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.
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.
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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.
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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:
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- Enable company accounts
- Enable B2B quote
Quote workflow
Quotes can be initiated by the buyer or the seller.
This diagram shows the quote statuses for a buyer and seller (Admin) in the different steps when you initiate a quote.
Step 1: Quote creation (New)
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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.
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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
draftor 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 isSubmitted. It cannot be modified by the seller until the buyer sends it back.
Step 2: Quote review and negotiation (Review)
Reviewing or negotiating a quote can include changing quantities, removing items, adding line item comments, applying line item or quote discounts (seller), and adding a shipping address (buyer).
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Seller views request and sends response - In the Admin, the seller views the request for a quote. On the storefront, the status of the quote changes to
Pending, and the buyer cannot make any changes. The seller responds by offering price discounts and adjusting quantities and items as needed, 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, change quantities, 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.
- Buyer adds a shipping address - The buyer can add a shipping address to the quote. After the buyer adds the address, the seller can provide shipping and delivery options. The shipping methods shown depend on the Storefront configuration.
If the buyer adds a shipping address, the negotiation agreement has to be reviewed, and the seller can continue the negotiation process until an agreement is reached, or the seller declines the quote.
Step 3: Buyer accepts quote (Checkout)
The buyer accepts the proposed price and proceeds to checkout. Additional discounts cannot be added to the negotiated quote.
Shipping options are locked on checkout.
Quote Status
Quote status provides information about the current state of the quote in the quote workflow. The status of a quote changes only when a buyer or seller takes an action on the quote. For example, the status changes to order if a buyer selects Proceed to Checkout on an active quote.
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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.
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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.
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Open - The seller opened the request and is in the process of reviewing it and preparing a response
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Submitted - The seller sent a response to the buyer. The quote record cannot be edited during the negotiation process.
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Client Reviewed - The buyer viewed the response from the seller and is in the process of preparing a reply.
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Updated - The buyer submitted a response, but it has not been viewed by the seller.
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Ordered - The buyer submitted the order based on the negotiated quote.
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Closed - The buyer canceled the quote request.
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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.
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Expired - The buyer did not respond to the seller’s reply within the designated time period and the quote is no longer valid.
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.
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On the Admin sidebar, go to Sales > Quotes.
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In the first column of the grid, select the checkbox for each record that you want to apply the action to.
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In the Actions select the action to apply.
View a quote
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In the Actions column for a record, click View.
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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.
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Open a quote.
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View quote negotiation comments and history by scrolling to Negotiation, and selecting Comments and History Log.
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History is also tracked at the line item level.
Decline a request for a quote
Only quote requests with an Open status can be declined.
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Select each open quote request that you want to decline.
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Set the Actions control to
Declined. -
When prompted, enter the reason the quote was declined and click Confirm.
