Sending your first quote

A Vellier quote goes out as a proposal: a web page your client opens from a link, reads and signs online. It works on a phone as well as a computer.

1. Start from the client

Open Clients, add the client and the address of the job (or pick one you already have), then start a new quote.

2. Survey and price the work

• Room by room suits decorators, flooring fitters, tilers and interior designers: add each room, its measurements and the work in it.
• Line by line suits everyone else: add each item of work with its labour and materials.

Your rates and material prices live in Settings › Quoting and prices. Check them against your own costs before your first quote.

3. Offer choices, if you like

You can offer good, better and best packages, so the client chooses the finish and price that suits them. Set how many in Settings › Proposals and documents.

4. Check it and send it

Preview the proposal exactly as your client will see it: your logo, the work, the price with VAT, the payment stages and your terms. Then send it.

Your costs and margins never appear on a proposal. Clients only see the prices you've set.

5. See what happens next

You'll see when the client opens it and which parts they read. Once it's signed it's fixed: nothing on a signed proposal changes. Anything extra goes through as a variation the client approves.

Tips

• Check the payment stages before you send. The invoices follow them.
• Write your terms in your own words and have them checked. Vellier gives you starting wording, but it isn't legal advice.
• Working for homeowners? Vellier gives you draft cancellation wording for consumers, which you should check fits your business.