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Quotes — Transactions

Overview

The Quotes feature in SARA supports the end-to-end quoting process, from information collection and internal cost definition to customer-facing delivery, approval, and commercial closure.

These transactions work together as part of a single sales workflow.

For the end-to-end process, see: Workflow.

Note

For common UI patterns used across SARA (tables, filters, dynamic columns, naming conventions), see: Common Features

Quotes

Overview

This transaction is where sales users:

  • Register new quotes from leads.
  • Send quotes to customers.
  • Keep track of versions and PDF files sent to the customer.
  • See the current internal or commercial stage of each quote.
  • Create complementary quotes and duplicates.

What you will see

  • A quotes list with, at minimum:

    • Quote code (e.g. QUO.0984.01).
    • Customer / contact information.
    • Status badge (for example CINF, CONC, PECO, PEPR, REDY, SENT, APPR, CANC, LOST, EXPR, or IGNR).
    • A Sent column:
      • Not sent before the first email is sent.
      • Date & time of the last send once the quote has been emailed.
    • Basic commercial fields (e.g. amount, currency).

  • Access to each quote’s:

    • Version history (old vs. latest).
    • Generated PDF files (per version).
    • Link to its Quote Engine.

Days since sent — For sent quotes, a color-coded indicator helps Sales prioritize follow-up.

What you can do here

  • Create a new quote

    • Use the ”+ New quote” button. The button opens a dropdown with two options:
      • New quote — creates a blank quote with the standard creation form. SARA assigns a base code such as QUO.0984. Initial status is Collecting information (CINF). Only the minimum required fields are requested at creation time; editing reveals more options.
      • From project... — generates a quote pre-populated from an existing project's actual costs. See the next action below.

  • Generate a quote from a project

    • Select ”From project...” from the ”+ New quote” dropdown.
    • A project selector appears showing all projects in the system, searchable by code, name, or customer. Select the project to use as the basis for the new quote.
    • SARA pre-fills the new quote form with the project's customer, internal company, and description. The project's currency is selected by default — you can change it.
    • If you select a currency different from the project's, SARA converts all costs to the selected currency using the official exchange rate (DOF) for the current day (the day you are creating the quote).
    • Complete the remaining required fields (attention to, priority, valid days, etc.) and save.
    • On creation, SARA calculates the project's actual costs from:
      • Purchase orders charged to the project (excluding cancelled).
      • Expense refunds charged to the project (excluding cancelled).
      • Approved timesheet hours, converted to cost using each collaborator's hourly rate.
    • The Quote Engine is created and pre-populated with the project's node and budget structure. Each budget item's cost (without profit) is filled with the calculated actual cost. If the project was originally created from a quote, that original quote's notes, files, and images are also copied into the new Quote Engine.
    • Sales and technical owners can then review and adjust costs, and set profit percentages in Quote Engine as they would for any quote.

    Note

    Costs pre-populated from a project reflect what was actually spent — purchase orders, refunds, and labor hours at the rates in effect at the time. They are a starting point and can be freely adjusted in Quote Engine before sending the quote.

  • Send a quote to the customer

    • A quote must be Ready (REDY) before it can be sent.
    • From an existing quote, choose a contact and send the quote by email through SARA.
    • On send:
      • SARA generates a PDF for that version.
      • SARA updates the version suffix (e.g. QUO.0984.01, .02, etc.).
      • The quote moves to Sent (SENT) and the Sent column is updated with the date.
    • The latest version is highlighted as latest, while previous ones are marked as old, each with a downloadable PDF.

  • Approve a quote (CPO received)

    • Available when the quote is Sent (SENT).
    • When the customer’s PO (CPO) is received, set the quote to Approved from this page.
    • A form appears to capture:
      • CPO number and amount.
      • Items or other CPO-related details.
    • After saving:
      • SARA creates a new Project linked to the quote.
      • SARA sends an email notification to each owner of a node in Quote Engine informing:
        • Which quote was approved.
        • Which project was created.
      • The quote status changes to Approved (APPR).
      • The project number is shown on the quote.

    If a project was created separately and has no linked quote, use Link quote from the Projects row instead. That form can link without adding another CPO when the project already has one. It does not create a second project.

  • Close a quote

    • Cancel (CANC) is used when the internal team stops the process before sending the quote to the customer.
    • Mark as not completed (LOST) is used after the quote was sent but did not result in a sale. A loss reason is required and an optional note can be added.
    • An expired quote (EXPR) must be marked as not completed or duplicated; it cannot be approved directly.

  • Ignore in metrics

    • Excludes a quote from cancellation and loss statistics.
    • Use it when several concept or price alternatives are quoted for the same opportunity and only one can be selected.

  • Create a complementary quote

    • Use the “New complementary quote” button.
    • You must select an existing project; complementary quotes cannot be created without a project.
    • The complementary quote:
      • Has its own code (QUO.xxxx) and its own Quote Engine (still 1:1).
      • When approved, it adds its budget to the existing project instead of creating a new one.

  • Duplicate a quote

    • Use the duplicate action to create a copy of a quote’s configuration.
    • Copies the quote header, Quote Engine structure, costs, profits, documents, images, notes, questions, answers, and responsible assignments.
    • Does not copy: generated PDF files or previous versions.
    • A duplicate of a sent, approved, cancelled, not-completed, or expired quote starts at Ready (REDY); other duplicates retain the source stage.

  • Score a quote with metrics (requires quote metrics permission)

    • A metrics panel is accessible from within the quote.
    • It lists all active metrics from the catalog, each with a rate slider (1–10) and an Exclude toggle.
    • Checking Exclude marks a metric as not applicable — it is omitted from the total calculation.
    • Saving recalculates the Total Score, weighted by each metric’s multiplier.
    • The panel also shows a customer-level average score across all their scored quotes and projects.
    • A Logs button shows the change history of metric scores for that quote.

Quote Engine

Overview

This transaction is used primarily by technical owners and sales to define and review:

  • Internal costs (per node/budget).
  • Profit percentages per cost bucket.
  • Additional notes and Q&A relevant to the quote.

There is a 1:1 relationship between Quote and Quote Engine: Each quote has exactly one quote engine entry, and vice versa.

What you will see

  • A structured view of nodes/budgets, often grouped by area (e.g. mechanics, materials, labor), usually presented as cards rather than tabs.
  • For each node/budget:
    • Cost items and amounts (e.g. materials, labor).
    • Profit percentage applied by sales.
    • One or more assigned responsibles.
  • Additional sections for:
    • Q&A between stakeholders.
    • Notes / specifications that sales must consider when writing the quote.

Info

Quote Engine does not automatically copy any text to the customer-facing quote.

Sales users read this information and decide how to present the quote to the customer.

What you can do here

  • Register costs per node/budget

    • One or more responsibles can be assigned to a node. Each responsible person adds the costs they need for their area.
    • Example: mechanics adds $100 in materials and $100 in labor.
    • There is no enforced link to rates or salaries at this time; responsible users can enter costs freely.

  • Define profit percentages

    • Sales users set a profit % per cost bucket.
    • Example: 5% on materials, 20% on labor.
    • Resulting margins and totals are calculated for sales to review.

  • Coordinate via Q&A and notes

    • Technical owners and sales can:
      • Ask questions.
      • Record assumptions or specifications.
    • Sales users must consider this information when drafting or updating the quote in Quotes.

  • Tag technical specifications

    • Inside each cost element, responsible users can tag the relevant robots, PLCs, and standards from shared catalogs.
    • These selections are saved per Quote Engine and are copied when a quote is duplicated.

  • Attach media and files per element

    • Each cost element supports uploading:
      • Images (shown in a gallery panel).
      • Videos.
      • 3D model files.
      • Other file types (general attachments).
    • Each file type has its own tab within the element.

  • Look up logistics reference costs

    • A logistics cost reference panel lets users query historical travel, accommodation, and vehicle costs for a given city and year.
    • The panel shows a breakdown by transport type (departure, return, round trip), stay records, and assigned vehicles — each with costs and currencies.
    • This is a reference tool only; it does not automatically fill cost fields.

  • Use AI-assisted cost estimation

    • A form within Quote Engine lets users describe a logistics plan by filling in structured fields (origin, destination, number of days, and required resources such as car rentals and flights).
    • SARA sends the request to OpenAI via API and returns a standardized cost estimate.

    Use with caution

    AI-generated estimates may contain errors. Always review and validate results before using them in a quote.

  • Work with locked quote data

    • From Ready (REDY) onward, Quote Engine costs, nodes, elements, technical details, files, images, and Q&A are read-only.
    • Notes remain available at every stage.
    • Before sending, Sales can roll the quote back to an earlier stage to make changes. After sending, duplicate the quote to create a revised version.

Recorded changes

For how changes and updates are logged, see: Logs & History

Quote Template Settings

Overview

Quote templates define the default structure — nodes and budgets — that is automatically loaded into the Quote Engine when a new quote is created. Templates are maintained by Sales in Settings → Quote Settings tab.

Keep templates accurate and lean

Templates are copied as-is into every new quote. If a template contains nodes or budgets that do not apply to a specific project, those entries must be removed from the Quote Engine at quote creation time. Leaving unnecessary nodes or budgets pollutes the system with incomplete or irrelevant cost data. Templates should always reflect the realistic default scope for that type of project.

What you will see

  • A list of quote templates, each showing its name and status (ACTV / INAC).
  • A Logs button to review the change history of templates.
  • Per template: an Edit button (rename), an Activate/Deactivate button, and a button to open its node and budget configuration.

What you can do here

  • Create a new template

    • Use the "+ New" button and enter a name.
    • The template is created active (ACTV) with no nodes or budgets yet.

  • Edit a template name

    • Click the edit button next to a template to rename it.

  • Activate or deactivate a template

    • Active templates appear in the quote creation form for selection.
    • Deactivating a template removes it from the selector without deleting its configuration.

  • Configure nodes and budgets

    • Click the template row to open its detail view. From here:

    Nodes

    • A node represents an area of work or responsibility within the quote (e.g., Mechanics, Materials, Labor). Nodes come from the shared node catalog.
    • To add a node: select a node from the catalog and assign one or more responsible people (each must have the Quotation engine responsible permission in Quotes). Save.
    • To edit a node: add or remove responsible people as needed.
    • To remove a node: click the delete button. Removing a node also removes all budgets under it.

    Budgets

    • A budget is a cost item within a node (e.g., machining hours, raw materials). Budget items come from the shared project budget catalog.
    • To add a budget: select a node (from the nodes already defined in this template) and one or more budget items. Save.
    • Multiple budget items can be added to a node in a single operation.
    • To edit a budget: change the linked budget item.
    • To remove a budget: click the delete button on the budget row.

How templates are used in quotes

When creating a new quote, Sales selects a template from the Quote engine template selector. On save, SARA instantiates all nodes and budgets from that template into the new quote's Quote Engine, pre-assigning each node's responsible. Sales and technical owners can then add, edit, or remove nodes and budgets directly in the Quote Engine as needed for that specific quote.

Tip

If a quote does not fit any existing template cleanly, select the closest one and adjust nodes and budgets in the Quote Engine after creation. Do not leave unused nodes populated — they will appear as incomplete cost areas in reporting.

Permissions

Permissions

Access and actions in Sales are permission-driven. See: Permissions