During the day you work at your customers' premises, and in the evening you write quotes. You hunt for prices, fill in the template and send the PDF. Much of it is the same every time. This is exactly the kind of work a system can take over. Here you'll read how an automatic quote works, which quotes are suitable and how to get started.
Why it's worth your time
Paperwork weighs on many Swiss businesses. More than 1,500 companies took part in the red tape monitor of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). 60% find the administrative burden fairly high or high (SECO press release of 1 March 2023, in German). The survey mainly measured the burden of regulations. You can hardly influence that.
Your own processes, on the other hand, are yours to shape. SECO notes that digitalisation makes an important contribution to reducing the administrative burden. Quotes are a good place to start, because you write them often and by fixed rules.
Where the time goes on a quote
A quote is made up of many small steps. These are typical:
- Read the enquiry and ask follow-up questions
- Record measurements, quantities or hours
- Look up prices in your list or in old quotes
- Fill in the template and calculate the amounts
- Create the PDF and send it by email
- Follow up a few days later
- If the customer says yes, type everything again for the order confirmation and invoice
Steps 2 to 7 usually follow fixed rules. A system can apply those rules.
Work out your own time
How much time you can save depends on your business. Use your own figures from the last four weeks:
| Question | Your figure |
|---|---|
| How many quotes do you write a week? | number |
| How many minutes does one quote take? | minutes |
| How many of them do you write in the evening or at weekends? | number |
| How many quotes do you follow up? | number |
Multiply the number of quotes by the minutes per quote. The result is your weekly quoting time. A worked example with assumed figures: 8 quotes at 45 minutes each come to 6 hours a week. If a system takes over half of that, you get 3 hours back.
How an automatic quote works
The process looks similar in most businesses:
- Enquiry: Your customer fills in a form on your website. They choose the service, enter measurements or quantities and upload photos if needed.
- Calculation: The system calculates using your price list. Flat rates, minimum charges and travel costs are already set up.
- Draft: The details turn into a quote in your template, with your logo and your terms.
- Approval: You check the draft and approve it. Only then does it go to the customer.
- Sending: The customer receives the quote as a PDF. You receive a copy.
- Follow-up: If there's no reply, the system reminds the customer after a period you set.
- Acceptance: When the customer says yes, the details flow into the order confirmation and invoice. Nobody types anything twice.
You always remain responsible at the approval step. The system writes drafts, and you make the decision.
Which quotes are suitable
Not every quote is equally easy to automate. This overview helps you judge:
| Works well | Works less well |
|---|---|
| Services with a fixed price list | One-off jobs after a site visit |
| Prices by area, item or hour | Large projects with many unknowns |
| Packages and flat rates | Quotes that involve long negotiation |
| Repeat jobs such as cleaning or servicing | Special requests with nothing to compare against |
Partial automation helps with complex jobs too. Standard items come from your price list, and you add the rest by hand.
Five steps to an automatic quote
1. Tidy up your price list
Put every service in one list, with its unit and price. Note when surcharges, discounts or minimum charges apply. This list is the basis for everything else.
2. Create a clean template
The template contains your logo, address, items, total and payment terms. Always state how long the quote is valid. If you set a deadline for acceptance, you are bound by the quote until it expires (Art. 3 Swiss Code of Obligations).
3. Ask the right questions in the form
Ask for exactly what you need for the calculation. Required fields prevent follow-up questions. A field for photos can save you a site visit.
4. Decide who approves
Decide which quotes may go out automatically and which you check first. At the start, it pays to look at every quote briefly.
5. Measure before and after
Note your quoting time before you start. Measure again after a month. That way you see in black and white what the automation brings.
What comes next: order and invoice
You save even more time when the details keep flowing. The accepted quote becomes the order confirmation. After the job, it becomes the invoice. In Switzerland, payment slips now take the form of the QR-bill. It replaced the old payment slips on 30 September 2022 (SIX, end of the old payment slips, in German). A reminder for an unpaid invoice can be triggered automatically in the same way.
What an automatic quote costs
At chrismachts, you can begin with a pilot for one process. On the call, we weigh up with you which one pays off first. One automated process has a guide price from CHF 1,200. We agree the fixed price with you based on effort. Included in the pilot:
- One process fully automated, for example your quotes
- You just approve
- Up and running within a few weeks, depending on scope
- Walkthrough and handover
If you only need a clean template to begin with, a document template costs CHF 290 per template. In the Growth website package, one process in your business already runs by itself. Find out more under Automation.
Writing quotes after a long day? Not any more.
Frequently asked questions
Can I create quotes automatically without giving up control?
Yes. The system creates a draft based on your price list, and you approve it. Only then does the quote go to the customer.
How long is a quote valid?
If you set a deadline for acceptance, you are bound by the quote until it expires. That is what Art. 3 of the Swiss Code of Obligations says. So always put a validity period in your template.
What does it cost to automate quotes?
At chrismachts, one automated process has a guide price from CHF 1,200. We agree the fixed price based on effort. A clean quote template on its own costs CHF 290.