Online quotes for tradespeople and makers: request, send, accept

A made-to-measure kitchen, a fuse box to replace, a garden wall, a hundred embroidered aprons for a company: the customer can’t buy in one click. They need a price, and you can’t give one without knowing what they want. With 123Ventes, the quote request, the quote and the customer’s agreement all go through your website. No more quotes typed up at night, sent as attachments and forgotten in an inbox.

An online quote request, with no account to create

A “Request a quote” button leads to a short 4-step assistant:

• the project: new project, renovation, repair, maintenance;
• the need, in the customer’s own words: sizes, quantities, constraints;
• when and where: the timing, the expected budget and the town;
• contact details, and how to get back to them: email or phone.

The customer checks the request before sending it. There is no account to create and no password to invent. They get a confirmation email, and you are told straight away. Requests sent by robots are filtered out.

Or a quote for items from the catalogue

Do you sell online too? A signed-in customer can ask for a quote for one or more items, with quantities and an indicative price, or for their whole basket. It is useful for large quantities, trade orders or items to personalise. They then find their quotes under “My quotes”.

A quote in a few minutes

In your dashboard, the Quotes screen has everything. You add items from the catalogue, whose price and VAT are filled in for you, and free lines for labour, travel or a special supply. You can set a discount line by line or on the whole quote, shipping costs, a lead time, the planned payment method and a validity date.

Totals before tax, VAT and the total including tax are worked out as you type. An internal notes field acts as your reminder: the customer never sees it.

Sent as a PDF, accepted online

The quote goes out as a numbered PDF, with your details, your company number and your VAT number. The email contains a link: the customer views the quote, downloads it, then accepts it by ticking “Approved” and typing their name. The date, time, their name and IP address are recorded and printed on the PDF. If they don’t go ahead, they decline it, and can say why.

The customer said yes on the phone or signed on paper? Mark the quote “accepted offline”.

After the yes

It depends on your trade. If you sell goods, the accepted quote becomes an order awaiting payment, in the same screen as your other orders. If you do work on site, you set the date of the job, then mark it done and invoiced. The customer follows progress from the link to their quote: no need to call you to find out when you are coming.

All your quotes at a glance

The list shows the status of each quote: request received, being studied, sent, accepted, declined, expired, scheduled, done, invoiced. A search by number or customer, and a warning on quotes about to expire, help you follow up at the right time. An expired quote can no longer be accepted: you send a new one, at today’s prices.

How much does it cost?

Nothing extra. Online quotes are included in the subscription, at €29.90 a month. No quoting software to pay for on the side, and no commission on the quotes your customers accept.

Goes well with

Quotes use the items and prices of your catalogue. An accepted quote becomes an order, paid online by card or PayPal, and the people who ask for quotes join your customer file. Working in the building trade? See the electrician, plumber and mason pages.

Your questions

Do I need quoting software as well as the shop?

No. With 123Ventes, you write your quotes in your dashboard, send them as PDFs and your customers accept them online.

Does the customer need an account to request a quote?

No, the quote request assistant works without an account. Only a quote for catalogue items needs the customer to be signed in, so that they can find their quotes again.

Can I add labour and travel costs?

Yes. As well as catalogue items, you add free lines with the description, price and VAT of your choice.

How does the customer accept the quote?

They open the link in the email, tick “Approved” and type their name. The date, time, their name and IP address are recorded and shown on the PDF.

Can I change a quote I have already sent?

Yes. You save your changes, then send it to the customer again. The link stays the same.

What happens when the validity date has passed?

The quote becomes “expired” and the customer can no longer accept it. You send a new quote if needed.