In this article we will cover how a FieldCentral user would Manage & Send Multi-Bid Estimates. (Be sure to review previous articles: Creating a Multi-Bid Template & Creating Multi-Bid Estimates)
Once you have created a multi-bid estimate, you can send, track and manage the opportunity and any estimates attached. You can print or send the proposals, see if the customer has viewed & responded to your proposal, track which estimate they selected, and more.
Once you have logged into your FieldCentral web account, navigate to the Estimates and Opportunities page via the Main Menu > Sales & Estimates > Estimates and Opportunities.
Use the filter parameters on the left hand side of the page to generate either a list of Estimates/Opportunities or locate a singular one.
Once the Multi-Bid Estimate has been located, the user can hover over the $ sign “View Estimate” icon to quickly preview the estimates included in the Multi-Bid.
Click on any of the estimates to open additional estimate details. Then select “Estimates” from the left hand side of the page.
The user will be able to review all “Linked Estimates” for the opportunity. (The Estimate currently being viewed will be highlighted in green.)
Within the “Actions” column, the user has several options to manage the included estimates/proposals:
- Pause symbol: “Make Inactive” if selected, the estimate will not be sent in communication to the customer.
- Circle: “Make Preferred Estimate” if selected, the estimate will be highlighted in the communication to the customer.
- Eye icon: “View Estimate Summary” Review the WTDs and rates within the estimate but users are not able to make any adjustments from the summary view.
- $ Sign: “View Estimate”: Review all estimate information and the user has the ability to make any necessary changes to the selected estimate.
If either “Make Inactive” or “Make Preferred Estimate” are selected the linked estimates will update as shown. In addition, the user is provided the option to add an additional estimate to the opportunity by utilizing the green + button “Add new Estimate to Opportunity”.
When the user is ready to distribute the Multi-Bid Package, they will select if they would like to “Email” or “Print”.
Note: Email is only available for FieldCentral Connect clients. Click here to learn more!
By selecting either of the options, only the active linked estimates will be included in the customer communication.
For this example, we will utilize the email functionality. When the user selects to email, they will be provided a preview/confirmation window where they can confirm contact information and email subject line.
The user will then click “Send” when they are ready.
Once the Multi-Bid email has been sent, the “Email” column within the Estimates & Opportunities log will update to reflect this. Otherwise, the column will show “Not Sent”.
Mass Distribution is also available for Multi-Bid Estimates. Once the user has narrowed down their log of estimates they will select one of the “Bulk Estimate Actions”.
For those that have FieldCentral Connect, the user can click the Envelope icon to Mass Email.
A window will open to preview the email where the user will confirm which email template to use. In addition, the user can confirm which email address to send the communication from and the desired subject line before clicking “Mass Send”.
The opportunity contact will receive the estimate email where they will be provided attachments of each active estimate/proposal included in the Multi-Bid.
When they are ready to make their selection, the customer will click the “Reply to Estimate!” button.
The customer will be directed to the approval page to make their selection.
Whichever estimate was identified as the “Preferred Estimate” will be the default when the customer clicks to reply but can adjust if they prefer another estimate.
Once the customer makes their selection and clicks “Approve Estimate” they will receive a confirmation message.
Now that the client has approved an estimate, the estimate is automatically converted to a contract within FieldCentral. From here the contract can be further managed within the Contracts Section (Sales & Est. > Contracts)
Be sure to set-up Multi-Bid estimates and begin utilizing this season! This feature will not only provide your customers with a delightful estimate approval process but save your team time & energy.