This is a guide to Quote creation in Appliance.io
This process can be started from any page using the large “Start a Quote” button at the top next to the company logo.
When first coming to the page the salesperson is presented with a few choices. (Shown Below)
New Customer? Or Existing?
Individual? Or Company?
Appliance.io is equipped with a modern customer records system. Users can use these tabs to set up new customers and search through editing customers. It is important to correctly classify a customer when entering them for the first time to make it easier for others to find that same customer later.
Individuals vs Companies
When entering new customers it is important to classify a customer based on their purchasing demographic.
Individuals are defined by what is often called a retail customer and they will generally purchase a house's worth of appliances at most, and sometimes for family members.
Companies are naturally the opposite. Often a company liaison is ordering appliances for large-scale jobs done in the local area by large contractors.
Best practices for deciding how to classify a customer:
A salesperson or company employee should ask every customer “Have you purchased through us before?”. Asking this one question every single time will ensure that returning customers are handled properly to provide a more personal experience. If that customer is unsure, searching some of their basic info in the main search bar at the top of the page can sometimes yield unexpected results.
Then, the next question should be “Are you purchasing for yourself or someone else?” This question is an easy way to force the customer to give a short explanation for their visit. Often exposing company purchasers immediately.
If the customer is a new customer then their information can begin to be collected accordingly.
Duplicate detection:
The system is going to do its best to identify duplicate entries as the user creates them. If a duplicate is detected a popup will appear. The user can then just select the intended customer.
Sometimes duplicates may already be present in the system. It is advised to archive the duplicate and continue using the one with the more complete purchase history.
Unfortunately, if slightly different information is used then this system will fail and the popup will not appear. The company should comb its customer records occasionally to keep duplicates to a minimum(yearly).
The window pictured below is what is presented to the user if a duplicate customer is detected.
Start here for New Customers.
The salesperson will begin by entering the standard customer info in full. The following fields are required.
First Name
Last Name
Mobile Phone
Street address
Important Customer Info Notes:
There is a warning message shown under the Mobile Phone box. If a Salesperson enters a non-mobile phone # in that box SMS notifications will not function for that customer.
Currently, Appliance.io does not have large-scale email verification. It is crucial that Salespeople double-check emails for accuracy with the customer. There will be no indication that an email has not been recognized. This is the source of most customer email notification issues.
Street addresses have an auto-complete feature that is provided by Google Maps. If an address is not recognized by Google then it will not show any auto-complete options. Incorrect addresses can still be entered in this box due to new properties being built year-round.
When entering new customers Appliance.io assumes that the Billing & Delivery info is the same for every order. This can be disabled by clicking the checkbox when entering customer info.
The custom address option can and should be used if the Salesperson knows for sure this is a new property not yet registered on Google maps. This feature will allow the user to enter all the details of the address.
It is important to note that both custom addresses and incorrect addresses will not work properly when it's time to place that customer's items on a delivery route. These situations will need to be handled individually and well communicated with the driver about the location of the delivery. Thankfully, they are rare.
Tax-exempt information can only be entered by SuperAdmins. Any Quotes/Orders in the system will not be affected by adding tax-exempt information. All quotes will need to be rewritten to calculate the correct pricing. Sales tax cannot be removed from Orders that have been paid for.
Once all of the required fields have been completed the salesperson can proceed with the “Next ->” button
The next page is the main interface for Quote Creation and this next section will cover the various controls available. Shown below.
The Quote # is shown at the top. The number will never be reused.
The creation date and the expiration date are shown below the quote #. Quote expiration will be covered in the My Quotes guide. (link here)
On the right side are a set of controls that can be used with this specific quote. These are listed below with a short description.
Notification bell
This can be clicked to set up a custom email notification for the salesperson who created the order. Anyone can use this feature but it is most often used by the salesperson specifically. The notification will trigger the morning of the date entered. These custom notifications have been used in many creative ways.
Delete Button
This button is the only way to delete a quote. All Quotes are saved permanently unless explicitly deleted using this button. Quotes cannot be deleted if there have been any payments made towards that Quote.
Select Action Menu
This menu is a dropdown that contains various controls that may be needed when interacting with this quote.
Itemize will itemize the whole transaction on printed/emailed/downloaded copies.
The Email option will open a popup that allows the quote to be emailed to anyone.
The Download button will allow you to download a PDF copy of the entire quote to the currently in use device.
The Changelog is a ledger of all the changes made to the quote since its creation. This can be used to identify the cause of a lot of issues.
The Duplicate Quote button will duplicate the Quote completely. This can be done for the same customer, a different customer, or a new customer.
Billing and delivery information are shown on the large tile near the top. This info can be edited if an error was made. It is important to note that the customer records will also need to be corrected. Editing information on a Quote/Order will only affect that specific Quote/Order.
The edit icon is the Pencil shown next to the header.
This same icon is used as the edit icon throughout Appliance.io. Some users will have access to more editing features than others. All information can be edited by a SuperAdmin.
The next tile contains the store and salesperson information. This info will be present on all printed/emailed/downloaded copies. The salesperson can be changed by managers if there is any issue with the currently assigned salesperson.
Adding items to a Quote
Start by clicking the Plus button next to the product column header.
The table will expand to show various fields in each column that can be edited.
The Product box is also a search box that allows you to search for any product currently registered in the system. If the search matches any items they can be clicked to quickly enter the whole model #. If the item being searched is not registered in the system then the “custom model” button can be clicked to enter a model that may not be available.
This quote will be saved permanently once the first item has been added.
Note: The custom model feature has later consequences for the system as a whole and all custom models must be eventually corrected by registering the model in Appliance.io. We will cover this process in another guide. (link here)
After entering the model fill in the Condition, Qty, and Price. The total column will auto-calculate.
Installs & Warranties
Installs cannot be added till the model has been entered. These can be added at any time. If the model is custom, then only Custom installs will be allowed for that item.
Warranties cannot be added till the price has been entered. All warranties have a minimum price that must be met in order to add the warranty to the quote. These can be added at any time. If no minimums are met then the warranty button will remain disabled for that item.
This process is repeated till all items have been added to the quote.
Line items can be collapsed to save space on the screen using the arrow on the left.
All items will be collapsed by default when returning to an old Quote.
Haul-Away
This service can be added to any Quote using the Haul-away button.
Simply designate the Qty of items being hauled away.
This feature can only be used once per order due to challenges surrounding incomplete deliveries or very large orders. It is advised that all haul-away items are gathered by the delivery team at once.
Some companies charge for this service and that will affect the total shown below only after being added properly.
Haul-away can be added at any point before delivery and must always be paid for separately to allow this functionality. You will see two payment buttons at the bottom when haul away has been added late.
Notes
Notes can be added at any stage and are immediately available on quotes. Appliance.io has an advanced notes system with four types of notes. Most notes can be edited/deleted at any time.
Delivery notes - These notes are the most frequently used and aid in communicating the specifics of deliveries on an order-by-order basis. These notes are visible at all stages of delivery for other employees and should be as specific as possible. These are visible on all copies of Quotes/Orders.
Customer Notes - These notes are used to take down information that the customer expects to be saved as part of their order. These are visible on all copies of Quotes/Orders.
Company Notes - These notes are used for internal purposes that do not need to be shared with the customer. These are not designed to be used for delivery needs and will be used only for situational uses. These not are visible on all copies of Quotes/Orders.
Driver Notes - These notes can only be created by Drivers for internal communication and will accompany a notification that is sent to the salesperson on the order. Drivers can create notes for various purposes. Driver notes are not visible on all copies of Quotes/Orders and can not be edited by salespeople. Driver notes will be covered in detail in another guide. (Link Here)
Delivery Charges
In the subtotal section is a delivery charge box. This box is designed to be used when appliances are being delivered to the customer with no installation. For Example: Drop off in driveway style deliveries that are not being fulfilled for free. This box can be left empty.
You have completed the guide for Quote Creation. The next guide will cover converting a Quote to an Order. (link Here)