February 2025: quotes that start from the customer record, not a blank page
February 2025 started quoting. A guided quote built from your trade's catalogue and your own prices, sent as a branded PDF, and turned into the job when it is accepted.
Part 17 of 39 of Building TradeYoke, the story of how the platform was built, from January 2024 to today. Previous: January 2025: how customers pay, with pay links, cards and Direct Debit. Next: March 2025: the page a customer accepts a quote on. See every part on the build timeline.
Quick answer
Quick answer: In TradeYoke a quote is built in a guided wizard from your trade's catalogue and your own lines, produces a branded PDF that says whether it is a draft, sent, accepted, declined or expired, and carries over to the job when accepted, so nothing is retyped. Quotes are included on every plan, including Free.
Key takeaways
- A quote starts from the customer record, so name and address are already there.
- Lines come from your trade's catalogue and your own price list, and totals and VAT work themselves out.
- The PDF shows its own state: draft, sent, accepted, declined or expired.
- An accepted quote becomes the job, with its lines on it.
Quoting is the start of the job
February 2025 began the quoting work. We decided early that a quote should not be a separate document. A quote is the start of a job, so it should begin from the customer who is asking for it, and when it is accepted it should become that job, not be copied across by hand.
The guided quote
You choose the customer and the quote wizard guides you through the rest.
- Lines from the catalogue. Each trade ships with a catalogue of what it does, which you can edit. You can add your own lines too.
- Totals and VAT are worked out as you go.
- A valid-until date, so an old quote does not come back to haunt you.
- Issue it, and it goes to the customer.
A document that knows what state it is in
The quote PDF carries your branding and says whether it is a draft, sent, accepted, declined or expired. That sounds like a detail, but it stops the worst mistake in quoting: someone acting on a quote that has since been withdrawn or has expired.
Why catalogues matter
The slowest part of quoting is looking up what you charge. A catalogue turns that into a tap. We wrote more about the speed side in quoting faster on site. A price book, with buy price, markup and sell price, was added later for trades that need it.
Plan note
Quotes are included on every plan, including Free. Check the pricing page for what each plan includes.
Next
March: the page the customer sees when they receive the quote, and how they say yes.
Questions people ask
How do I create a quote in TradeYoke?
Choose the customer, open the quote wizard, pick lines from your trade's catalogue or add your own, set a valid-until date and issue it. The PDF carries your branding.
Does an accepted quote become a job?
Yes. An accepted quote becomes a job with its lines already on it, and the invoice can later be raised from the job.
Try it on your own week
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