Proposals are an all-in-one solution that offer multiple ways to present documents and book new clients. This is accomplished through customizable forms, packages, and products which are delivered together. A proposal will speed up workflows, save time, and give clients an elevated user experience.
There are many ways to effectively use a proposal and this can be customized to each specific business and demographic. Below will help explain how to get started with the proposal feature.
Here are the steps to create and use a proposal within Inly:
Click the "+" icon in the upper left-hand corner and select "Proposal" from the list of documents.
Once the proposal is selected, an invoice will also automatically be selected. Additional documents can be added to the proposal within the builder and do not need to be selected right away.
Create a new client or select an existing client for the proposal.
Add a custom cover image or select a free image from Unsplash.
Click Next in the bottom right corner to get to the first Proposal creation page. You will have the opportunity to select an existing template or start a blank Proposal.
When starting a blank proposal, you will have the options to make a "quick quote" or a customizable package.
A quick quote is best used when you want to send a client a fixed proposal that they can accept or reject. The other option is for when you want your client to be able to select from several possible combinations of items.
If you select quick quote, the next page will look like this:
Whatever charges you put here will be fixed. The client will only be able to accept or reject them all together as you have presented them. When you click next on this page, you will be brought to the Proposal building page (see "e" below).
If you select the customizable option, the next page will ask if you want to add required items.
If you select yes, you'll be brought to another page to add those items.
If you select "No thanks," you'll skip to the Proposal building page.
If you click on "Packages," you'll be brought to the package building page. You can enter different package names, descriptions, and prices.
To add additional pages, click the "+" in the left hand column. This will open a modal window with options to add other sections to the Proposal.
For Forms, you can start a blank form or load an existing template. For more on Forms, you can visit our article How do I Create and Send a Form. Forms are useful for gathering feedback from your client about how they want to use or customize your services.
For a Custom Page, you have a lot of latitude for creating whatever you want. You can add images, photos, videos, and text, including links.
For a Products page, you can offer additional products or services as part of your follow-up. You can use this to up-sell to clients and entice them to purchase additional products or services from you.
When you are done with your final page, click next, then "No thanks."
This will bring you to the next page, which will give you a few more options about handling your proposal. You can choose to either automatically or manually approve the proposal after the client accepts it. You can elect to have the proposal expire by a date you choose or never expire at all. You can also choose to apply a discount to the proposal.
When you click next, you will be brought to a screen that indicates that an invoice will be generated when the client accepts the proposal.
At this time, you can also generate a template from the proposal that you have just finished creating. Mouse over the box that says "Proposal" in the left hand column.
Click the document icon and select "Create new template."
Type in a name for your template and click "Create template."
After clicking next, you will be brought to the Invoice creation step sequence. For details on that, see step 12 and below in How do I Create and Send an Invoice?
When you get to the final page, you can choose to send or save a draft and come back later to finish.
For any additional questions please reach out by clicking on the chat box or at support@inly.com and a team member would be happy to assist you.