Fazley Rabbi"The customer asked for a quotation on Sunday. By the time we sent it on Wednesday, they had already ordered from someone else." If you sell to other businesses, institutions or contractors, this is one of the most common ways sales slip away. The slow part is rarely the price itself. It is finding the latest rates, calculating discounts and delivery, typing it all into a Word file, and waiting for the one person who knows how to do it.
Why quotations get stuck
Usually for several reasons at once:
- Prices live in different places: an old Excel file, a supplier's WhatsApp message, the owner's memory.
- Discount and delivery rules are not written down, so only the owner can decide.
- Each quotation is formatted from scratch, so it looks different every time and mistakes slip in.
- Nobody tracks which quotes were sent and which got a reply.
The system: one price list, one template, one log
- A single price list. Every item you quote, with code, description, unit, current price and the date it was last updated. One person owns it and updates it when supplier rates change.
- Written pricing rules. Quantity discounts, delivery charges by area or district, installation or customisation charges, and who may approve anything outside the rules. Taxes and VAT are handled the way your accountant advises.
- A branded template. Logo, quotation number, date, customer details, item table, totals, validity period, payment terms, delivery time and your standard conditions.
- A simple quote form. A staff member picks the customer, selects items and quantities, and the system pulls prices, applies the rules and produces a PDF in your template.
- Approval where it matters. Standard quotes within the rules can go straight out. Special discounts, custom items or large orders go to the owner for a quick yes or no, ideally on their phone.
- Send and log. The quote goes by email or WhatsApp and is saved in a quote log with its status: sent, accepted, lost or expired.
- Follow up. If there is no reply after a few days, the salesperson gets a reminder to call.
Where AI helps
Buyers rarely send a neat list. They send a WhatsApp voice note, a photo of a handwritten list or a long email. AI can read these and match the requested items to your price list, flagging anything it cannot match. It can also draft a short cover message in Bangla or English. A person always checks the items, quantities, prices and any delivery promise before the quote is sent, because a wrong price in writing is hard to take back.
Trade-offs and mistakes to watch
- An outdated price list is worse than none. If raw material or import costs change often, show the last-updated date and keep the validity period on quotes short.
- Do not over-automate custom work. For jobs that need a site visit or a design, automate the parts that repeat (standard items, terms, formatting) and leave room for judgement.
- Too many options confuse buyers. Two or three clear options usually work better than a long menu.
- Quotes without expiry dates can come back months later at prices you can no longer honour.
What you can build in-house
A tidy Google Sheet price list plus a well-designed document template already cuts quoting time a lot, and your team can maintain it. Expert help pays off when you want the form, calculations, PDF generation, numbering, approvals, log and reminders connected, so staff only choose items and click send. That is the kind of AI and workflow automation I build. Quotes that go unanswered also need a steady follow-up sequence.
Start here
Pull out the last twenty quotations you sent. Find the items that appear again and again, put them in one sheet with current prices, write down your discount and delivery rules, and make one clean template. Use it for every quote this month. When it feels routine, it is ready to automate. If you want help with that, get in touch.