6 Must-have Features of a Quote Management System

Quotation Management System

When you want to bring efficiency into your quoting process, what better way than using a sales quoting software. 

Automating your quoting process is the best thing you could do to maximize your sales.

Following are the features to look for when picking a quoting software: 

1. Easily Accessible Over the Internet 

When it comes to choosing a quoting software, it is advised to pick a Web quoting tool. A web-based software essentially runs on the Internet.
Just open your laptop, connect it to the Internet and you are ready to create some of the most complex quotes. No spending time in server setup or hosting your website.
The cloud server provider offers server space that you have to rent for your software application. 

To put it simply, your software application is available over the Web and can be accessed from any device connected to the Internet.
No installation of software on local computers or investing in IT infrastructure to run the application. 

A web-based quoting gives you the opportunity to quote from anywhere as long as you are connected to the Internet. 

2. In-depth Reporting Feature 

Without reporting it will be very difficult to analyze business performance. On the other hand, a simple and efficient reporting can go a long way in keeping track of your business sales. 

In depth reporting available in an IT quoting software will give you a good understanding of how your business is progressing in terms of sales and profits.
With the reporting feature, you can create different types of reports to get an overview of how your business is faring. Detailed reporting will provide you insights about your quotation conversion rate. 

This will give you a good idea about the number of successful quotes your sales reps are generating. This, in turn, will allow you to analyze the performance of each and every sales rep. 

3. Automated Followups 

How will you follow-up with recipients that have not responded to your quote? The answer lies in automated follow-ups. Automated follow up feature will allow you to schedule follow up emails that will trigger for conditions like 'Not replied'. Moreover,

you can even personalize these follow-up messages for greater impact. Automated follow-ups not only save time but also increase response rate among recipients who do not engage with your quotes. This functionality completely eliminates the need to remember to follow-up the prospects after sending the quote. 

4. Ability to Accept and make Payments in a Single Flow

If you want to get paid faster, ensure your Quote management system makes it easy for your customers to accept quotes and make payments. This is possible only if your quoting software comes with an electronic signature option, an easy way to sign documents online irrespective of the devices. Whether your customers are using desktop, laptop or tablet, they can quickly sign and accept the quote online. 

Moreover, it should be connected to a payment gateway like PayPal. So once your customers accept the quote, they can make payments on the spot using their credit/debit card. Compelling your customers to actually sign a hard copy to accept the quote can be time-consuming. On top of that, if there is no easy way to complete the deal, it can lead to payment delays and uncertainly over payments on-time.

5. PDF Document Generator

Want to create a good impression on your customers? Want to convert more quotes into sales? If yes, make sure your quote or Proposal generation software has a PDF document generator. This feature will give you the opportunity to send quotes in an attractive PDF format.
When your quotes are beautiful, gorgeous, etc., your chances of closing the deal increases significantly. 

6. Ability to Integrate with other software applications 

There is a high probability that in the long run your needs will evolve thereby compelling you to run your online business with other software applications. 

For instance, you might use a CRM software to better manage customers or incorporate ERP system to gain greater control over their business processes. It is advised not to use these applications as standalone systems. 

Hence,ensure that your quoting system you finalize comes with strong integration capabilities. Using an integrated system can certainly help to improve efficiency and boost productivity.