Generating a Quote
- Create a new quote
By default, only one quote can be created per event. If you want to create more than one quote or order, you will need the Multiple Quotes and OrdersM module (Create multiple quotes).
- Double-click
Quote in the side navigation to open a new quote.
- The event times and number of guests for the quote are copied from the event information. Click on
Enable custom times or Enable custom number of guests in front of the input fields to change these details.
- Click on
Enable custom set-up times to book inventory items for shorter/longer periods than specified in the item itself.
- Enter payment information such as the Price group, Gross/Net setting or Cost centres that for this quote.
- The enter a surcharge or discount rate applicable to the entire segment, click on
Add >
Change SUR/DIS rate in the toolbar above the list of booked items. The rate can also be added or changed at a later date and applied to all or only selected items.
- Go to the
General tab of this segment to enter any details for this segment that are not in line with the general event settings.
- Click on
Different account or Different delivery address to select different accounts from the ones defined in the event settings.
- Click on
Custom room settings to specify guest numbers or times for this quote that differ from the main event settings.
- The times must be within the event times, but may be shorter.
- The number of guests may be smaller, but not larger than in the event.
- Rooms that are added in the segment will subsequently also show on the event room listt.
- Click on
- Double-click
- Make changes to the quote
- Decide how to calculate cost per item in the Count column
- To automatically apply the maximum number of guests for the event, leave the Count column empty. (E.g. for the number of meals)
If the number of guest changes, it only needs to be edited once in the Max. number of guests field in the event to then be applied to all booked items (quote, order, invoice). - Select Count "0" if the item is to be listed in the quote/contract with a price per unit, but invoiced based on consumption, which is as yet unknown. (E.g. beverages)
- Select Count "1" or any other number if the item is to be sold by unit. (E.g. technical equipment)
- To automatically apply the maximum number of guests for the event, leave the Count column empty. (E.g. for the number of meals)
Add to insert items or select an item and click on
Remove to take it off the list again.
- Change item names or prices at a later date. Changed item prices are highlighted:
- Red for negative deviation from the actual item price (discount)
- Green for positive deviation from the actual item price (surcharge)
- You can also enter times for items that are calculated on an hourly basis at a later stage.
Note: To enter start and end times, go to the toolbar and select a view that supports entering Time references.
- Decide how to calculate cost per item in the Count column
- Use segment templatesM
Create templates for events and segments used frequently.
- Go to the
Quotes folder in the side navigation.
- Click on
Add and select
New from template.
- Left-click the
Event template you want and a single
Segment. Multiple selection is not possible here.
- To copy several or all segments in one event template, click on
Select multiple. In the list, hold down the Ctrl key for multi-select, left-click and
Confirm to copy the items you want.
- The selected segment including any booked items will be inserted in the event and can be edited there.
Note: Verify if the booked items- are active
- have a current price
- have seasonal restrictions
- have a suitable item count.
- Go to the
- Copy booked items and texts to another segment
Items, subtotals and remarks can be copied to the clipboard and pasted into a different segment, even in a different event.
- Select the items you want by holding down the CTRL key and left-clicking.
- Right-click
Clipboard >
Copy.
- By selecting
Clipboard >
Cut, you will remove the selected items from the original segment completely.
- Open your traget segment, which may or may not belong to the same event.
- The segment must contain at least one line in order to be able to place the cursor in the item list. Left-click that line, then right-click and select
Clipboard >
Paste .
Alternatively, click on the dropdown triangle next toAdd and select
Clipboard >
Insert.
- The items are inserted in the list below the selected line. If you have not left-clicked the cursor in a specific line, the copied items are added at the bottom of the list.
- After pasting, the data in the clipboard is deleted immediately. Copy the items again to paste them once more.
- Create multiple quotesM
To be able to calculate, quote and invoice parts of an event in separate segments, you need the Multiple Quotes and OrdersM module.
- Left-click the
Quotes folder in the side navigation.
- Click on
Add in the toolbar of the list and select New quote segment, then enter a unique name.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Left-click the
- Create variants of an quoteM
Create multiple variants of your quotesM. Die Hauptvariante The "Favoured" variant is used for the cost calculation, all other variants are listed in the customer quote information. Sales forecasts only include the favoured variant. Ask your Account manager to adapt you templates if you would like to use segment variants.
- Create all the quote segments including booked items theat you want.
- The click on
Add >
New quote variant to create a new, empty quotes folder.
- The folder structure in the side navigation changes to
Variant 1 (Favoured variant marked by the yellow star) and
Variant 2. Each variant has its own list of segments.
- To mark another variant as the favoured variant, right-click the
Variant in the side navigation bar and select
Favoured quote variant from the context menu.
- To copy a variant completely, right-click and select
Copy quote variant from the context menu. This option is only available if at least two variants exist.
- To copy an individual segment from one variant to another, drag the segment to the target variant in the side navigation.
- To copy all segments of one variant to another, drag the folder of the variant to the target variant in the side navigation.
- To reject a variant, untick the Active box next to the name of the variant in the input window. Non-active variants are stored in a
Deactivated quote variants folder. Open a varaint an tick the Active box to reactivate the variant if needed.
- Insert existing items
All chargeable services such as food, drinks, equipment, staff etc. are booked into a segment with a count and individual prices. Items can be inserted in various ways.
Insert multiple items:
- To select several items at the same time and search for keywords in other fields, click on the dropdown triangle next to next to
Add and select
Items.
- Enter Search terms and/or an Item group and press Enter or click Search.
- For further search options, click on
Advanced search in the bottom left-hand corner of the dialogue.
- Select one item by left-clicking (hold down the Ctrl key for multi-select) in your list of results and click on
Confirm to insert the items you want.
Note: If you know the type but not the exact name of an item, search by item group. This allows you to narrow don your search to main or sub-groups, e.g. soups, salads, buffet hot starters, etc. Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
To add a specific item, use the search field Name in the toolbar directly above the input window.
- Enter the item name (even just the first few letters) or the PLU number as search term and press Enter.
- If no matching item is found, enter a new search term.
- If exactly one matching item is found, it is automatically added to the quote.
- If several matching items are found, select one from the results list by left-clicking.
Note: For multi-selection, click onShow all items.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
Read more on {item id="616"}{link}Search for items{/link}{/item}
- To select several items at the same time and search for keywords in other fields, click on the dropdown triangle next to next to
- Make changes to items in the quote
In the list, you can make changes to items which will only apply to this quote:
- Double-click the item in the segment and change the name.
- Press Enter to confirm.
- To use the item as a one-off item for this segment only, select One-off item.
- The master item will not be affected.
Change other texts associated with this item:
- Right-click the item and select
Convert to one-off item, then select the text you want to change (invoice text, quote text or menu text).
- Make the text changes and confirm by clicking OK.
- These changes automatically convert the item into a one-off item, while the master item is not affected.
To make permanent changes to an item:
- Select the item and click on
Open in the horizontal toolbar. The master item will open.
- Changes made in the item will be copied into the quote and also apply for all new bookings.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Add new items on-the-fly
New items can be added spontaneously to the quote while working on it.
- Click on the drop-down triangle next to
Add and select
Item groups.
- Double-click to select an item group or subgroup.
Note: Item groups that are used for structuring only cannot be inserted. - A new line with an empty name field will appear in the quote. Enter a Name for the new item and press Enter.
- To add the new item to the database as a regular master item, select Create new in the prompt and fill in the relevant fields. The item will then also available for selection for other events (Creating an item)
- If the item is for single use, it can be saved as One-off item (Insert one-off items).
- Enter a count and, if applicable, a price for the item in the segment.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Click on the drop-down triangle next to
- Change and save event-specific items
Items can be adapted specifically for one event. The customer's special requests are not changed in the master record, but are saved in the event with all item details. If this item is used more frequently, a new item can be created from the event-specific item.
- Right-click a booked item.
- Select
Save as copy [this event only] from the context menu.
- A copy of the item will open. All information from the original item is copied and the item name supplemented with the number of the event for which it was created.
- Change the item as needed.
- The property
Specific is added in the item toolbar. To save the item as a regular master item, click on the button and select
Enable for all events.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- The event-specific item is now listed in the segment.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Insert one-off items
New one-off items can be added to a quote without being saved to the database as a master item. Use one-off items in exceptional cases only, as statistical evaluation of one-off items is very inaccurate.
- Click on the drop-down triangle next to
Add and select
Item groups.
- Double-click to select an item group or subgroup.
Note: Item groups that are used for structuring only cannot be inserted. - A new line with an empty name field will appear in the quote. Enter a Name for the new item and press Enter.
- To save the new item only temporarily for a specific quote, select One-off item . The item will then only be available for this one quote.
- Enter a Count and a Price.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Click on the drop-down triangle next to
- Break down combo items into their components
Composite items such as buffets or menus can be broken down into their components for the customer view. Components are often used for booking standard packages.
Example: The item "Beverage selection standard - for breaking down -" is booked and expanded to its components in the quote. The components consist of the standard non-alcoholic drinks, wines, beers, spirits and coffee with the corresponding headings and, if applicable, images.- Add a combo item to the quote as described above.
- Select the item and click on
Expand in the toolbar to show all the components of a combo item.
- Decide which prices should be applied:
- Standard prices are the current daily prices for the individual
Items included as components. Price adjustments from the combo item are not adopted.
- Prices from components are the prices stated in the combo item in the
Components tab. These prices may not be up to date, as the component item may have been created before the last price change and not updated.
Price adjustments that are only reflected in the price of the combo item, but not in the price of the assigned components, are not applied when the item is expanded.
- Standard prices are the current daily prices for the individual
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
Note: The original item is replaced by the components when it is expanded.
I.e., neither the item header, price group, price, VAT rate or item texts will be copied. Only the settings from the component items are applied. - Insert staff itemsM
In quotes, all service items are usually entered as staff roles rather than actual staff members. The roles are assigned to individual people at a later stage stageM. (Planning staff for an event)
- Search for and insert the staff role as described above. The icon
Quote will automatically change to
and the segment will be enabled for
Shift planning .
- Enter the number of staff required for this role in the Count field.
- Enter the Time from and To or the the projected work hours in the Count 2 field.
- To assign the service items to staffing agency, go to Assign supplier and select one of the available companies.
- To assign the service items to one or more staff members, select the item and click on
Assign staff role in the toolbar. The name of the staff member will then appear in the list of booked items, while the selected staff role will be found in the "Role/supplier" column.
- While assigning the staff role to a staff member, you can optionally create a linked shift for that person.
Note: Assigning a role to a staff member within an event is NOT the same as creating a shift for that person. Only proper shifts will appear both in the shift planner or the staff member's shift rota.
- Search for and insert the staff role as described above. The icon
- Accept suggested items
The suggest items entered in
Accounts,
Items or
Rooms pop up when new events are created and can be copied to one or more segments. Whenever an organiser, a room or an item for which booking suggestions have been saved is assigned to an event, a small panel listing all suggested items will appears in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
- Switch between suggested bookings originating different records (account, room, item) by clicking
Forward. The suggestions will be listed per record.
- Open a new or existing segment. As long as no segment is selected, the suggestions cannot be accepted.
- Tick the items you want and click on
Book.
- To accept all suggestions for a record, click on
Select all and
Book.
- The suggested items are copied into the selected selected segment and removed from the list for this event.
- To keep the suggestions in the list for later use even after one booking has been made, select
Book [Keep suggestions].
- Switch between suggested bookings originating different records (account, room, item) by clicking
- Skip suggested items
Booking any of the suggested items from
Accounts,
Items or
Rooms can be temporarily postponed as long as the record remains open. However, all suggestions are marked as "rejected" and discarded when the record is closed.
- Close the small panel with the suggestions by clicking on
Close in the top right-hand corner. The suggestions will be retained, but not automaticall inserted into a segment.
- A new icon
Show suggested items will appear in the toolbar.
- Click on
Show suggested items to access the the details at a later stage.
- To keep the suggestions in the list for later use even after one booking has been made, select
Book [Keep suggestions].
- Suggested items are automatically rejected if they are not booked before the record is closed.
- Close the small panel with the suggestions by clicking on
- Reject suggested items
The suggested items linked to
Accounts,
Items or
Rooms can be rejected for the current event, so that they do not pop up again for selection.
- Tick the items you want to reject.
- In the toolbar, click on
Reject suggestions for "Record name".
- Rejected suggestions will no longer be offered for booking in this event, but can be called up by directly accessing the record they originate from.
- If there are no more open suggestions, the
icon will disappear from the toolbar.
- All suggestions are automatically rejected when you close the event.
- Change the order of the booked items
Each new item is added to the quote below the last or the currently selected item. However, the order can be changed at a later date.
- Select the item you want to move.
- Hold down the left mouse button and drag the item to the position you want (Drag-and-Drop).
Note: To move several rows at the same time, select the items while holding down the Ctrl key and drag them to the position you want with the left mouse button pressed down while holding down the Alt key (Drag-and-Drop). Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Calculate contribution marginsM
Contribution margins can be calculatedM and prices can be adjusted per event. The calculation is based on purchase and sales prices as entered in the master items.
- As soon as a new segment is created, a
Calculation tab will appear in the side navigation. Left-click the tab to open.
- Another way to open the
Calculation sheet is by clicking on the icon in the toolbar of the list of booked items in a segment.
- The input window for the cost and quantity calculation will open. Select which segment you want to deal with from the drop-down list of existing segments.
- Adjust the view in the input area (Standard, Cost calculation, Quantity calculation, etc.) to show various details. Greyed-out columns are not input-enabled in this table.
Note: Users with administrative authorisations can adjust views underAdministration >
General settings > Events >
Calculation .
- Click on an item and change the price, the contribution margin in real figures (CM) or the contribution margin in percent (CM %).
- The contribution margin is calculated from the sales price (net) minus the purchase price. The share of the contribution margin refers to the share of total sales per item.
- Either
Confirm to copy the calculated prices to the event or discard the calculation by selecting
Reset. The price changes only apply to the event, the master data remains unchanged.
- As soon as a new segment is created, a
- Check the availability of inventory items for an eventM
If items are created as inventory itemsM and the existing
Inventory is entered, the availability for any given period can be easily checked.
- Book an inventory item in your quote and enter the required quantity.
- Click on
Check availability in the toolbar.
Note: Inventory control is available for quotes as well as orders. If your company wants to allow inventory control for orders only, change the administrative settings. - Only overbooked inventory and/or staff items appear on the list after the availability check. The list shows the exact number of items required (demand), the items available (stock) and the items already rented (rented) as well as the outstanding demand (remainder). (Ordering rental items for events).
- To see a list of the segments for which an item has been booked, left-click the item and select
Open.
- Left-click a segment you want to change and enter your alterations.
- Format and print a quote
The content of the quote is drawn from the event information, the selected items and the layout from the template. In the event segment itself, insert custom remarks lines between the items to structure the quote.
- Select the item in the segment and
Add a
Remarks line (F5) below.
- Enter an informative Name for the remark and add any informationin the Remarks column.
- For better readability and easier formatting, select the Name or Comment column and enlarge it by pressing F6.
Note: Avoid long texts and insert breaks in suitable places. Mind the ruler at the bottom of the input window. We recommend inserting a break after a text length of between 30 and 35 ruler units for standard templates. Add a
Subtotal manually where needed and change the label to match.
Read more on SubtotalsAdd >
Separator text between item groups.
Note: Separator texts are shown formatted in the quote and are not deleted when the event segments are condensed.Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Go to
New in the toolbar and select
Mail and the name of the organiser, then
Quote and a
Template. Depending on operational requirements, the folder structure may vary and different templates will be available.
- Alternatively, click on
Info Center in the side navigation and select
New >
Mail, then assign a
Template.
- The text tab of the mail will open with the selected template and the data from the linked segment.
Print the quote by clicking on the icon in the toolbar.
- Select the item in the segment and
- Send a quote by email
Communication by email is faster than by post. The quote can be sent as an email, email attachment or both.
- Open a
New >
Mail for the event organiser and select
Quote and your
Template.
Note: Depending on operational requirements, the folder structure may vary and different templates may be available.
Alternatively, click onInfo Center in the side navigation and select
New >
Mail, then assign a
Template.
- The input window of the mail or email will open with the selected template and the data from the linked event (organiser, occasion, date).
- If necessary, make changes to the text.
- Select
Email as dispatch type in the toolbar (if this has not already been preset by default).
- If necessary, change the subject of the email.
- Click on
Send in the top left-hand corner of the window.
You can also send the same mail as an attachment in a different file format.
- Open a new email as describen and select a suitable
Text template that draws on the event and segment data.
- Go to the toolbar of the text tab and select the file format you want(
PDF,
HTML or
DOC).
- Enter the File name.
- Click on
Senden in the toolbar to send the identical quote as both email and email attachment.
To use the email for a separate and distinct cover letter, the quote can also be formatted as an attachment using a text template.
- Open a new email for the event as described.
- Click on
Cover letter in the toolbar of the email.
- You have the option to either create a New cover letter, Copy (Copy and paste) the quote into the cover letter or Move (Cut and paste) the quote into the cover letter.
- The text tab of the email
Cover letter will open and the quote is automatically attached in a PDF format.
- Select a
Template for the cover letter or enter a custom text.
Alternatively, use the F4 hotkey and enter the template code. - Click on
Send in the top left-hand corner of the input window to send the email and attachments
- Open a
- Send attachements to the quote by email
- Go to the
Attachments tab and click on
Add.
- Attach externally stored
Files from your hard drive or network.
- Add standard documents such as GTCs or travel info from the
Shared Documents directory.
- Add
Events or
AppointmentsM as
Calendar entries for easy import to digital calenders such as Outlook.
- Add
Business cards for copying contact details to database address data.
Save your input by clicking on the icon in the top left-hand corner of the input window.
- Click on
Send in the top left-hand corner of the input window to send the email and attachments.
Note: Attachments such as General Terms and Conditions, which are always included in the attachments to any quote, should be specified in the standard quote text template. (Creating a new text template)
- Go to the