Quote Templates in Salesforce: What Do You Need to Know to Use Them Right

Research and Design

Start by doing your homework: research quote templates from your competitors to see how they layout information and convey pricing. This research will help you identify effective design elements and avoid potential pitfalls. Think about your branding elements and what you want the prospect to notice first.

Use Invoices as a Starting Point

If you’re new to creating price quote templates, start with an invoice. Invoices and quotes share many data fields, so it gives you a solid foundation. Add elements specific to quotes, such as an expiration date and a clear note that it’s a quote, not a final invoice. Ensure any terms and conditions are relevant to quotes and not sales.

Prioritize Readability

Your quote template must be easy to scan. Buyers should be able to quickly grasp the key details, such as the transaction’s value and the cost. Important sections should stand out visually. Test your templates to ensure they highlight crucial information at a glance, making the buyer’s decision process easier.

Detail Product Information

Don’t limit your quote to just prices and product identifiers. Use this opportunity to reinforce your sales pitch by including details about the benefits and scope of your product or service. Presenting this information alongside the pricing helps the buyer connect the value proposition to the costs.

Consistent Discounts

Make sure prospects understand which discounts apply to which products without needing additional clarification. If you offer discounts on multiple products, list them in a consistent format. For returning customers, place ongoing discounts in the same spot on each quote for easy recognition.

Customization Options

Design your template to be adaptable for different purchases and customer needs. Customizable sections prevent the need to create quotes in Salesforce for each order, reducing delays and errors. Build your template to accommodate common configurations and client requirements.

Include Contact Information

Accurate contact information is crucial. Ensure your quote template prominently displays up-to-date contact details, so prospects can easily reach out with questions, and regularly check your template to keep contact information current.

Value-Driven Design

When designing your price quote template, ask yourself if each element enhances or detracts from your value proposition. Quotes should lay out products and prices while reinforcing the purchase’s value. If your template achieves this, you’re on the right track.

Utilize Configure Price Quote Software

Consider investing in CPQ software to create dynamic, customizable templates. These tools can pull accurate data from your databases, improving quote accuracy and automating parts of the quote-to-contract process. Such software is invaluable in creating complex templates.

How to Create and Edit Quote Templates in Salesforce?

As we already established, there are about three options to work with quote templates in Salesforce org. Let’s review them.

The standard quoting feature available in Sales Cloud allows you to define the look of your company’s quote PDFs by creating templates for your sales reps.

• Access quote templates:
  • From Setup, enter Templates in the Quick Find box.
  • Select Quote Templates (Lightning Experience) or Templates under Quotes (Salesforce Classic).
• Click New and choose a base template, like Standard Template.
• Provide a name for your new template and click Save.
• To edit the template, drag and drop elements into the template:
  • Use a section to add Quote fields or related object fields.
  • Use Text/Image Field for editable text, such as terms and conditions.
  • Use Text/Image Field for images, like your company logo.
  • Use a list for tables of Quote fields or fields from other objects.
• Click Quick Save to save and continue editing. Click Save and Preview to see how the quote PDFs will look.
• Preview in the system administrator profile view to check rich text and images. Other data is simulated
• Set template details:
  • For Top Margin, enter 0.5.
  • For Company Name, enter your company name.
  • For Company Slogan, enter your company slogan.
  • For Company Phone, enter your company phone number.
  • For Shading Color, enter a hex color code.
• Save the template by clicking Save.
• You can preview the template:
  • In the navigation bar, click Quotes.
  • Click a sample quote.
  • Click Preview Document. The new template should be selected by default.
  • Click Preview to see the template with your custom settings.
  • Click X to close the preview window.

Alternatively, here is how to create quote template in Salesforce CPQ:

1. Navigate to the Quote Templates tab.
2. Click New.
3. For Template Name, enter your desired template name.
4. Check Default to make it automatically selected on the Generate Document page

Your new quote template is now ready. It includes custom company information and a unique shading color to distinguish it from existing templates.

Customizing Quote Templates in Sculptor CPQ

Let’s explore how you can put the aforementioned best practices to use and draft a custom quote template for your proposal on the example of Sculptor CPQ, next-gen quoting and pricing automation software for Salesforce.

Customize Web and PDF Quotes

1. Navigate to Setup and enter Custom settings in the Quick Find box.
2. Click Manage next to Public Site Settings.