Getting started with QuoteCloud

Rolling out QuoteCloud in a manufacturing business

A sample six-week plan: price book, templates, approvals, payments, the ERP connection and your estimators.

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A manufacturer rolls out QuoteCloud by importing the price book from a CSV export, converting the RFQ response and supply agreement templates (one conversion is free in the trial), setting approval limits and payments, connecting the ERP through Zapier or the API, and training estimators. Onboarding and professional services are available.

A sample six-week QuoteCloud rollout for a fictional job shop, Tessmore Engineering: a Gantt chart behind a commissioning checklist whose items tick off in turn. Price book imported, 412 products from the ERP export, in week 1; the RFQ response template converted, free in the trial, by week 2; the supply agreement template, approval limits over $15,000 or a 5% discount, and Stripe connected for tooling payments in week 3; Zapier to the ERP tested in week 5; first RFQs sent from QuoteCloud in week 6.

Six weeks around live RFQs

A sample plan for a fictional 40-person job shop with three estimators. Estimators keep quoting the old way until week six, so nothing waits on the rollout.

  1. Phase 1, Week 1

    Import the price book

    You bring
    A CSV export of your item master: machine rates, finishes, materials and one-off charges, with sell price and standard cost.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    CSV import with column mapping and validation; SKUs, categories, prices, costs and margins; Draft for anything unfinished.
    Done when
    Every rate an estimator uses is a catalogue product.

    Product catalogue: Essentials and up

    Price book & CSV import

  2. Phase 2, Weeks 1–2

    Convert your RFQ response

    You bring
    The quote you send today, plus your commercial terms and standard assumptions.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    One template converted free during the trial (Essentials, Business, Enterprise); more conversions as a paid add-on.
    Done when
    An estimator can start an RFQ response from the template.
    Manufacturing templates

  3. Phase 3, Weeks 2–3

    Build the supply agreement

    You bring
    Last year's supply or blanket agreement and its pricing clause.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    The Manufacturing Services Agreement template, repeating charges for releases, expiry dates and Expiring Soon.
    Done when
    Next year's agreements can go out from QuoteCloud.
    Supply agreements

  4. Phase 4, Week 3

    Set approvals, roles and payments

    You bring
    Your discount and value limits, who approves, and a Stripe or PayPal account.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    Approval workflow on discount or total value (Business), custom roles and teams, payment on signing as a fixed amount or percentage.
    Done when
    A big quote can't go out unapproved, and tooling is paid on signing.
    Approvals & margins

  5. Phase 5, Weeks 4–5

    Connect the ERP

    You bring
    Your ERP's Zapier connector or API details, and someone who knows the sales order screen.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    Zapier, Make and the API on Essentials (per-document fees for API and Zapier creation); integration set-up help from professional services.
    Done when
    A signed test quote raises a sales order in the ERP.
    ERP & integrations

  6. Phase 6, Week 6

    Train the estimators and go live

    You bring
    Your estimators and sales engineers, and two or three real RFQs.
    QuoteCloud gives you
    A 45-minute training session on paid plans; extra 60-minute sessions as a paid add-on.
    Done when
    New RFQs are answered from QuoteCloud.

Sample planning, not a promise: your timing depends on your templates, your price book and your ERP.

Help from the QuoteCloud team when you want it

Plenty of shops set themselves up. When yours needs more hands, these are the services to ask about.

  • Template conversion

    One of your existing templates converted free during the trial on Essentials, Business and Enterprise; more as a paid add-on, per template.

  • Training

    A 45-minute virtual training session on paid plans, and extra 60-minute sessions as a paid add-on for new estimators.

  • Onboarding services

    Help getting the first templates and the first quotes out the door.

    Onboarding services

  • Professional services

    Consultancy and integration set-up for Zapier, the API and other platforms: ask sales.

    Professional services

  • Premium support

    Premium 24×7 support with guaranteed SLAs as a paid add-on.

    Premium support

  • Enterprise

    Implementation support and a dedicated account manager, with single sign-on and IP range filtering.

Your quote, converted, before the first estimator logs in

Send us the quote you use today. In the trial, it comes back as a QuoteCloud template: your cover, your commercial terms as one block, your assumptions list, ready for the price table.

Then your estimators learn one template, not a blank editor, and the first live RFQ looks like every quote you've sent before, only accepted online.

  • One free conversion in the trial
  • Commercial terms locked on Business
  • Same structure for every estimator

Template conversion: Essentials, Business and Enterprise trials

Manufacturing templates
Tessmore EngineeringRFQ response · Quote TE-Q-2417 Sample · fictional business
A cutter machining a round aluminium part on a milling machine

RFQ response · Quote

QR-220 sensor housing, Rev B

Prepared for Quenda Robotics · Prepared Wed 21 Oct 2026 · Valid until Fri 20 Nov 2026

Our response to RFQ 0918 for the QR-220 housing to your drawing, Rev B. The 500-piece price is below, with the other quantity breaks, the one-off tooling and the lead time. Tick the first article report if you need it, add your PO number, and we start on signing.

Lead time, delivery and terms

  • Lead time5 weeksAfter your PO and first-article sign-off
  • DeliveryFCA our dock, NorthgateIncoterms 2020 · freight quoted on request
  • Quote validUntil Fri 20 Nov 2026Material prices held to this date
  • PaymentTooling on signingParts on 30-day account, invoiced on dispatch
  1. Quantities may vary by ±2% per batch; you pay for parts delivered.
  2. Tooling and fixtures stay with us for repeat orders and are kept for 2 years.
  3. Changes to the drawing after acceptance are quoted as a revised quote.

Start the trial, send us your quote

Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Your first template conversion is on us.

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The plan, and the decisions written down

Most rollouts stall on decisions, not software. Tessmore wrote theirs into the plan: breaks as a table, tooling always on its own line, approval over $15,000 or a 5% discount, the ERP hand-off through Zapier.

The plan itself is a QuoteCloud document with a Gantt chart, so the production manager and the general manager comment on it rather than on an email thread.

  • Gantt charts in documents (Business)
  • Comments and replies on the plan
  • Decisions that become the template rules

Gantt charts: Business

Tessmore EngineeringImplementation plan TE-IMPL Sample · fictional business

Six-week rollout

StageW1W2W3W4W5W6
Price book CSV import Week 1 to 1
RFQ response template Week 1 to 2
Supply agreement template Week 2 to 3
Approvals & Stripe set up Week 3 to 3
Zapier to the ERP, tested Week 4 to 5
Estimators trained Week 5 to 5
First RFQs from QuoteCloud Week 6

Decisions

  • Quantity breaks shown as a table in the RFQ template; alternative rows only when the buyer chooses the quantity.
  • Tooling and NRE always on their own one-off lines.
  • Approval when a quote's total value is over $15,000 or the discount is over 5%.
  • Accepted quotes raise a sales order in the ERP through Zapier.

What changes for each person in the shop

Once QuoteCloud is set up, role by role.

The jobBeforeAfter the rollout
Estimator Copies last month's quote and checks every rate by hand. Starts from the RFQ template and adds lines from the price book.
Sales engineer Answers drawing questions by email, away from the quote. Answers in the quote's comments, where the buyer's engineer asked.
General manager Signs off big quotes from a printout, when there's time. Approves or declines quotes over the limit in the document (Business).
Commercial manager Keeps agreement end dates in a spreadsheet. Checks Expiring Soon for supply agreements and quotes.
Accounts Chases tooling payments after the fixtures are made. Sees tooling paid on signing through Stripe or PayPal.
Production Hears about a new job when a PO turns up. Gets the sales order in the ERP from the signed quote.

What each plan gives a manufacturer

Essentials and Business start with a 14-day free trial, with no credit card. Prices are in USD per user per month, from the pricing page.

  • Essentials ($39): price tables, the product catalogue with CSV import, templates and the content library, payments on signing, custom roles and teams, expiry dates and Expiring Soon, Zapier, Make and the API, one free template conversion in the trial and a 45-minute training session.
  • Business ($59): everything in Essentials plus approval workflows, the Forms block (for a PO number field), Gantt charts, content locking, version history and native accounting and CRM integrations.
  • Enterprise (custom pricing): implementation support, a dedicated account manager, premium 24×7 support, single sign-on and IP range filtering.
  • Add-ons: extra template conversions, extra 60-minute training sessions and premium support. Ask us for prices.

Implementation questions

How long does it take to roll QuoteCloud out in a manufacturing business?

It depends on your templates, price book and ERP. Our sample plan for a three-estimator job shop runs six weeks: price book in week one, the RFQ template by week two, approvals and payments in week three, the ERP connection in weeks four and five, and training and go-live in week six. Estimators keep quoting as normal until then.

What do we need to bring to get started?

The quote you send today, a CSV export of your item master with sell prices and costs, your commercial terms, your discount and approval limits, a Stripe or PayPal account for tooling payments, and, if you want the ERP hand-off, your ERP's Zapier connector or API details.

Will QuoteCloud convert our existing quote template?

Yes. During the free trial, QuoteCloud converts one of your existing templates free on the Essentials, Business and Enterprise plans; most shops send their RFQ response or quote. More conversions, such as a supply agreement or an equipment proposal, are available as a paid add-on, billed per template.

Can QuoteCloud set up the connection to our ERP for us?

Consultancy and integration set-up for Zapier, the API and other platforms is available through professional services: ask sales for a quote. The connection depends on your ERP having a Zapier or Make connector or an API of its own; there is no native ERP or MRP integration.

What training is included?

Paid plans include a complimentary 45-minute virtual training session. Extra 60-minute sessions are available as a paid add-on, which suits shops that train estimators and sales engineers in groups or bring on new staff later. Enterprise adds implementation support and a dedicated account manager.

More questions from manufacturers

More for manufacturers

Every page of the QuoteCloud manufacturing microsite.

Your first RFQ from QuoteCloud, in weeks

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