Use case · Growth · Sales
Proposal & Quote Generation
Proposal and quote generation turns every new enquiry into a priced, branded proposal and a drafted covering email, ready for you to check and send. An automation gathers the client's details, applies your pricing rules, assembles your approved wording into your template as a PDF, and flags any job that needs bespoke pricing.
- Proposal and covering email drafted together
- PDF + email
- Standard prices applied every time
- Your rules
- Nothing goes out without your check
- You send
What is automated proposal generation?
Automated proposal generation is a workflow that writes, prices and formats a proposal from a new lead's details. It applies your pricing rules, combines the client's details with your standard content blocks for that type of job, saves a branded PDF, and drafts the covering email in your account. You check it and press send.
Why do proposals go out late?
Proposals go out late because each one is written by hand, even when most of it matches the last one. Someone finds the missing details, checks the client's situation, works out the price, formats the document and writes the email. It's the task that gets put off, and leads go cold while the proposal sits half-finished.
Mostly the same, written from scratch
Same sections, same terms and a price from a short list, copied and edited each time.The owner is the bottleneck
Pricing and wording wait for the one person who knows them.Leads cool while they wait
The quote that goes out late is the one most likely to lose.
How does an automation write and price a proposal?
An automation writes and prices a proposal in seven steps: capture the lead, gather the facts, apply your pricing rules, assemble your content blocks, generate a branded PDF, draft the covering email, then notify you to check and send. Jobs outside your standard range are flagged for bespoke pricing instead of guessed.
With AI automations
A new lead from a web form, or a lead marked *ready for proposal* in your CRM
Capture the lead
Web form enquiries create a lead record automatically. Leads from email, referrals or phone are added through a short form with the details the proposal needs.Gather the facts
Where it helps, the automation researches the lead before pricing. For a website project, it can estimate the size of the client's current site from a search of its indexed pages.Price it
Your pricing rules are applied: a standard price for each type of job, or a bespoke pricing needed flag when the job is outside your standard range. The suggested price is written back to the lead.Assemble the proposal
The client's details are combined with your standard content blocks for that type of job, kept in your database, so every proposal uses your approved wording.Generate the document
The proposal is laid out in your branded template, saved as a PDF to cloud storage and linked to the lead.Draft the email
A covering email is drafted in your email account from your template, with the client's name and the proposal attached or linked.Check and send
You get a notification, check the proposal and email, add any personal touch and send. The lead's status updates to proposal sent.
Nothing is sent without your check. The automation does the gathering, pricing, writing and formatting, so your part is a quick read and a click.
How does it price each job?
It prices each job from rules you set: a standard price for each type of job, or a bespoke pricing needed flag when the job falls outside your standard range. The suggested price is written back to the lead for you to see. Where it helps, research comes first, such as estimating the size of a client's current website.
- Standard jobs get a standard price. From your own price list, applied the same way every time.
- Unusual jobs are flagged. Bespoke work comes to you, so nothing is underquoted.
- Research before pricing. For a website project, the current site's size is estimated from a search of its indexed pages, instead of someone clicking through it by eye.
What happens after the proposal is sent?
After the proposal is sent, the same system can track it from sent to accepted or declined, with reminders to follow up. On acceptance it can create the client and project records and the deposit invoice automatically, and the proposal can go out for e-signature, with the signed copy recorded against the lead.
- Status tracking. Each proposal moves from sent to accepted or declined in your deal pipeline, with follow-up reminders.
- On acceptance. Client and project records, plus the deposit invoice (see invoicing and payment reminders).
- E-signature. The proposal is sent for signing and the signed copy is stored.
Which systems deliver it?
Proposal and quote generation is delivered by AI automations. A typical build keeps leads, pricing rules and proposal content blocks in a database such as Airtable, uses Make.com to assemble the branded PDF and draft the covering email, and saves each proposal to cloud storage, linked to the lead. Leads can also come from your existing CRM.
| System | Trigger | What it does | Package note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Automations | New form lead, or a lead marked ready for proposal | Researches, prices, assembles content blocks, generates a branded PDF, drafts the email | Airtable with Make.com, connected to your CRM and email account |
Where is it used?
Proposal generation suits any business that sends similar proposals or quotes every week. Web design and digital agencies call it proposals or scoping. Trades call it quoting a job. Consultants with set packages and training providers use it to answer enquiries the same day with a priced, branded document.
Same job, their words
Proposals, quotes and scoping. A new website enquiry arrives; the client's current site is sized automatically, the right package price is applied, and a branded PDF and covering email are waiting for the account lead to check.
How would we build it for you?
We haven't built proposal generation for a client yet, so there's no case study. A build starts from your best existing proposals: we turn them into reusable content blocks and a branded template, write your pricing rules down with you, connect your lead sources and email account, and test on sample enquiries before going live.
- New leadweb form
- Facts gatherede.g. site size
- Price appliedor flagged
- Content blocksyour wording
- Branded PDFsaved and linked
- Email draftedin your account
- You checkthen send
What should you know before you start?
Standard work benefits most. The more your proposals follow the same structure and price list, the more of the work can be automated; bespoke jobs are flagged, not guessed. We start from your own best proposals, so the output uses your approved wording, and a person checks every proposal before it's sent.
- Standard work benefits most. Repeatable proposals and price lists automate well; one-off jobs stay with you.
- Your content first. Your best existing proposals become the blocks and the template.
- A person sends it. The automation drafts; you decide what goes out.
Frequently asked questions
Questions
Answer
Will AI set our prices?
No. Automated proposal generation applies the pricing rules you give it: a standard price for each type of job, and a bespoke pricing needed flag for anything outside your range. It doesn't invent prices or negotiate. The suggested price is written to the lead, and you see it in the proposal before anything is sent.
Can I edit a proposal before it's sent?
Yes, and you always get the chance. When a proposal is ready, you're notified, and both the PDF and the covering email wait for you. Change anything that needs a personal touch, then send. Nothing goes to the client without your check, and the lead's status only updates to proposal sent when you send it.
What do you need from us to start?
Your best existing proposals, your price list and the rules for when a job needs bespoke pricing. We turn the proposals into reusable content blocks and a branded template, write the pricing rules down with you, and agree which details each proposal needs from the lead. Then we connect your lead sources and email account.
Can it handle bespoke jobs?
It flags them rather than guessing. When a job falls outside your standard range, such as a larger website or an unusual scope, the automation marks it bespoke pricing needed and sends it to you. You set the price, and the rest of the proposal, your content blocks, template and covering email, can still be assembled for you.
Can it track whether proposals are accepted?
Yes, when it's connected to a deal pipeline. Each proposal moves from sent to accepted or declined, with reminders to follow up on the ones waiting for an answer. On acceptance, the client and project records and the deposit invoice can be created automatically.