Overview:

A formal quotation process is often required in an organisation. It is a discipline which provides a well-documented record of the contract price with a client, resource allocation, potential profitability and future revenue generation. Workbench Quotes provides a method for building up such a quote. It could also be viewed as the working base for an Estimate and Claim Schedule.

Quoting Process

Provides a logical and easy-to-use approach to the process of quoting.
Gives integrity to the approach.
Allows for transparency in the quoting process. This transparency gives guidelines to the person quoting so that elements of the quote are not missed. The transparency also ensures accountability as the quote will become the budget which will flow through to the variance analysis provided by the Financials Statements.
Provides a well-documented rationale for the quote.
Provides a guide for resource requirements.
Provides a guide to potential profitability. The standard quoting system encompasses both a cost and revenue component and this enables future profit to be reported across the company.

A quote is an entity within Workbench and is distinct from a job.

It itemizes Costs and Revenue budgets
It does not have to be associated with a job
It has its own distinct numbering system.
There can be a number of versions of the quote.
Each quote has a number of cost sheets designating the various aspects of the quote. The individual cost sheets can be built up from any previous quotes.
The quote can be built up from items, plant, labour and/or activities.
An Item can be a Bill of Materials (BOM) with fixed and variable components.
Once the quote is accepted it is attached to a job and:
- the quote cost lines can be transferred to the job as the budget.
- the quote revenue lines can be transferred to the job as the Contract Claim Schedule.

Screen Guide:

Quotes List

The Quotes screen lists all open quotes by default, and you can change the Filter to find the desired quotes. For existing quotes, you can open the Quote popup (see below) by clicking on the Number field of the desired quote.

Click the + New Quote button to create a new quote or make a revision to an existing quote.

New Quote

There are two options for creating a quote:

New Quote where all the primary data is captured, and this is appropriate when quoting a completely new piece of work or opportunity.
Quote Revision where an existing quote is specified and the fields are initialised to form the basis of a revision.

In both cases, the Quote popup is displayed with blank fields or prepopulated with the prior quote.

Quote

This popup is where you can edit new and existing quotes and their details.

The Main tab contains the base information about the quote. Many of the fields are self-explanatory or have drop-down lists.

Quote Code is an auto-generated quote code and version number. The Quote Code may be configured in the Next Quote Number setting.
Client & Client Contact allows specifying an existing client company and contact as the quote client. This is only enabled if the Prospect Client is blank.
Prospect Client & Prospect Contact allows specifying a prospective company and contact in free-text as the quote client. This is only enabled if the Client is blank.
Order Number specifies the Order number from the Customer.
Price Code specifies the pricing structure to be applied for the quote. A default may be configured with Quote Default Price Code control parameter. Should the Price Code be amended after creating the quote, you may Reprice the Cost Sheet to apply the latest changes.
Activity Group to be used for this quote, and this determines the default Work Centres for the Activities. The Quote Job's Cost Activity Group must be the same as the Quote Activity Group for the budget to be successfully created.
Status displays the auto-managed status of the quote based on the following flow.

Expiry Date is the manually entered date for when the quote expires. It is the expiry date that appears on the Quotation Printout.
Fail Code, Fail Reason & %Won are fields which can be utilized at the Users discretion.
Job specifies the associated job for this quote. It can be specified if the job was independently created or is auto-populated if created with the Job button.
Once the Quote has a Job assigned to it, the [New Job] button is still enabled and it will open the Job Creation Wizard with defaults for a Sub Job creation.

The Cost Sheets tab displays all the sheets used to build up the quote costs.

Select checkbox is used to select the cost sheet(s) for sheet-specific actions.
Sequence is a number used for the default sequence of the cost sheets listed here.
Sheet is a short name for the cost sheet. The text is a link to open an existing cost sheet in the Cost Sheet popup to view or edit.
Description is a more descriptive narrative for the cost sheet.
Job Code is the job associated with the cost sheet. This is still editable even after the quote has been approved. Once the Budget has been created, this field is not editable anymore.
Values, Margins and Markup are the calculated values for the cost sheet.
Bin checkbox to delete the cost sheet.

Use the New Cost Sheet button to display the Cost Sheet popup and create a new sheet.

Extension columns are manual additions to your Workbench database providing extra fields to store information. A Workbench Consultant will need to create these for you based on your needs.

To add sections and fields, navigate to Extension Columns and choose the Quotation type. All potential fields must be added here.

On this tab, you can utilise Workbench's File Attachments feature to upload a variety of files and attach them to this Quote.

Select File allows you to click "Choose file" to browse your computer for a file to attach. Alternatively, for quick attachment, you can simply drag and drop the desired file onto this button instead.
File URL gives you the option of linking to a website address rather than attaching a file from your computer. To use this field, make sure you do not attach a file as well.
Details is another optional field, giving you space to describe what the attachment is or why it is attached if it needs more clarification than the file name suggests.
Be sure to click the Upload button after selecting your file or URL. After uploading, the file or URL will appear below with the details entered.
You can Edit or Delete attachments at any time.

This tab lists Workbench's File Attachments attach to the related Job specified on the Main tab of this Quote as .

Create Price Codes from Quotes

A new Price Code can be created from an accepted Quote to ensure the job is sold at the quoted price, eliminating errors from manual entry. This new Price Code, named after the Quote Code, is listed in the Price codes screen.

Once the Quote has been accepted, a new option on Perform button is available: Create Price Code.
If the same Costsheet line is entered in more than one Costsheet or on the same Costsheet, the first line on the first Costsheet will be used in the Price Code.
If the job has already been selected on the Quote, the Price Code on the Job will be automatically updated after creating the Price Code from the Quote. (step 3)
The Price Code Code will match the Quote Code.

Setup:

Settings

Next Quote Number:
- Finco - of Quoted By person
- Location - of Quoted By person
- Profit Centre - of this Quote
Revenue Cost Element Work Centre Default: determines where to default the Work Centre Codes on Cost lines on an At Revenue & Cost Element Cost sheet.
Add custom text to Quotes header and footer.
- Report Quote Footer
- Report Quote Header

Control parameters

Quote Default Price Code: specifies a default Price Code for quotes.
Quote Default Activity Code: If the Activity Code column is hidden via Grid Management on At Revenue & Cost Element format, the Activity Code on each Revenue Line will be populated with this value. And, if the Work Centre column in the Revenue line is also hidden, it will be populated with the default Work Centre on this Activity.

Next Steps:

Related Pages:

Cost Sheet

Personalised text on Reports - footer & header

FAQs:

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