- Components: The Components button can be used to view/edit Kit or Assortment components.
- Substitutions: The Substitution button allows for quickly substituting the current quote line product for another product.
Custom Fields tab
If custom fields exist for order details, the available custom fields will be displayed here.
Alternatively, you can add custom detail fields into the sales order grid using the Options menu above the upper right of the grid.
Order Instructions
The Enter Sales Quote's Order Instructions tab includes sales order instructions.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Comment | Text/List / 101 Characters | Comments will print on customer facing sales quote forms. Pre-defined comments can be setup in the Sales Order section of the Configuration Manager for selection, or you can type in your own comment per quote. |
Special Instructions | Text | Special Instructions are internal quote instructions which do not print on any customer facing forms. |
Shipping Instructions | Text | Shipping Instructions can be used to record information about how the quote is to be shipped. Prints on all forms except the Invoice. |
Order Totals
The order totals display in the bottom right.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Subtotal | Numeric | The sum of all line amounts. Read-only. |
Discount | Numeric | The discount field can be used to give a discount off of the quote subtotal. The number entered into the discount field will be interpreted as either a dollar amount discount or percentage amount discount based on the Discount type configuration in the Sales Order Options section of the Configuration Manager, however you can easily enter either type of discount by entering a $ symbol before the number entered or a % symbol after the number entered. Discounts will sync to the income amount defined in the Branch section of the Configuration Manager. |
Tax | List | The Tax field will default to the Tax Category assigned to the customer's ship to location in the Edit Customer window. Use the drop down list or begin typing to find a matching Tax Category. If, when typing, a match is not found then the list will be displayed so a selection can be made. See the note in the Sales Order Totals docs about tax rounding. |
Shipping
The Shipping tab displays the shipping information from the Detail tab as well as some additional shipping related fields.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Shipping Address | Text / Up to 5 lines, 41 Characters per line | The Location field at the top of the Enter Sales Quote window will determine which shipping address is displayed. You can change the Location field or manually overwrite the Shipping Address field. |
Ship Attn | Text / 50 | The ship attention for this sales quote. Will default based on the ship to Location, but can be overridden. |
Ship Via | List | The Ship Via to be used for the sales quote. |
Service | List | Display's the Carrier and Carrier Service to be used for shipping. The Ship Via can be configured to set a default Service. |
Route | List | A quote can be assigned to a delivery route. Routes are configured in the Sales Order section of the Configuration Manager. This field will default to the Route assigned to the customer's ship to Location in the Edit Customer window. |
Stop | Numeric | The stop number indicates which stop on the route this quote will be. For example, 4 would indicate this sales quote will be the fourth stop on the route selected. This field will default to the Stop assigned to the customer's ship to Location in the Edit Customer window. |
FOB | Text / 25 Characters | The FOB ("free on board") will default to the FOB default in the Order Options section of the Configuration Manager. It can be overwritten. |
Expected | Date | The Expected date represents the date you expect to receive a response from the customer regarding the acceptance or rejection of the sales quote. |
Follow Up | Date | The Follow Up date is the date you would follow up with the customer regarding the status of the sales quote. |
Not Before | Date | This field can be used to indicate the earliest a quote can be shipped. |
Not After | Date | This field can be used to indicate the latest a quote can be shipped. |
Location Note | Text | This field is not editable in the Enter Sales Quote window. This displays the saved note in the Misc tab of the Ship to Location in the Edit Customer window. |
Days to Ship | Numeric | Displays the number of days until this be shipped once the sales quote is converted to a sales order. A default "Days to Ship" can be defined in the Order Options section of the Configuration Manager. |
Customer
The Customer tab displays customer related information including the credit status of this quote.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Billing Address | Text / Up to 5 lines, 41 Characters per line | The Billing Address comes from the Billing Address field in the Edit Customer window. This field can be manually overridden. |
Contract | List | A contract is a pricing mechanism that can be setup on the Prices tab of the Edit Customer window. Contracts can be used to affect product pricing or to default header information such as invoice discounts and terms codes. |
Mktg Code | List | The Marketing Code is used to track which marketing efforts brought in this sales quote. Marketing codes can be defined in the Sales Order section of the Configuration Manager. A customer can be assigned a default Marketing Code in the Sales tab of the Edit Customer window. If a customer is assigned a Marketing Code, all their quotes will default to that marketing code, but can be overridden, as necessary. |
Code | List | The Tax Code field displays the tax code for the sales quote. The tax code will default based on the tax code assigned to the customer on the Customer tab of the Edit Customer window. If a non-taxable tax code is selected, no tax will be charged on the sales quote. If a taxable tax code is selected, tax will be charged on the taxable quote lines at the rate determined by the Tax Category. |
Additional Info
The Additional Info tab can be used to store additional reference information. Sales Order (sales quotes and orders use the same custom fields) Custom Fields are displayed here.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Web Order # | Text / 40 Characters | The Web Order number will store the web store quote/order number for sales quotes imported in from a web store or flat file. The web Order number will be used to match tracking information (if converted to a sales order and shipped) back to the web store and should not be deleted. |
Class | List | The QuickBooks Class to be assigned to the sales invoice header. This will default based on the QuickBooks Class Tracking configuration in the Sales / COGS section of the Configuration Manager. |
Salesperson | List | The salesperson associated with the sales quote. If the customer has a salesperson assigned to them on the Customer tab of the Edit Customer window, it will default here. |
Ref 2 | Text / 30 characters | The Reference 2 field is an additional reference field that can be used. A default Reference 2 can be defined in the Reference 2 field in the Customer tab of the Edit Customer window. |
Job | Text / 20 characters | The Job field is an additional reference field that can be used. |
Notes
The Notes tab allows saving sales quote specific notes. These notes can be used to document something or a note can be assigned to a user for follow-up. You can also add a note to a sales quote by opening the Sales list in the left menu, locating the sales quote and clicking +Create...→ Note.
Activities
The Activities tab of the Enter Sales Quote window displays all the Business Activities which have this sales quote as a "Related Item". Use the "Look for" search box to search the list of related Business Activities. This data is read only and cannot be edited from this window. To edit the Business Activity, double click the Activity ID to open the Enter Business Activity window.
Field | Field Type/ Length | Definition |
---|---|---|
Activity ID | Text / 40 Characters | The Business Activity ID which has this sales quote as a related item. |
Priority | List | The Priority of the business activity. |
Opened | Date | The date the business activity was created. |
Status | List | The current Status of the business activity. A completed business activity will have an "X" in the far left column. |
Description | Text / 255 Characters | The description of the business activity, used to summarize the Activity. |
Type | List | The Type of the business activity. |
Code | List | The current Code for the business activity. |
Due | Date | The due date of the business activity. |
Promised | Date | The date the business activity is promised to be completed. |
Closed | Date | The date the business activity was set to a completed Status. |
Assigned To | List | The Acctivate user that the activity is assigned to. |
Contact | Text / 120 Characters | The Name from the Contact section of the activity. |
Phone | Text / 50 Characters | The Phone from the Contact section of the activity. |
The Email tab of the Enter Sales Quote window will show all emails sent from this sales quote.
Editing a Sales Quote
There are two ways to edit an existing sales quote in Acctivate:
- Start in the Sales list found in the left menu.
- In the left menu of Acctivate, click on Sales to open the Sales list.
- Search for the sales quote you want to edit.
- Click the Edit button.
- The Enter Sales Quote window will open in edit mode allowing you to edit data.
- Start in the Enter Sales Quote window.
- Select Enter Sales Quote from the Sales menu at the top of Acctivate.
- The Edit Quote window will appear, type in the sales quote # or use the magnifying glass to lookup and select your quote.
- Click Edit.
- You will be able to edit the sales quote data.
Print / Email a Sales Quote
After entering in a sales quote, you can print or email it.
Print or Email from the Enter Sales Quote Window
In the Enter Sales Quote window, click the Printer Icon to print the Sales Quote document. Alternatively, click the downward arrow next to the printer icon and choose Email Quote to open the Email window with the Sales Quote document attached as a PDF.Print or Email from the Sales list
Open the Sales list from the left menu and locate the sales quote you would like to print or email. Click the Print icon to print the Sales Quote document or click Email to open the Email window with the Sales Quote document attached as a PDF.Print or Email from the Sales Order Manager Window
The Sales Order Manager window allows you to print or email a single Sales Quote document, or you can print/email a batch of sales quotes at once.- Open the Sales Order Manager
- Use the View menu to select the Sales Orders bar.
- Click on the Quotes button to view the list of sales quotes.
- Check off one or more quotes to print or email.
- Use the Action... menu to select either Print Sales Quotes or Email Sales Quotes. A Sales Quote must have a Contact Email Address in quote to send an Email. If emailing more than one sales quote at once, all the emails must use the same email message template.
Convert a Sales Quote to a Sales Order
Once a Sales Quote has been accepted by your customer, the quote can be converted to a Sales Order.
From an individual Sales Quote:
- Using the Sales list in the left menu, search for and select the Sales Quote that you would like to convert to a Sales Order.
- Click Edit at the top of the Sales Quote window.
- The Enter Quote window will appear, click the Schedule Order (or Book Order) button at the top of the window (the button will display the default Sales Order Status for new orders. Use the Action... menu to choose a different Order Status).
- The sales quote will convert to a sales order.
From the Sales Order Manager:
- Open the Sales Order Manager window.
- Select Sales Orders under the View... menu.
- Click the Quotes button.
- Check off one or more sales quotes to convert to sales orders.
- Choose Schedule Order under the Action... menu.
Note
After performing an Action on a quote or order in the Sales Order Manager, the selected quote/order will remain checked allowing you to perform additional actions. If you select a Sales Order Manager bar and button that has quotes/orders selected, the actions in the Action menu will apply only to the selections in the button you are viewing.