A proposal tells a client what you'll do and what it costs. They can read it, download it, and accept it online by typing their name. No account or password is needed.
Create a proposal
- Go to Proposals → New proposal, or New proposal on a client's page.
- Choose the client. If you've saved a template, pick it to fill in the text and lines.
- Give it a title, such as "Website redesign".
- Write the introduction: the client's need, your approach, what's included and the timeline.
- Add the price lines from your products and services, or as blank lines. GST is worked out exactly as on your invoices, so the invoice will match the quote.
- Add terms, such as the payment schedule and what's not included.
- Check Valid until. After that date the client can't accept it.
- Click Save draft. Drafts are only visible to your team.
Send it
Open the proposal and click Send to client. They get an email with a link.
- When you send it, the content is fixed. The client signs exactly what you sent.
- If the client has client portal access, it also appears in their portal under Proposals.
- Copy link gives you a link to share on WhatsApp or another channel. The previous link stops working.
You get an email when the client opens it, and when they accept or decline.
How the client signs
The client types their full name and email, ticks a box to confirm, and clicks Accept and sign. MSMEPulse records:
- their name, email and role,
- the date and time,
- their internet (IP) address,
- whether they signed from the emailed link or the client portal,
- a fingerprint (SHA-256) of the exact document they saw. Any change to the document would give a different fingerprint.
Download the Signed PDF from the proposal. Its last page is a signature certificate with these details. The client can download the same PDF.
The client can also decline, with a reason if they want to give one.
Change a proposal you've sent
You can't edit a sent proposal, so there's always a record of what the client received. Instead, choose ⋯ → Revise (new version). It goes back to draft with a new version number, and the old link stops working. Edit it and send it again.
To quote the same work for someone else, use ⋯ → Copy as a new proposal.
Turn it into a project
When a proposal is accepted, click Create project:
- Fixed price, in milestones: each line becomes a milestone with its amount. Invoice each one when it's done.
- Time and materials: you bill for hours, and the quote is the budget to track against.
The project is linked to the client, and its budget is the quoted price before GST.
Templates
On any proposal, choose ⋯ → Save as template to reuse its introduction, lines and terms. The client isn't saved with it.
Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Not sent yet. Only your team can see it. |
| Sent | Emailed. The client hasn't opened it yet. |
| Viewed | The client has opened it. |
| Accepted | The client signed it. |
| Declined | The client said no. |
| Expired | The "valid until" date passed before the client signed. Revise it to set a new date. |
Who can do what
Proposals use the Sales permission. Managers see and send their team's proposals; Admins see all. Creating a project from a proposal also needs permission to create projects.
Typed-name signatures are a common form of electronic signature for business proposals. For documents that need Aadhaar eSign or a digital signature certificate, use a specialist service.