Quote responses and invoices
What happens when a customer accepts, declines or doesn't answer a quote, and how an accepted quote becomes a draft invoice.
By Travada SystemsUpdated 2 min read
Once you've sent a quote, your customer answers it online. You don't have to chase a signature or retype anything. An accepted quote turns into a draft invoice for you.
What your customer sees
The quote link opens a web page with the full quote: your details, the line items, totals, notes and the Valid until date. They can select Download PDF or Copy Link, and they don't need an account.
At the bottom are two buttons:
- Accept Quote accepts it in one click.
- Decline opens a short form where they can add a Reason, which is optional, before selecting Decline Quote.
Either way, they see a confirmation page. If they accept, it tells them you'll send the invoice shortly.
When a customer accepts
The quote's status changes to Accepted, and Travada Books creates a draft invoice from it straight away. The invoice has:
- the same customer, currency, line items, discount, tax and total,
- the same custom fields,
- your next invoice number, with today as the issue date,
- a due date worked out from your Payment Terms, if you've set them, and
- the quote's notes, or your Default Note if the quote had none, plus your Default Payment Details.
The invoice stays a draft. Nothing is sent to your customer until you send it.
On the quote, a green banner says Invoice INV-… was created from this quote. Select View Invoice to open it. Check it over, make any changes, then send it as usual. See Create and send an invoice.
An accepted quote is locked, so it can't be edited or accepted twice.
When a customer declines
The status changes to Declined. The quote shows a Quote declined banner, with their reason if they gave one. The reason is also listed under Activity.
If you want to try again:
- Open the quote and select the pencil icon to change it, for example to adjust the price or the scope.
- Select Save Changes. The quote goes back to Draft.
- Select Send Quote to send the revised version.
If nothing needs to change, select Resend Quote and choose how to send it, to send it again as it is. Activity shows when it was resent.
Get told when a customer answers
You can get an email, an in-app notification or both when a quote is accepted or declined. The email for an accepted quote has a Review Draft Invoice button that takes you straight to the new invoice. Emails go to the business email in your settings.
Choose which alerts you get under Quote accepted and Quote declined in your notification settings.
Quotes that run out of time
If a customer hasn't answered when the Valid Until date passes, the quote becomes Expired. Your customer's link then says the quote has expired, and the Accept Quote and Decline buttons disappear.
An expired quote can't be edited or resent. To make a fresh offer, open it, select the ••• menu and choose Duplicate. Update the Issue Date and Valid Until on the copy, then send it.
Good to know: To give customers longer to decide, set a Default Validity Period in Quote Settings, or pick a later Valid Until date before you send.