Chat the account owner the moment a client acts
A client's first look at a proposal is the best time to call, and it belongs to one person. A Zap sends that person a one-on-one Teams chat, not the whole channel.
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- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
Build a Zap with QuoteCloud's Zapier app, on Essentials and up. Recipient First Viewed Document starts it; Microsoft Teams' Find Team Member finds the quote's owner by email, and Create Chat and Send Message sends them a one-on-one chat. A second Zap on Document Comment Event does the same for client comments.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
Two overlapping panels with sample data. Behind, Ashcombe Partners' statement of work AP-2417 for Wexley Distribution Group: three phases and a leadership workshop, $119,350.00 including tax. In front, an illustrative one-on-one team chat to Rafael Ortega from Ashcombe's sales automations account: Carla Mendes just opened AP-2417, then a new comment from Tom Haddow asking whether Phase 1 can start on Mon 9 Nov.
Why a chat, not a channel?
At Ashcombe Partners each statement of work has one owner. Principal Rafael Ortega wrote the Wexley SOW, knows Carla Mendes and is the person who should call when she opens it. Forty consultants don't need to know a client's fee, or that she read it at 4:12 pm.
So the Zap finds Rafael in Microsoft Teams and sends him a one-on-one chat: who opened it, the document and the total. When procurement leaves a comment, the same thing happens, so a question never waits until he next checks QuoteCloud.
- Recipient First Viewed Document fires once an identified recipient first views the document.
- The chat comes from the Microsoft account the Zap connects with: choose it with IT.
- For the whole team's view, post to a channel instead.
How do I message the owner when a client opens the quote?
Three steps. Every name is the exact event you pick in Zapier.
ZapFirst view: chat the owner
-
When
QuoteCloudTriggerRecipient First Viewed DocumentFires when an identified recipient first views the document.Passes on
- Document title
- Reference
- Recipient name
- Owner email
-
Then
Microsoft TeamsSearchFind Team MemberSearches on the owner's email.Searches on
- Search by
-
Then
Microsoft TeamsActionCreate Chat and Send MessageA one-on-one chat between the Zap's account and the owner.Mapped in
- Team Member(s)
- Message Text Format
- Message Text
Only one person owns every quote? Skip Find Team Member and pick them in Team Member(s). The same job can be built in Make, bring your own, with Make's Microsoft Teams modules.
Carla Mendes opens AP-2417 at 4:12 pm on Thursday, 22 minutes after Rafael sent it. By 4:13 he has a chat with the document, the client and the total, and calls her before five.
Result
The owner hears first, privately, while the client is still reading, and the rest of the firm isn't interrupted.
QuoteCloud's Zapier app: Essentials and up
How consulting firms connect QuoteCloudOpened in QuoteCloud, a chat in Teams
Activity
- Sent to Carla Mendes and Tom HaddowThu 22 Oct, 3:50 pm · by Rafael Ortega
- First viewed by CarlaThu 22 Oct, 4:12 pm · Rafael got a Teams chat
- Signed by Carla MendesFri 23 Oct, 9:14 am · 1 of 2
- Comment from Tom HaddowMon 26 Oct, 11:05 am · Rafael got a Teams chat
- Signed by Tom HaddowMon 26 Oct, 2:40 pm · 2 of 2
Zaps
- Recipient First Viewed Document
- Find Team Member
- Create Chat and Send Message
-
Carla Mendes just opened AP-2417
- Document
- Network & margin review
- Client
- Wexley Distribution Group
- Total incl. tax
- $119,350.00
- Sent
- Today, 3:50 pm
-
New comment on AP-2417 from Tom Haddow
- Document
- Network & margin review
- Signed so far
- Carla Mendes, 1 of 2
“Can Phase 1 start on Mon 9 Nov rather than the 2nd?”
Illustration with sample data, not Microsoft Teams’ screen.
The chat is our illustration of a team chat with sample data, not Microsoft Teams' screen.
Can the owner hear about client comments too?
Yes: a second Zap on QuoteCloud's comment trigger, filtered to new comments.
ZapNew comment: chat the owner
-
When
QuoteCloudTriggerDocument Comment EventFires when a comment is created, resolved or reopened.Passes on
- Comment
- Author
- Event type
- Owner email
- Only if Filter by ZapierFilterOnly continue if the event type is created.
-
Then
Microsoft TeamsSearchFind Team MemberSearches on
- Search by
-
Then
Microsoft TeamsActionCreate Chat and Send MessageMapped in
- Team Member(s)
- Message Text
Tom Haddow asks on Monday morning whether Phase 1 can start a week later. Rafael has the question in Teams a minute later and answers it in the document before Tom signs that afternoon.
Result
Client questions reach the owner straight away, and the answer stays with the document in QuoteCloud.
QuoteCloud's Zapier app: Essentials and up
Field map for the owner chats
| Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams field | Direction | QuoteCloud: QuoteCloud field | Goes into | Example (sample data) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Both Zaps | |||||
| Search by (Find Team Member) | QuoteCloud to Microsoft Teams | Owner email | Search value | rafael.ortega@example.com |
Must match the owner's Microsoft 365 address. |
| Team Member(s) | QuoteCloud to Microsoft Teams | The member Find Team Member found | Chat field | Rafael Ortega |
|
| Message Text: document | QuoteCloud to Microsoft Teams | Reference and document title | Chat field | AP-2417 · Network & margin review |
|
| First view | |||||
| Message Text: who opened it | QuoteCloud to Microsoft Teams | Recipient name | Chat field | Carla Mendes |
|
| Message Text: total | QuoteCloud to Microsoft Teams | Total | Chat field | $119,350.00 |
|
| Comment | |||||
| Message Text: the comment | QuoteCloud to Microsoft Teams | Comment and author | Chat field | Tom Haddow: Can Phase 1 start on Mon 9 Nov? |
Check the comment fields in your test data. |
All values are sample data.
Variations on this recipe
One signer down
Recipient Signed Document fires for each signer, so the owner hears when the first of two has signed and who's still to sign.
Expired, unsigned
Document Expired sends the owner a chat to follow up, before the client forgets the proposal.
Paid
Document Paid or Document Part Paid tells the owner the first payment is in. QuoteCloud Payments is on Essentials and up.
Owner and their manager
Create Chat and Send Message takes several team members, so a group chat can include the owner's partner or team lead.
The team's channel instead
When the whole team should see it, post to a channel with Send Channel Message.
Build it in Make instead
Bring your own: Make's built-in OAuth connection to QuoteCloud and QuoteCloud's API or Zapier endpoints, beside Make's own Microsoft Teams modules. There's no ready-made QuoteCloud app on Make, so you design each step.
Call while they're reading
QuoteCloud's Zapier app is on the Essentials plan and up. Start a free 14-day trial and send yourself a chat from a test proposal.
Build the owner chat in four steps
Start with Recipient First Viewed Document
In Zapier, choose QuoteCloud's Recipient First Viewed Document and load a test proposal you've opened from an @example.com address.
Find the owner
Add Microsoft Teams' Find Team Member and search on the owner's email from the test data.
Send the chat
Add Create Chat and Send Message, map the member you found and write the message: who opened it, the document and the total.
Test and copy
Check the chat arrives, switch the Zap on, then copy it for Document Comment Event with a filter for new comments.
Questions about owner chats
Can QuoteCloud send a Teams chat to the person who owns the quote?
Yes, through Zapier. A Zap on Recipient First Viewed Document finds the owner with Microsoft Teams' Find Team Member and sends them a one-on-one chat with Create Chat and Send Message. Check that your test data carries the owner's email.
Who does the chat come from?
From the Microsoft account the Zap's Teams connection uses. Many organisations connect a dedicated account, such as Sales automations, so the chats don't come from one person's name and keep working when people move on.
Does the client know their view was reported?
No. The chat is between your own people in Microsoft Teams. QuoteCloud records views as part of its usual document tracking, and the Zap passes on only the fields you map.
What if the owner isn't found in Teams?
Find Team Member returns nothing and the Zap stops at that step, so no chat goes out. Check the owner's QuoteCloud email matches their Microsoft 365 address, or add a fallback path that posts to a team channel.
More on QuoteCloud and Microsoft Teams
Five use cases with the exact Zapier steps, then how to connect, the IT admin side, the limits and the cost.
- Post quote news to each team's channelSent, first viewed and signed quotes posted to the channel of the team or region that owns them.
- Approval requests for large deals and discountsQuotes over your value or discount limit post an approval request in Teams; approve there or in QuoteCloud.
- Book a kickoff meeting when the quote is signedWhen every signer has signed, Outlook books an online kickoff meeting and the project channel hears.
- File the signed PDF in OneDrive and share it in TeamsThe signed PDF uploaded to OneDrive in the same Zap, with a sharing link posted to the operations channel.
- Connect Microsoft Teams to QuoteCloud, step by stepCheck the plan, connect QuoteCloud and Teams in Zapier, build the first Zap and test it in a quiet channel.
- Microsoft Teams set-up for IT adminsWhich account posts, who can see each channel, the Zapier app in the Teams Store and what reaches Teams.
- What QuoteCloud with Microsoft Teams can and can't doWhat the Zaps post, where they stop, Zapier or Make, and what we haven't confirmed yet.
- What the Microsoft Teams connection costsEssentials and up for Zapier; the Teams Zaps create no documents, so they carry no per-document fee.
- FAQAnswers to the questions teams and IT admins ask before connecting QuoteCloud and Microsoft Teams.
The owner hears first.
Start a free 14-day trial and send each quote's owner a Teams chat when the client opens it or comments.