One library of materials, stocks and finishes
Substrates, stocks, finishes, labour and standard items with SKUs, prices, costs and margins, imported from a CSV and kept current for every estimator.
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- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
QuoteCloud's product library (Essentials and up) holds a sign or print shop's substrates, paper stocks, finishes, labour rates and standard items with SKUs, categories, prices, costs and margins hidden from the client, Active / Draft / Inactive status and CSV import with column mapping, so every quote uses this month's rates.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
The product library of a fictional sign and print business, Morrowgate Print & Signs, as its team sees it in QuoteCloud. A banner says sign-materials-november.csv was imported and 18 rates were updated. Filters for all, substrates, finishes, signs and labour sit above a table: 3 mm ACM at $78 per m² (cost $41), 5 mm acrylic at $112 per m², 10 mm PVC foam board at $54 per m², print and gloss laminate at $64 per m², a projecting lightbox 600 × 600 at $1,480 each, an installer at $90 per hour, all Active, and a brushed 3 mm aluminium composite at $96 per m² still in Draft. Cost and margin columns are marked as for the team only.
From the library to the quote, without the costs
Rafe adds the artwork, the lightbox and the installer from the library instead of typing them: each line arrives with its description, note, image and today's price. The fascia panel's description and unit price come from his estimating sheet, because its size changes job to job.
Lena sees clean lines with drawn product images and the option to add the lightbox. She never sees what 3 mm ACM costs Morrowgate, or the margin on it: costs and margins stay in the library and in the team's view.
- Lines added from the library with their image and note
- Product details editable in the price table for one job
- Quantity rules: any value or preset values
- Recipient Can Change Quantity, where it makes sense
Product library: Essentials plan and up
Product catalogue featuresYour sign package
Fascia sign
Installation
OptionsTick to add
- Subtotal
- $2,021.00
- Tax (10%)
- $202.10
- Total
- $2,223.10
- Deposit on signing (50%)
- $1,111.55
The library and the sheet, kept from one price list
Two places hold prices in a sign shop's quote. The library holds the things you add as lines: a lightbox, artwork, an installer's hour, a pallet delivery. The Rates tab of your estimating sheet holds the per-m² rates your formulas look up: substrates, finishes, fabrication.
When the supplier's November list arrives, update both from it: import the CSV into the library, and paste the new rates into the Rates tab of your quote template. Every new quote then starts from the same figures, whichever estimator opens it.
- Library: lines your estimators add
- Rates tab: what your VLOOKUPs read
- Both updated in the template, not in old quotes
Spreadsheet block and Product library: Essentials and up
Your estimating sheet
78
Job
| Row | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Value | Unit | Line price |
| 2 | Fascia width | 4,800 | mm | |
| 3 | Fascia height | 900 | mm | |
| 4 | Area | 4.32 | m² | |
| 5 | Waste allowance | 15% | ||
| 6 | Billed area | 5.0 | m² | |
| 7 | Material | 3 mm ACM | per m² | $78 |
| 8 | Finish | printed + laminated | per m² | $64 |
| 9 | Fabrication | 3 | h | |
| 10 | Fascia panel line | Fascia panel 4,800 × 900 mm, 3 mm ACM, printed + laminated | $995.00 | |
| 11 | Install hours | 4 | h | |
| 12 | Installers | 2 | people | |
| 13 | Installation line | Installation: 2 installers × 4 h | $720.00 | |
| 14 | Window vinyl line | Window frost vinyl band 3,600 × 500 mm | $126.00 | |
Check
| Row | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check | Value |
| 2 | Quote total (inc tax) | Price table$2,223.10 |
| 3 | Fascia area | 4.32 |
| 4 | Price per m² (check) | $515 |
| 5 | Minimum job | $450 |
| 6 | Minimum check | OK |
Rates
| Row | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rate | $ | Per |
| 2 | 3 mm ACM | 78 | m² |
| 3 | 5 mm acrylic | 112 | m² |
| 4 | 10 mm PVC foam board | 54 | m² |
| 5 | Finishes | ||
| 6 | printed + laminated | 64 | m² |
| 7 | cut vinyl lettering | 46 | m² |
| 8 | Fabrication h per m² | 0.5 | h |
| 9 | Fabrication | 95 | hour |
| 10 | Installer | 90 | hour |
| 11 | Frost vinyl | 60 | 3,600 × 500 mm |
Organised the way a sign and print shop buys
Categories and subcategories, SKUs and statuses for everything an estimator reaches for.
Substrates
ACM, acrylic, PVC foam board and the brushed composite you're still trialling as a Draft, priced per m².
Paper and board stocks
Coated, uncoated and kraft board by weight, for the lines you add outside your run sheet.
Finishes
Lamination, cut vinyl, varnish and folding as their own SKUs, or as rates in your sheet.
Standard products
Roller banners, lightboxes, pop-up walls and shipper cartons with a drawn or photographed image.
Labour and services
Installer hours, artwork and proofing, site surveys and removal of the old sign.
Freight and one-offs
Pallet deliveries, cutting formes and plates, with a $0 line when the tooling is on file.
Load your materials and send a quote from them
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Bring your supplier price list as a CSV and map its columns on import.
The supplier's list in, mapped column by column
November's price list arrives as a spreadsheet. Saoirse saves it as a CSV and imports it: Code becomes the SKU, Material the name, Group the category, Sell the price and Buy the cost. The import checks every row before anything changes.
Retire a material and set it to Inactive; trial a new one as a Draft until it's ready. Role permissions decide who can edit the library, so it stays the one place the shop's rates live.
- CSV import with column mapping and validation
- Costs imported, never shown to clients
- Active, Draft and Inactive status
Product library: Essentials plan and up
How the library is loaded in a rollout| Column in your file | Catalogue field | First row |
|---|---|---|
Code | SKU | SUB-ACM3 |
Material | Name | 3 mm ACM |
Group | Category | Substrates |
Unit | Unit | per m² |
Sell | Price | $78.00 |
Buy | Cost | $41.00 |
18 materials and rates updatedAll 18 rows passed validation
When your supplier prices change, export the library, update the file and import it again.
Set up the materials library in five steps
What an estimating lead does once, and again whenever a supplier list changes.
Export the list
Your materials, stocks, finishes and labour as a CSV with SKU, name, category, price and cost.
Map the columns
Import the CSV and map each column to a library field; the import checks the rows.
Set statuses
Active for what estimators may quote, Draft for trials, Inactive for retired lines.
Set permissions
Decide which roles can edit prices and costs, and who only adds lines.
Use it in templates
Add the standard lines to your templates; estimators add the rest from the library.
Materials library questions
What can a sign or print shop keep in the QuoteCloud product library?
Anything an estimator adds as a line: substrates, paper and board stocks, finishes, standard products such as roller banners and lightboxes, labour, artwork, freight and tooling. Each item can carry a SKU, category and subcategory, image, price and cost, quantity rules and a status. The product library is on the Essentials plan and up.
Can clients see my costs and margins?
No. Costs and margins are for your team: they show in the library and in your team's view, never in the client's document. The client sees the description, note, image, quantity and price of each line you include. Role permissions decide who on your team can edit the library.
How do I update prices when a supplier list changes?
Export the supplier's list or your own price file as a CSV and import it into the library, mapping each column to a field; the import validates the rows. Rates your estimating sheet looks up live in its Rates tab, so update those in your quote template too. QuoteCloud doesn't fetch supplier prices by itself.
Does the library track stock or materials on hand?
No. The product library is a price book for quoting, not stock control. It holds what you sell and what it costs you, with an Active, Draft or Inactive status. Stock levels, purchasing and production stay in your print MIS or job system.
Can I offer quantity discounts from the library?
Quantity-break rules aren't something QuoteCloud applies by itself. Offer run lengths as alternative lines in a single-choice group, each with its unit price from your own run sheet. Product discounts and product bundling are separate features on the Business plan.
Everything a sign and print business sends
Every page of the Signage & print microsite, from the estimating sheet to the signed-off proof.
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Estimating sheets that price the quoteYour m² and run-cost calculator as a Spreadsheet block: cells set each line's description and unit price.Explore
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Shopfront & signage packagesFascia, lightbox, window graphics and install as one quote, with each sign sized and priced from your sheet.Explore
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Print runs & quantity breaksQuote 2,500, 5,000 and 7,500 side by side as one choice, each unit price from your run sheet.Explore
- Packaging & carton quotesCartons, labels and printed boxes with the dieline proof, the forme and the run lengths in one document.
- Large-format, banners & displaysBanners, exhibition stands, hoardings and vehicle graphics, priced by the square metre and signed before production.
- Artwork proofs & sign-offThe proof inside the quote: the client checks it, comments, and approves it with the same signature.
- Deposits, sign-off & install bookingA deposit or full payment on signing through Stripe or PayPal, then the steps to install day in the quote.
- From emailed spec to priced draft, with MCPAn AI assistant connected through QuoteCloud's MCP service turns specs and enquiries into drafts your estimator checks.
- Reorders & repeat jobsLast year's job as this year's draft: same lines and artwork, current prices, forme and plates on file.
- Website, CRM, accounting & MIS integrationsWebsite quote forms, your print MIS or job system, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Xero and QuickBooks, connected the way each one really connects.
- Templates for sign & print quotesReal QuoteCloud quote, estimate and sign-off templates, ready for your sheet, price book and proofs.
- QuoteCloud implementation for sign & printYour estimating sheet rebuilt as a block, your materials loaded, templates converted and estimators trained.
- FAQAnswers to the questions sign makers, printers and packaging suppliers ask most.
Quote every job from this month's rates
Free for 14 days. No credit card required.
See pricingTemplates for sign and print quotesAll industries