Negotiable Quotes

Buyers and sellers use Quotes to manage the negotiation process for an order–adding items, updating quantities, requesting and applying discounts, and so on—until they reach agreement. The quote negotiation process can be initiated by an authorized company buyer, or by a company sales representative.

Quotes can be initiated by an authorized company buyer or a sales representative. After the quote is created, the negotiation process begins when the buyer or seller submits the quote for review. The Quotes grid which lists each quote received and maintains a history of the communication between buyer and seller. Use the standard workplace controls to filter the list, change the column layout, save views, and export data.

  • In the storefront, buyers submit the quote as a request to negotiate the price from the shopping cart. When creating the quote request, a buyer can save the quote as a draft, or submit it directly to the seller.

  • In the Admin, Sales representatives can create quotes on behalf of company buyer. When creating the quote, a seller can save the quote as a draft, or submit it directly to the buyer to initiate the negotiation process.

During the negotiation process, the quote can only be updated by the person reviewing and proposing terms for further negotiation.

Prerequisites

Negotiable quotes are available only if Adobe Commerce has the following configuration settings:

Quote workflow

Quotes can be initiated by the buyer or the seller.

Step 1: Quote creation

  • Buyer requests quote - The buyer requests a quote from the shopping cart. The request appears in the My Quotes list in the account dashboard of the buyer and email notification is sent to the sales representative who is assigned to the company account. In the Admin, the request appears in the Quotes grid, with a status of New. A request for a quote can be modified by the buyer until it is opened by the seller.

    Quotes {width="700" modal="regular"}

  • Sales representative — A Sales Representative can create a quote from the Admin on behalf of a specific company buyer. The Sales Representative must update the quote to add products and other information like discounts and notes to the buyer. The Sales Representation can save the quote as a draft or send it to the buyer to start the negotiation. In draft state, the quote is visible only to the seller. Once the quote is sent, the status is Submitted. It cannot be modified by the seller until the buyer sends it back.

    Seller initiating a buyer quote from the Quotes grid in the Admin {width="700" modal="regular"}

Step 2: Quote review and negotiation

Seller views request and sends response - In the Admin, the seller views the request for a quote. The status of the quote changes to Pending, and the buyer cannot make any changes. The seller responds by offering discounted pricing for the products in the quote, enters a comment, and sends the quote back to the buyer. The buyer and sales representative are notified by email that the seller has responded.

Buyer views quote from seller and sends response - The buyer clicks the link in the email notification to open the quote, or opens the quote from the My Quotes page of the account dashboard. The buyer can leave notes to the seller at the line item or quote level and remove items.

The buyer and seller can continue the negotiation process until an agreement is reached, or the seller declines the quote. If the buyer makes changes to the quote—adding or removing products or changing product quantities—the quote must be returned to the seller for review.

Step 4: Buyer accepts quote - The buyer accepts the proposed price and continues to checkout. Additional discounts cannot be added to the negotiated quote.

B2B role resources for store quotes

Configuration options for quotes are controlled using the role resources. These role resources must be set for the Admin user role that is assigned to the store administrator.

To grant access to quote functions in the Admin, go to System > Permissions > User Roles, select the role, and navigate to Sales > Operations > Quotes in the Role Resources tree.

Apply an action

In the Admin, B2B Administrators and Sellers can manage quotes from the Quote Grid by using the Actions menu.

Quotes {width="700" modal="regular"}

  1. On the Admin sidebar, go to Sales > Quotes.

  2. In the first column of the grid, select the checkbox for each record that you want to apply the action to.

  3. In the Actions select the action to apply.

View a quote

  1. In the Actions column for a record, click View.

  2. To respond to the customer request, follow the instructions and begin the price negotiation process.

View quote activity

View the negotiation timeline, communication, and other quote activity from the Comments and History Log–information includes status changes, updates to customer and shipping info, item and price updates, and other important information.

  1. Open a quote.

  2. View quote negotiation comments and history by scrolling to Negotiation, and selecting Comments and History Log.

    View History {width="400"}

  3. History is also tracked at the line item level.

    View Line Item History {width="400"}

Decline a request for a quote

Only quote requests with an Open status can be declined.

  1. Select each open quote request that you want to decline.

  2. Set the Actions control to Declined.

  3. When prompted, enter the reason the quote was declined and click Confirm.

    Decline Quote? {width="400"}

Column descriptions

Column
Description
Select
To select the quotes to be subject to an action, select the checkbox or use the selection control in the column header. Options: Select All / Deselect All
ID
A unique numeric identifier that is assigned when a request for a quote is submitted from the shopping cart of a buyer. When viewing the quote detail the ID appears at the top of the page, instead of the quote name.
Name
The name assigned to a quote request by the buyer.
Created Date
The date and time the buyer first submitted the request for a quote.
Company
The name of the company on behalf of which a buyer submits a request for a quote.
Submitted By
The first and last name of the company buyer who submits a request for a quote.
Last Updated
The date and time of the last communication between buyer and seller regarding the quote.
Sales Rep
The first and last name of the sales representative who manages the buyer’s account.
Quote Total (Base)
The total price of products to be purchased based on the original quote. The total amount appears in the base currency of the website and in the currency of the storefront.
Quote Total (Negotiated)
The total price of products to be purchased based on the negotiated quote. This total is calculated automatically by the system and includes any line item or quote level discounts applied by the seller. The total amount appears in the base currency of the website and in the currency of the storefront.
Status

Indicates the current state of a quote request. The status of a quote can be changed only by action on the part of either the buyer or seller. See also the Status settings from the buyer’s account.

  • New - The buyer submitted a request for a quote, but it has not been viewed by the seller. The request can be updated by the buyer until it is opened by the seller.
  • Draft - The seller creates a draft quote for a buyer. The quote is not visible to the buyer until the seller adds the offer details (items, quantity, discount, and so on) and submits the quote to the buyer.
  • Open - The seller opened the request and is in the process of reviewing it and preparing a response.
  • Submitted - The seller sent a response to the buyer. The quote record cannot be edited during the negotiation process.
  • Client Reviewed - The buyer viewed the response from the seller and is in the process of preparing a reply.
  • Updated - The buyer submitted a response, but it has not been viewed by the seller.
  • Ordered - The buyer submitted the order based on the negotiated quote.
  • Closed - The buyer canceled the quote request.
  • Declined - The seller declined the request for a quote. Any custom pricing is removed from the quote and the record is locked from further edits.
  • Expired - The buyer did not respond to the seller’s reply within the designated time period and the quote is no longer valid.
Actions
View - Opens the request for a quote and maintains a record of the negotiation between buyer and seller.

Button bar

Button
Description
Send
Sends the updated quote as a reply to the buyer’s inquiry. This button is disabled if the seller is waiting for a reply from the buyer.
Back
Returns to the Quotes page without saving changes.
Create Copy
[1.5.0-beta capabilities]{class="badge informative" title="Available only for Beta program participants"} Create a new quote from the current quote by copying and renaming it. When the new quote opens, the default name is <original quote name> (copy). Change the name by editing he value in the Name field and saving the quote as a draft.
Print
Sends the quote to a printer or saves it as a PDF file.
Create a copy
Creates a copy of the quote named <original quote name> (copy) and opens it. Rename and update the new quote as needed before saving it as draft or sending it to the buyer.
Save as Draft
Saves any changes made to the quote, but does not send it back to the buyer.
Decline
Declines the request to negotiate prices, either on the initial inquiry, or during ongoing negotiations. When a quote is declined, the seller should add a comment to explain the decision. When a quote is declined, all negotiated prices are reset to the original values. This button is disabled while the seller is waiting for a reply from the buyer.

Example quote

The following figure shows an example of the quote detail view in the Admin with some settings configured.

Example quote {width="700" modal="regular"}

NOTE
[1.5.0-beta capabilities]{class="badge informative" title="Available only for Beta program participants"} The Quote detail page for the buyer now offers an additional option to create a copy of the quote.
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