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Discount approvals that protect your HVAC margins

Set the rules once: discounts over your limit, big commercial proposals or certain templates wait In Review until a director approves them.

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On the Business plan, QuoteCloud's approval workflow holds HVAC quotes In Review when they meet your rules, such as a discount over 8% or a total over $100,000, until the named approvers approve them. Costs and margins in the price book stay hidden from customers, and locked warranty and terms blocks can't be edited in a quote.

A sample ducted system quote from a fictional business, Halden Climate Co., for Claire and Tom Hadley (HC-5108): the cover, and in front a checklist of its contents ticking off one by one: zones and sizing notes from the survey, three systems priced from the price book, three installation extras, a 10% winter install discount flagged as over 8%, the locked scope, warranty and exclusions block, and two signers. Last comes the approval status: In Review because the discount is greater than 8%, waiting for the director, Will Ashby.

What the approver sees before it's sent

Two rules most HVAC businesses start with: a discount limit on residential installs and a value limit on commercial work. Either way, the approver opens the whole document, then approves or declines it.

Halden Climate Co.System quote HC-5108 Sample · fictional business

Document workflow

In Review

Triggered when Discount greater than 8%

  • Will AshbyDirectorWaiting

Must be approved before it can be sent.

  1. Winter install discount of 10% added by Rosa Calder
  2. Approval request sent to Will Ashby

Approval workflow · Business plan

Your quote

ItemQtyRateAmount
Your system
Ducted 14 kWThe system you choose above
1 ea $12,380 $12,380.00
Installation$7,769
Installation, two licensed techniciansTwo days on site
28 hr $98 $2,744.00
Ductwork, outlets & return airInsulated flexible duct, 9 outlets, 2 return-air grilles
1 lot $3,120 $3,120.00
Refrigerant pipework & drainUp to 15 m, insulated, with condensate drain
1 lot $860 $860.00
Dedicated circuit & isolatorBy our licensed electrician
1 ea $980 $980.00
Refrigerant handling & recoveryLicensed recovery from the old system
1 ea $65 $65.00
Installation extras Tick to add
 3 m $85 $255.00
1 ea $480 $480.00
1 ea $360 $360.00
1 ea $290 $290.00
1 yr $320 $320.00
Subtotal
$21,244.00
Tax (10%)
$2,124.40
Total
$23,368.40
Deposit to book your install (20%)
$4,673.68
A two-storey white house with verandas and a timber-clad studio beside a swimming pool

A 10% winter discount waits for the director

Rosa adds a 10% winter install discount to the Hadleys' ducted quote. Because the rule says anything over 8% needs the director, the quote goes In Review and the approval request goes to Will.

Will sees the system chosen, the extras and the totals beside the request, and approves or declines it. Until he approves, the quote can't be sent.

  • Trigger: Discount Percentage greater than 8
  • Approver: the director
  • Declined quotes go back to the designer to update

Approval workflow: Business plan

Ducted & multi-zone system quotes
Halden Climate Co.Commercial proposal HC-C-0731 Sample · fictional business

Document workflow

In Review

Triggered when Total value greater than $100,000

  • Ingrid SolbergCommercial projects managerApproved
  • Will AshbyDirectorWaiting

Must be approved by all approvers before it can be sent.

  1. Approval request sent by Ingrid Solberg
  2. Approved by Ingrid Solberg

Approval workflow · Business plan

Proposal pricing

ItemQtyRateAmount
Equipment$145,800
Packaged unit, 65 kW, high efficiencyReplaces PAC-1, PAC-2 and PAC-3
3 ea $48,600 $145,800.00
Installation$85,550
Crane lifts & road closuresOne Saturday per unit
3 lift $6,800 $20,400.00
Mechanical installationCurbs, duct connections, condensate
1 lot $38,500 $38,500.00
Electrical, isolators & controlsReconnect to the existing controls
1 lot $14,900 $14,900.00
Decommission & refrigerant recoveryOld units removed, refrigerant recovered
3 ea $1,850 $5,550.00
Commissioning & air balancingWith a commissioning report
1 lot $6,200 $6,200.00
Options Tick to add
 1 lot $9,800 $9,800.00
3 ea $2,400 $7,200.00
1 yr $8,400 $8,400.00
Subtotal
$241,150.00
Tax (10%)
$24,115.00
Total
$265,265.00
Deposit on acceptance (10%)
$26,526.50
A row of white outdoor units on steel frames on a commercial rooftop

Over $100,000, two people approve

Ingrid's rooftop plant replacement for Bellbird Property Group comes to $265,265.00 with tax. The value rule needs both the commercial projects manager and the director, and the proposal stays In Review until every named approver has approved it.

Ingrid has approved; Will is next. The log on the document shows who asked and who approved.

  • Trigger: Total Value greater than 100,000
  • Must be approved by all the approvers selected
  • Any rejection rejects the proposal

Approval workflow: Business plan

Commercial HVAC proposals

Approval rules that match how you sell

A rule is a trigger and the people who approve. Combine conditions with AND or OR, or use a Switch to send different quotes to different approvers. The thresholds below are Halden's examples.

  • Discount percentage

    Seasonal specials and price matches over 8% go to the director. Everyday quotes under the limit are sent as normal, without waiting.

  • Total value

    Commercial plant replacements and fit-outs over $100,000 need the commercial projects manager and the director. A Switch can add a third approver above a higher value.

  • Created from template

    Every proposal from the commercial contract template or a new tender template is reviewed before it goes out, whatever its value.

  • Creator team or role

    Quotes written by a new sales designer, or by the service team quoting an install, go to a senior designer first.

  • Customer company or account

    Property groups and building managers with negotiated rates: any proposal to that customer is checked against the agreed pricing.

  • Product folder

    Quotes using items from a folder of your price book, such as commercial plant or specialist equipment, wait for the person who prices it.

What a designer can change, and what stays locked

The same quote, read top to bottom. The customer chooses the system, the designer prices the extras and any discount, and the warranty wording comes from a locked block.

  1. Customer chooses

    Three systems, one choice

    Good, better and best systems as a single-choice group. The customer picks one, and the system line, total and deposit follow. Each system's price comes from the price book.

    Price tables: Essentials and up

    Halden Climate Co.System quote HC-5108 Sample · fictional business

    Choose your system

  2. Designer edits

    Extras, quantities and the discount

    The designer sets the extra pipe run from the survey and the optional extras. A discount is a column in the price table, with a default and per-line values; a discount over your limit is what triggers the approval.

    Price tables: Essentials and up

    Your quote

    ItemQtyRateAmount
    Your system
    Ducted 14 kWThe system you choose above
    		1 ea $12,380 $12,380.00
    Installation$7,769
    Installation, two licensed techniciansTwo days on site
    		28 hr $98 $2,744.00
    Ductwork, outlets & return airInsulated flexible duct, 9 outlets, 2 return-air grilles
    		1 lot $3,120 $3,120.00
    Refrigerant pipework & drainUp to 15 m, insulated, with condensate drain
    		1 lot $860 $860.00
    Dedicated circuit & isolatorBy our licensed electrician
    		1 ea $980 $980.00
    Refrigerant handling & recoveryLicensed recovery from the old system
    		1 ea $65 $65.00
    Installation extras Tick to add
    		 3 m $85 $255.00
    		1 ea $480 $480.00
    		1 ea $360 $360.00
    		1 ea $290 $290.00
    		1 yr $320 $320.00
    Subtotal
    $21,244.00
    Tax (10%)
    $2,124.40
    Total
    $23,368.40
    Deposit to book your install (20%)
    $4,673.68
  3. Locked block

    Scope, warranty and exclusions, locked

    The workmanship warranty and exclusions are a block from your content library, locked so it can't be edited in the quote. Only people with permission unlock it in the library. The customer's questions still go in comments.

    Content library: Essentials · content locking: Business

    Content locking

    Scope, warranty & exclusions

    • Two days on site; power off for about two hours on day two.
    • Includes commissioning, a handover of the controller and a commissioning report.
    • Excludes ceiling repairs beyond the new outlets and any switchboard upgrade.
    • 5-year workmanship warranty; equipment warranty as set out by the manufacturer.

    Claire HadleyCan the main bedroom run on its own at night?

    Rosa, HaldenYes. Zone 2 has its own schedule on the controller and the app.

  4. Both owners sign

    Signed only after it's approved

    Once approved and sent, Claire and Tom each sign online and the 20% deposit is paid on signing. Nothing the approver didn't see reaches the customer.

    eSignatures: every plan · payments: Essentials and up

    Deposits & payment on signing

    Accept, sign and pay the deposit

    2 of 2 signed

    • Claire HadleyHomeowner Signed18 Oct, 7:42 pm
    • Tom HadleyHomeowner Signed18 Oct, 7:55 pm

    Deposit to book your install (20%)

    $4,673.68

    Paid via StripePay with card or PayPal

    Certificate of authenticity and audit trail attached

Try it with your own approval rules

Free for 14 days on Business, no credit card required. Set a discount rule, write a test quote over the limit and approve it yourself.

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Margins your customers never see

Every system, labour rate and extra in the price book carries its cost beside its price, so the team sees the margin on each line. Customers only ever see the price.

Role permissions decide who can change the price book, and product categories can be assigned to teams, so the service team quotes from service items and the designers from systems and extras. A superseded system is marked Inactive rather than deleted.

  • Cost and margin columns for your team only
  • Role permissions for the catalogue
  • Price list updates by CSV import, with column mapping and validation

Product catalogue and custom roles: Essentials and up

Equipment price book & installation extras
ProductsHalden Climate Co. Sample data
  • All
  • Systems
  • Labour
  • Extras
  • Service

CSV import price-book-october.csv · 64 items updated, 3 marked inactive

ProductPriceUnitCostMarginStatus
Ducted inverter system, 14 kWDUC-140 · Systems $12,380 each $8,940 28% Active
Ducted inverter system, 12.5 kWDUC-125 · Systems $10,450 each $7,590 27% Active
High-wall split system, 2.5 kWSPL-25 · Systems $1,390 each $960 31% Active
Licensed technicianLAB-TECH · Labour $98 per hour $62 37% Active
Extra pipe runEXT-PIPE · Extras $85 per metre $38 55% Active
Condensate pumpEXT-PUMP · Extras $290 each $165 43% Active
Quarterly service, per splitSVC-SPL-Q · Service $45 per visit $24 47% Draft
Ducted system, 14 kW (superseded)DUC-140-OLD · Systems $11,900 each $8,700 27% Inactive

Cost and margin are for your team only: they never appear in the client's document

What changes for each person in the business

The value of approval rules, job by job, for the same fictional business.

The jobWithout rulesWith approval rules
Sales designer Rings the director from the customer's driveway to ask whether 10% off is all right. Adds the discount; over the limit the quote waits In Review and the request goes to the director.
Director Finds out about a big discount when the job is invoiced. Approves or declines from Workflow Review after reading the whole quote, and only the quotes that meet a rule reach him.
Commercial projects manager Emails a PDF of the tender to the director and waits for a reply. Over $100,000 the proposal waits for both of them, and the log shows who has approved.
Service manager Sees technicians reword the warranty or the repair terms on site. Technicians insert the locked terms block; they price the repair, not the wording (locking: Business).
Office manager Keeps a spreadsheet of who agreed to which discount. Each document's workflow log records the approval request and every decision.

Set up your first discount rule

Five steps in Settings › Workflow, on the Business plan.

  1. Start a workflow

    Create a new workflow, blank or from a template such as Approval by Discount Level or Approval by Value Threshold.

  2. Set the trigger

    Choose Discount Percentage, Greater Than, 8. Add conditions with AND or OR, such as the residential sales team.

  3. Choose the approvers

    Pick approvers from a role, such as Director, and set whether all of them must approve.

  4. Branch for bigger jobs

    Add a Switch: over $100,000 total value, the commercial projects manager approves as well.

  5. Test, save, activate

    Test the workflow, save it and set it to Active. Quotes that meet the rule now wait In Review.

Approval questions from HVAC businesses

Can HVAC quotes with big discounts need approval before they're sent?

Yes, on the Business plan. Set an approval workflow with a Discount Percentage trigger, such as greater than 8%, and choose the approvers. A quote that meets the rule goes In Review and can't be sent until it's approved. Quotes under the limit are sent as normal.

What can trigger an approval in QuoteCloud?

Triggers include discount percentage, total value, the template a document was created from, the creator's team, role or email, a product folder, and the customer's company or account. Operators are greater than, less than, equals and does not equal, and conditions combine with AND or OR. A Switch sends different documents to different approvers.

Can a large commercial proposal need two approvers?

Yes. Name several approvers, for example the commercial projects manager and the director, and require all of them to approve. Any rejection rejects the document, which goes back to its author to update. The document's workflow log shows the request and each decision. Approval workflows are on the Business plan.

What does the approver see?

The approver opens the whole quote or proposal with its Document Workflow panel: the status In Review, the approvers, and Decline and Approve buttons. Documents waiting for a decision appear under Workflow Review on their dashboard. Once approved, the author opens the document and sends it.

Can customers see my costs and margins?

No. Each product in the catalogue can carry a cost beside its price, and the cost and margin are for your team only; customers see the price. Role permissions control who can change the catalogue. The product catalogue is on Essentials and up.

Can we stop staff editing warranty wording and terms?

Yes, on the Business plan. Save your warranty, exclusions and terms as blocks in the content library and lock them. Locked blocks can be added to a quote but not edited in it, and only people with permission unlock them in the library. The content library itself is on Essentials and up.

Can an approval be based on margin?

Margin isn't one of the approval triggers. Rules can use discount percentage, total value, template, team, role, product folder or customer. Many HVAC businesses use a discount limit and a value limit together, and keep costs and margins visible to the team in the price book.

More questions from HVAC businesses

Everything an HVAC business sends

Sales, service and the set-up that keeps every document consistent.

Discounts with a director's yes

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