Create quotes

A quote is a document issued from a business, like yours, to customers—primarily businesses—that outlines the price of a sale before a purchase agreement. Quotes can be used for price negotiations with the customers.

The quote lifecycle is as follows:

Quotes can be added for initial and for renewals orders.

Quotes for initial orders

Corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions often request a price quote to preapprove purchases. You can use the Quote Links feature available in our web admin tool to create a quote page for a product and send it to the customer.

To create a quote link for an initial order in our web admin tool, follow these steps:

Initiate the quote creation:

1. Go to Manage > Quote Links.
2. Click Create Quote Link.
   

note

Another way to access this option is to navigate directly to the Customer Profile under Manage > Search and find the customer profile of interest.

Define customer details

In the Customer area, enter the contact information to automatically prefill in the cart linked to the quote. The Cleverbridge platform supports different types of contact information. This enables you to provide, for example, separate email addresses for billing, delivery, and licensing issues.

Contact Type	Description
Billing	Person or company that purchases the software or signs up for the subscription. Their contact information is used for communication about payments. They receive the invoice (receipt) email after a purchase.
Delivery	Person or company to whom the software or service is delivered. Their contact information is used for physical shipments, electronic delivery, and communication concerning the delivery of licensing information.
Licensee	Person or company that the software license is registered to. Their contact information is used for generating the licensing information.

If customer contact information is not available in the web admin tool, select the New Customer tab and follow these steps:

1. Select the type of contact details.
   

2. Select the text version. You can enter the details in different versions.

   • Original — Use the language used by the customer. For example, enter the details with Polish, German, or Greek alphabets, use Cyrillic, etc.
   • Katakana — Use the Katakana set if you need to transcribe the information into Japanese.
   • Romanized — Use the Romanized version of the original details.

3. Fill in the details.
   

   note

   State submissions are possible for Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Ireland, Japan, the UAE, and the USA.

   tip

   Once contact details are defined for at least one of the types, you can copy them to another type using the Paste from option.
   

If the customer contact information is available in the web admin tool, select the Existing Customer tab. To prefill details of an existing customer:

1. Click the Select Customer button.
2. Select the customer in the grid and click OK. You can search by customer last name or ID, company name, or email.

The customer's delivery, billing, and licensee contact information is displayed in the corresponding tabs.

tip

For an existing customer, you can create a quote link by accessing the Customer Profile and clicking Create Quote Link.

Define the cart content and pricing

The Cart Content & Pricing area is used to populate the quote link with the details of products and product selections, including dynamic product pricing.

1. Click the Add Product button.
   

2. Select the products.
   

3. Click OK.

The products will be added to the Cart Content & Pricing area.

tip

To filter products in the grid, click the search icon in the column header and enter the search text. The list can be filtered by any of the columns.

The items selected earlier and not meeting the filter conditions are still selected, even though you don't see them in the grid.

• To see the filter, hover over the search icon.
• To clear the filter, hover over the search icon and click the cross icon to the right of the search box.

For each of the products in the quote, you can adjust the quantity values and define custom settings.

The following quantity settings are available for each added product:

• Quantity in Cart: Product quantity displayed in the cart when the quote is accessed.
• Minimum Quantity: Minimum quantity of the product that can be ordered.
• Maximum Quantity: Maximum quantity of the product that can be ordered.

tip

As soon as the product is added, the quantity values are filled in according to the product settings. You can redefine them for a specific quote link.

Enable the Custom Product Settings toggle to adjust custom product information and pricing for a particular quote. These custom settings will override the defaults defined for the product.

When the toggle is enabled, the following sections will be displayed:

The following custom details can be defined in the Custom Product Information section:

• New Product Name — Enter an alternative name for the product. The product name is displayed to customers.
• Internal Product ID — A unique identifier used internally by the system to track the product. It cross-references the purchases for this product with your own internal number helping you to easily recognize your products and keep track of them.
• Additional Product Information — Provides a short product description with more detailed information about the essential features of the product. This description displays as an additional line below the product name.
  

note

Due to legal requirements for Cleverbridge as an online reseller, customers must be presented with a clear and concise description of the product's essential features immediately before making a purchase. This description should provide enough detail for customers to make an informed decision.

The product description should give customers a general understanding of how the product works. If the product name is self-explanatory, no further action is needed. However, if the product functionality is not clear from its name alone, the Additional Product Information field should be used to outline the key features.

For more information, please contact the Client Experience team.

Custom pricing cannot be defined unless it is allowed by the product configuration. Otherwise, the settings are blocked.

For more information, see Configure a product list.

When enabled, the Custom Price Settings area will become available.

The following actions are available to tailor and adjust the pricing:

# Manage currencies

The Manage Currencies drop-down list lets you control which currencies are available for selection in the quote. For more information, see Localize checkout.

To define new currency settings:

1. Click Manage Currencies in the top right corner of the Price settings table.
2. Select the currencies you want to enable for the product.
3. Click OK.
   

Selected currencies will appear in Price Settings with their price and discount undefined.

tip

To return to the initial price settings defined for the product, click Manage Currencies again and click Reset.

Add discounts

The settings depend on the chosen discount type. There are two types available:

• Percentage Discount: Subtracts a specific percentage from the price of the product.

  1. From the Discount Pricing Method drop-down list, select Percentage Discount.
  2. Define the value in the Percentage field that will appear to the right.

  The discount will be applied to all currencies enabled for the link.
  

  • Absolute Discount — Subtracts a specific, fixed amount from the price of the product.
  1. From the Discount Pricing Method drop-down list, select Absolute Discount.
  2. Enter the absolute discount values into the Discount column of the Price settings table.

  The discount will be applied to the corresponding currency. If for some currency there is no discount defined, it will not be provided.
  

  warning

  A dynamic discount created for a quote link in the Custom Price Settings will also work in addition to a promotional discount defined with a coupon code in the Link Setting area, even if the Can't be combined with other discounts option is selected. To avoid this scenario, don't use a dynamic discount along with the Coupon Code option.

Modify prices

You can define a specific new price of the product in the Price column of the Price settings table.

The price is defined for the currency specified in the previous column. If there is a default price setting, it is displayed in the column in gray. Otherwise, "Set price" is displayed.

To define the price:

1. Click in the corresponding Price column.
2. Enter the price.
   

tip

When defining prices, you can look up the base retail price for the goods. To do so, click the Show Suggested Retail Price button to the right of the product name.

Use gross pricing

The *Defined price is gross (including VAT) toggle lets you configure the quote link to always display a single tax-inclusive price. If the toggle is enabled, the same price will be quoted for all customers using the corresponding currency regardless of their tax rules.

The gross price approach can be used to maintain a uniform price presentation and create a consistent customer experience; however, it also means that if German customers (19% VAT) pay the same gross price as Danish customers (25% VAT), the VAT rates will impact the revenue you receive.

Example

In the following example, the customer in a country with no taxation obligation doesn't pay tax, but the gross price remains the same as for EU customers who do pay tax.

Customer Type	Gross Price	TAX	Net Price
EU Customer 1 in Germany	39€	6,22€	32,78€
EU Customer 2 in Denmark	39€	9,75€	29,25€
Non-EU Customer in a non-tax country	39€	0	39€

In short, your revenue will fluctuate if you select this option, but you’ll display “marketing-friendly” pricing.

Product selections and their details can also be added in the Cart Content & Pricing area. Product selections are used to create product variations, which allow customers to choose between different options for one product in their carts. Product selections are defined in the Configure > Selection Text page. For more details, see Offer a product with several languages.

To add a product selection to your link:

1. Go to Cart Content & Pricing.
2. Click the Add Product button.
3. Switch to the Selection Text tab.
4. Check the selections to be added. If needed, use search boxes in the grid column headers.
5. Click OK.
   Product Selections

The selection will be added to the list on the left (along with the products added for the link).

Selection settings

When the selection is added, you can change its settings. The available settings are:

• Selected Product — The product to add to the cart with the product selection. The list of available products is displayed in the drop-down list. By default, the first product in the hierarchy for the product selection is added.
• Quantity — You can define the default quantity, minimum possible, and maximum possible quantities for each selection.

To delete a product or a product selection, click the bin icon in the top right corner of this product or selection area.

Define other quote link settings

The Link Settings area contains the settings you can use to build the link.

Under the Link Settings header, you will find the following key settings of the link:

Parameter	Description
Name	A name that could be used to refer to the link in the future. It displays in the Quote Links table.
Configuration	A configuration template to be applied to the link. For more information about configurations, see Checkout styling.
Link Validity in Days	How long the link can be used. The link will not open to the destination beyond the defined period. This is particularly useful for time-limited promotions, exclusive offers, or campaigns that are only available during a specific period, ensuring that quote links are only accessible within the intended timeframe. The default validity period is 7 days.
Enable purchase order without review	When this option is enabled, customers are no longer required to submit their purchase orders by fax, letter, or PDF to Cleverbridge before the product is delivered. This option is typically used for reliable B2B customers.

If needed, you can expand the generated link with additional parameters.

You can use any parameter defined in the system. To add the parameters:

1. Open any of the settings tabs for a cart, quote, or checkout page link.
2. Add the value pair into the Additional URL parameters field in the following format:
   <key>=<value>

Example

You can use these additional parameters for various purposes. For example, you can:

• apply custom product bundles: <customBundleID>=45789
• preselect delivery options: <delivery>=express
• encounter acknowledgements: <consent>=true

To add multiple parameters use &.

Under the Coupon Code header, you can:

• define a specific coupon code that will be automatically applied to the quote.
• use the Enable coupon code entry field in a cart toggle to allow the use of coupon codes for the quote.

Tracking parameters

If the Apply tracking parameters toggle is enabled, you can use the Tracking area to add information to the link which associates data with transactions that occur on Cleverbridge-hosted pages for the purpose of tracking information and viewing the information in reports.

Link Generator will display your top three x-parameters — components of URLs that you can use to pass information through the checkout process, for example, source of the revenue, customer information, affiliate or partner details, and so on. For more details, see Set up x-parameters.

Options in the parameter drop-down lists are pulled from the hierarchy that it was created in. If no options are displayed, then a hierarchy is not set up for that parameter.

Additional parameters

Enter any additional x-parameters to include in the link, using this format: <key>=<value>.

Example

summercampaign=abc123

If the Currency Selection toggle is disabled, your customer will not be able to change the currency of the quote.

When the Currency Selection toggle is enabled, you can control which currencies are available for selection in the cart. This overrides the cart's default settings. You can use this to localize the cart for customers in a specific region. For more information, see Localize checkout.

You can define the following parameters:

• Preselected Currency: The currency by default selected in the Currency drop-down list of the cart.

• Available Currencies: Under Preselected Currency you can create a list of currencies to include in or exclude from the cart's currency selector.

  1. Start typing the currency name.
  2. Click the name of the currency you want to add.

  The currency will be added to the list. You can click the cross icon next to the currency name to remove it from the list.

• List Type: There are two options:

  • Select Exclude List to exclude the currencies listed in Available Currencies.
  • Select Include List to include the currencies listed in Available Currencies.

Save and view the quote

Click Save and Close. The protected link to your quote is created. You can copy it now or get back to it later using the Quote Links section under Manage.

To view the quotes created in your account, go to the Quote Links table. There are two tabs:

• Quote Links contains all links created in your account. However, if the Personal Only toggle is enabled, you can only see the links created by yourself.
• Requested Quotes tab displays quotes requested by the customers.

Renewal quotes

A renewal quote is a quote generated for your customers to renew an existing subscription, originally initiated through a quote process. This step is often a prerequisite for corporations, governments, and educational institutions. Renewal quotes streamline the subscription renewal process for B2B customers, who don’t have to go through the hassle of placing an initial quote each time they wish to renew their subscriptions.

note

Renewal quote is part of the CleverEssentials product package. For more information, reach out to Client Experience.

Create a renewal quote

To create a renewal quote in our web admin tool:

1. Go to Manage > Search, and select the Subscriptions tab.
2. Search for a customer profile or subscription of your interest.
3. From the displayed results, choose the subscription you want to renew.
   
4. Click the Add Renewal Quote button.
5. In Quotes Settings, you can view Renewal Quote Type and Renewal Effective Date, and add an internal note.
   
6. In Products & Promotions, choose the product quantity in quote and add a coupon code, if applicable.
7. Click Save and Close.
   The renewal quote is created.
   

View a renewal quote

Existing customers can access and view renewal quotes in the Subscription Management portal. Pending renewal quotes are visible in the subscription overview document history and can be easily converted by the customer into a paid subscription renewal.

Enable customers to create and convert renewal quotes

You can enable customers to generate their own quotes during the manual renewal flow on the Subscription Management Portal. This reduces the contact rate and workload for your customer support team, and allows the customers to convert their subscriptions with minimal friction.

Customers are able to request quotes for different offers that are available during the renewal flow. Upon request, a Customer Support agent can:

• extend the validity date of the quote.
• apply a discount.
• send the renewal quote to the customer via email.

For more information on the renewal flow, see Subscription Management Portal.

note

The renewal quote becomes invalid in the following cases:

• The quote expires.
• The subscription was renewed before the customer accepted the quote.

Quote fulfillment process

The processes for initial quote and renewal quote fulfillment are similar. The customer can either request a quote by contacting Customer Service or by using the Get a Quote form available on the client’s website, if applicable.

In case of a renewal quote, there are two more options available:

• The customer can create the quote themselves through the Customer Self-Service if it’s available.
• You can generate a renewal quote for the customer any time you want without the customer’s request and provide the customer with the link to the quote.

Quote process

Quote-to-PO process

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