Make Quotation
You create a request for quotation to record your offer to a customer or a prospect to sell certain forwarding services. From the Request for quotation multiple quotation options can be created, for example offering multiple carriers or modalities. You can send the quotation to the customer to communicate the offer. You can email the document as a PDF attachment. You can also have the email body prefilled with a summary of the quote.
While you negotiate with the customer or prospect, you can change and resend the quotation as much as needed. When the customer accepts the quote, you convert the quotation to a Shipment.
In most cases, you send sales quotes to prospective customers. You often have a contact person that you negotiate with. If they then accept your offer, you turn the quotation (option) into a shipment and register the prospect as a customer in Business Central. In the following procedure, we focus on existing customers, but you can also send quotes to contacts.
To Create a Request for quotation
- Choose the
icon that opens the Tell Me feature, enter Request For Quotation, and then choose the related link. - Specify the contact or customer that you want to send the quotation to.
If the quotation is for an existing contact, then specify the name in the Contact No. field.
If the quotation is for an existing customer, specify the customer in the Customer field.
Fill in the remaining fields on the quotation page as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description. Some of the fields might be populated automaticall when the Order type is selected. For example the Quote validity will be determined based on the setup, the validity can be changed when needed. The Order type field also triggers a Status flow / workflow for the Request for Quotation.
You're now ready to fill in the lines with the Equipment and/or Goods that need to be transported. On the Lines FastTab, in the Type field, select Equipment, Good, Clause, Handling instruction or Remark in the No. field, select select a record to the value in the type field.
When the general information for the quotation request is registered, you're ready to create one or multiple Quotation options.
Navigate to the created quotation option from the Quotation options FastTab.
On the Quotation option card, fill in or modify the required fields, such as the Carrier, Mode of Transport.
Depending on your business requirements you can add Costs and calculate Revenues with margin rules, or simply add the Revenues.
To add costs or revenues choose Optional Cost/Revenues to add the costs or add costs manually in the Costs FastPane.
Learn more about how to setup Optional Costs and Revenues.
Choose the Calculation action to calculate the revenues based on the costs by setting up Margin rules on the customer card. The Calculation screen will show all costs that have been already added with the previous step, and costs that have been configured in contracts.
Learn more about how to setup Contracts and Margin Rules.
- Revenues/Costs In the calculation option the cost and/or revenues can be added using contracts or with the Calculate Optional Cost/Revenues action.
Note
Add costs with rate platforms
In the calculation option the cost and revenues can be added using contracts or api's with rate platforms such as WebCargo.
To send the Quotation
After adding the calculation options, the quote can be sent to the contact/customer. For more information, see Send Documents by Email using Steps.
For more information, see Send Documents by Email.
To convert the request for quotation into a shipment
When the quote is accepted by the customer, the selected option can be converted into a (booked) Shipment.
Copy quotation to shipment
Convert the accepted quotation option into a shipment to reuse the agreed cargo, equipment and commercial information instead of entering the booking again. Attributes from the quotation are also copied to the shipment.
Before converting, check the selected option, customer, validity and transport details. Review the new shipment's attributes and costs/revenues before continuing its status workflow. Configure attribute templates consistently on quotations and shipments so the copied information remains useful.
Quotation reports and extended text
The transport quotation report presents the offer to the customer. Extended text on the request for quotation allows you to include additional conditions or explanatory text with the offer.
Configure the quotation's document report template, report definition and layout, then preview the output with a quotation containing extended text. Verify the selected layout displays the text before sending it. See Document Reporting.
Web Portal quotation selection
The Web Portal lets customers select quotation options and use the quotation actions made available in their portal configuration. This connects the offer prepared in FMS with the customer's response without requiring the customer to work in the internal quotation pages.
Configure the portal page's option selection and permitted actions for the customer's quotation workflow. Test with a customer account that should see the offer, and verify access to that customer's quotations and the resulting status changes before enabling the process.