The Quotes list, a quote's own extras, and a plan's pricing tiers
Search and filter the Quotes list, know when to void a quote instead of deleting it, set a quote's expiration date and its saved terms, see what a client actually reads in Quote Notes and on the printed PDF including its own Optional additions page, then give a service plan a second price with a pricing tier.
What you will have
- Filter the Quotes list by status and search it by quote number, title, contact, or client.
- Know when Delete is offered on a quote and when Void takes its place.
- Set a quote's Expires field and understand the separate setting that actually cuts off its accept link.
- Insert saved Terms & Conditions text, and save new terms for reuse on future quotes.
- Know that Quote Notes and Terms both reach the client, and where each one prints.
- Read a quote PDF's Required Items totals and its own Optional additions page.
- Add a pricing tier to a plan line and see where a client gets assigned to it.
- Know the difference between a pricing tier and a billing exemption, and where to exclude a seat or a device from a client's count.
Why it works this way
The Expires field is what the client sees printed on the quote and on its accept page, but it does not control when the accept link itself stops working. That is a single instance-wide Quote Link Expiration setting, seven days by default, the same for every quote regardless of what date is typed into Expires.
Delete only exists before a quote is decided, on a Draft, Sent, or Rejected quote. Once a client accepts one or it converts to an invoice, Delete disappears for good and Void becomes the only way to withdraw it, keeping the record and, on a converted quote, leaving the invoice it became untouched.
Steps
Search or filter the Quotes list.
The Status list narrows the table to Draft, Sent, Accepted, Rejected, Converted, or Voided; All statuses shows every one. The search box matches the quote number, its title, the contact name, or the client name. Both settings live in the page's own web address, so a filtered view can be bookmarked.
Search or filter the Quotes list. Open a Sent quote's own actions menu.
Before a quote is decided, Delete sits in the same menu as Void. Delete wipes the quote outright, and is offered only while nothing has come of it yet, on a Draft, Sent, or Rejected quote.
Warning: Delete cannot be undone, and it disappears from the menu the moment a client accepts the quote or it converts to an invoice.Open a Sent quote's own actions menu. Open a Converted quote's own actions menu.
Once a quote is Accepted, Converted, or Voided, Delete is gone for good. Void is the only way left to withdraw it, and voiding a converted quote never touches the invoice it became.
Open a Converted quote's own actions menu. Read the Expires field on the quote's own details.
This is the date shown to the client and printed on the PDF as the valid-until date. Leaving it blank shows no expiration date at all.
Read the Expires field on the quote's own details. Set the same expiration date from the Send dialog.
Send's own Expiration date field writes to the same value as step 4. The client sees this date, but it does not control the accept link itself: the link's own cutoff is one Quote Link Expiration setting under Settings, Billing and Pricing, Invoice Settings, seven days by default, the same for every quote sent from this instance.
Set the same expiration date from the Send dialog. Insert or save reusable Terms and Conditions.
Insert saved terms drops a saved block of text into this quote; if it already has terms, the saved text is added below them. Save for reuse adds the terms currently on screen to the shared library for every future quote. Editing or deleting a saved entry later never changes a quote that already used it.
Insert or save reusable Terms and Conditions. Read the Quote Notes card.
Quote Notes reaches the client the same as Terms and Conditions does: both show on the public accept page and both print on the PDF. A quote has no private, team-only note field, so anything written here is client-facing.
Read the Quote Notes card. Open the quote's PDF and find its Required Items totals.
When a quote also carries optional items, the ordinary Subtotal and Total labels change to Required Items Subtotal and Required Items Total, so the committed price is never confused with the optional add-ons priced below it.
Open the quote's PDF and find its Required Items totals. Turn to the PDF's own Optional additions page.
Optional items never share a page with the required lines. They start fresh on the following page under an Optional additions heading, with their own subtotal and total and their own signature block, and the Quote Notes card prints last on that same page, just above the footer.
Turn to the PDF's own Optional additions page. See how Service Plans are grouped by type.
The Service Plans list groups every plan under its type: Core, Core - Inactive, License, and Add-On ship with the instance, and this one also carries a custom Managed SaaS type. A client can carry only one active plan of the rollup target type, Core by default.
See how Service Plans are grouped by type. Add a pricing tier to a plan line.
Pricing Tiers gives one line a second named rate. This line's own Base rate reads $10.00 a unit; the new VIP seat tier is its own absolute rate of $15.00 a unit, not a difference added to the base.
Add a pricing tier to a plan line. Assign an entity to that tier from the client's own Exemptions page.
The Tier assignments card is where a specific user or device gets moved onto a tier's rate instead of the base rate. This client's assigned plan carries no pricing tiers yet, so the card reads empty; anything never assigned here keeps billing at the base rate.
Assign an entity to that tier from the client's own Exemptions page. Read the same Exemptions page's two seat-and-device exclusion cards.
Billing counts come from a client's synced user and device data, and an exemption takes something out of that count rather than moving it to a different rate - that's the difference from a pricing tier (step 11): a tier is for something that still counts, just at another price; an exemption is for something that shouldn't count at all, like an internal mailbox, a spare device, or a seat you keep for yourself. License seat exemptions excludes seats you own but shouldn't bill the client for - the reason picker covers the MSP admin's own licensed seat, an internal account, or a service account - excluded seats subtract from that SKU's automated billing count. Device billing exemptions marks spares, lab machines, or internal endpoints so they don't count toward automated billing either. This client has no Microsoft license SKUs or devices synced yet, so both lists read empty - the same mark-exempt control (and the same reason picker) also sits on the Users tab for a client with synced users, and an exemption set here belongs to this one client and applies across every plan they're on.
Read the same Exemptions page's two seat-and-device exclusion cards.
If it did not work
- If Delete is missing from a quote's actions menu, the quote has already been accepted or converted - void it instead to withdraw the offer while keeping the record.
- If the Optional additions page does not appear on a quote's PDF, the quote has no line marked optional - add one with Add optional item first, then reopen the PDF.
- If a new tier never shows up on a client's Tier assignments card, confirm the client is actually subscribed to the plan the tier was added to - the card only lists tiers on the client's own assigned plan.
- If the License seat exemptions or Device billing exemptions card reads empty with no way to mark anything exempt, that client has no Microsoft license SKUs or no devices synced yet - there's nothing to exclude until synced data exists to exclude it from.
Questions this page answers
How do I search or filter the Quotes list?
The search box matches the quote number, its title, the contact name or the client name. The Status list narrows to Draft, Sent, Accepted, Rejected, Converted or Voided. All statuses shows every one of them. Both settings live in the web address, so you can bookmark a filtered view. Export CSV gives you whatever is on screen.
Should I void a quote or delete it?
Delete wipes the quote. It is offered only while nothing came of it, so on a Draft, a Sent or a Rejected quote. Once a client accepts one, or it becomes an invoice, Delete is gone. Use Void in the quote's actions menu instead. Void withdraws the offer and keeps the record. Its accept links stop working, its QuickBooks copy is removed, and it cannot be edited or sent again. It still shows under the Voided filter. Void is offered on a Sent, Accepted or Converted quote. Voiding a converted quote never touches the invoice it became. Handle that invoice on its own.
How does a quote's expiration date work?
The Expires field on a quote is what the client sees. You can also set it in the Send dialog. It prints on the PDF and shows on the accept page as Valid until that date. Leave it blank and no date is shown. It does not control the link. The accept link always stops working a set number of days after you send it. That number lives at Settings > Billing & Pricing > Invoice Settings, in the quote link expiration setting. It starts at 7 days. An expired quote is not declined and not hidden. The client can still read it. They see a banner saying the quote has expired, and the buttons are switched off. The quote itself stays in Sent status. To offer it again, extend the date and send it again.
What is the saved terms library on a quote?
The Terms & Conditions card has two links. Insert saved terms drops a saved block of terms into this quote. Save for reuse adds the text you have now to the library. The library is shared across your whole instance. Inserting makes a copy. If the quote already has terms, the saved text is added below them. Editing or deleting saved terms later never changes a quote that already used them. There is no default set, so a new quote starts with no terms.
Do clients see the Notes on a quote?
Yes. The Quote Notes card and the Terms & Conditions card both reach the client. Both show on the accept page and both print on the PDF. On the accept page the notes come first. On the PDF the terms print under the totals and the notes print last. Use notes for anything you want the client to read with the pricing. A quote has no private note field, so do not put team-only remarks here.
How is the quote PDF laid out?
Required lines print first. Under them comes a subtotal, then sales tax, then a total. When the quote also has optional items, those two labels read Required Items Subtotal and Required Items Total instead. Terms print under the totals, above the signature line. Optional items then start on a new page. That page is headed Optional additions. It ends with its own subtotal, tax and total. It lists what is on offer, not what the client picked. That only exists once they accept. Notes print last, just above the footer.
How do service plans work?
A service plan is a pricing template made of lines. When an accounting system is connected, each line points at a product there. When none is connected, a name and a price are enough. Put a plan on a client and their bill is worked out from that plan's lines. A line can count synced users or devices, a manual number, tagged things, Microsoft licences, or a flat price band by client size. Plans are grouped into types. You get Core, License and Add-On out of the box, and you can add your own. A client can only have one plan of the rollup target type, which is Core to start with.
How do pricing tiers work?
A tier is a second rate on a plan line. Open the plan, find the line, and add a tier under Pricing Tiers. Give it a name and a rate. Then open the client's Exemptions page and use the Tier assignments card. Assign a user or a device to that tier. Anything you do not assign bills at the base rate.
How do billing exemptions work?
Your billing counts come from synced user and device data. An exemption takes something out of that count. Open the client's Exemptions page and mark the user or device exempt. You can do the same from the Users tab. Use it for admin, internal and service accounts. That page can also exclude seats on a Microsoft licence, such as your own. An exemption belongs to one client and applies to every plan.
When do I exempt something instead of putting it in a tier?
Use a tier when the thing still counts, but at a different rate. Use an exemption when it should not count at all. That covers an internal mailbox, a spare device, or a seat you keep for yourself. Exempt things and excluded seats come out of the base count. Tiered things stay in it.
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