Creating a Client Proposal

What is a Proposal?

A proposal in Umbrava is a document that a vendor needs to submit when seeking approval for the costs associated with a job for a client. It includes a comprehensive description of the proposed work and an itemized breakdown of the costs for completing the job. This ensures clarity and mutual understanding between both parties regarding the scope of work and its financial implications prior to the work starting. 

When to Create a Proposal

The need for a proposal can arise anytime there is a change in the work scope, cost, or timeline that requires client approval. One instance is when a client schedules a job, but the Do Not Exceed (DNE) limit set is insufficient to complete the job. Another scenario could arise when a client wants to expand the scope of the job, commonly referred to as a change order. In both situations, an approved proposal becomes necessary for the completion of the work requested. While these are common scenarios, it is important to note that there can be other situations that necessitate the creation of a proposal.

Creating a Proposal for your Client

Create a new proposal, follow these 5 steps:

1. Go to your work order/project
2. Select the 'Proposals' tab
3. Click the '+' Button at the top of the list
4. Fill in the information on the Add Client Proposal screen that will pop up
   1. This information will be in the proposal for your client
   2. Select 'Copy From' to bring in the Scope of Work directly from the job.
5. Click 'Save' at the bottom and your proposal will be created.

Proposal Details

Once a proposal is created, you will be brought to the Proposal Details page. The proposal that has been created in the steps above still requires some additional information before submitting.

To input pricing and track costs, follow the steps below to add Line Items.

1. Go to the Line Items section of your proposal
2. Select the '+ Add New' button at the bottom
3. A line item must have the following fields filled out:
   1. Category
   2. Trade
   3. Item
   4. Charge Qty
   5. Unit Charge
4. Input the Costs and Charges to complete the job
   1. Costs are own company expenses
   2. Charges are what the client will be charged
5. Tax will automatically be calculated based on 4 criteria
   1. Category
   2. Trade
   3. Item
   4. Location

Line Items can be pre-set to fill in information by setting up Rates in the Client Profile.

Below the line items is a summary of the value of the proposal and shows the overall costs and the gross profit.

Submitting your Proposal

Submitting a proposal does 2 things. First, it sends your proposal to the client. Second, the proposal will change to the Submitted  state and no longer be editable. It is important to note that the only the charges section of the line items will be visible to the client. The client will not be able to see the costs or profits to your company. 

Follow the steps below to submit your proposal:

1. Click the 'Submit' button in the top right of the Proposal
2. Click the 'Submit' button on the confirmation prompt that appears

Approved and Rejected Proposals

Once a Client receives a proposal, they will accept or reject. For the sake of showing all options, we will start with a rejected proposal.

When the client approves the newly changed proposal, the state will update to Approved.

If your client has approved your proposal, you should work with them to reschedule a date and time to complete the work.  

The approval of the proposal will automatically update the DNE of the job to match the total of the proposal.

Setting Limits

Limits can be placed on roles in the company profile. These limits will prevent the roles from being able to submit/approve/reject/cancel any proposal that is above the set limit. The limits can be found on the company profile page within the roles. 

When a proposal is above the users set limit threshold, they will be unable to perform the action and will have to pass the proposal to a user with a higher limit threshold.

Proposal Notes

Notes can be added to a proposal for internal purposes. These notes can be used to keep track of any material changes or if somebody else in the company might need additional insight before they review the proposal to submit.

The notes will not be shared with the client at any point. You can access the notes by clicking on the Notes tab at the top of the proposal next to the Details. We have a note counter on the tab to help track if there has been a note added so you can more easily access all needed information.