Proposals FAQ

Here are answers to Frequently Asked Proposal Questions.

1. How can I list a (Unit / MSRP / Labor) price on my client’s Proposal?

The two columns of numbers on the client proposal can seem confusing. So, in this section, we’ll take a look at the numbers in the left-hand column: what the number choices are, where those numbers come from in iPoint, how to choose them from the options menu, and what they look like on the client proposal.

Depending on your client and proposal needs, you can show the MSRP, the Unit Price, or the Labor Price in the left-hand column.

Unit Price

The Unit Price is your price in the Designer. This price reflects any changes you make to a price in Designer, such as discounts.

To show the Unit Price on the Client Proposal go to:
Client Proposal Options menu > Advanced tab > Click the Show Unit Price button (the converse of the Show MSRP button).

Select Show Unit Price in the Client Proposal Options

 
 
In the example client proposal below, you can see the Unit Price of $3,399.99 on both the left and right.

Client Proposal Showing Unit Price

 
 

MSRP

MSRP is the unit price from the parent item (see the Unit Price in the parent item in the Items module). It can be helpful to be able to show the MSRP on a proposal, especially when you’re giving a discount. This way, the client can compare the MSRP to the discounted price they’re receiving.

MSRP from the Items Module

 
 

To show the MSRP on the Client Proposal go to:
Client Proposal Options menu > Advanced tab > Click the Show MSRP button (the converse of the Show Unit Price button).

Select Show MSRP in the Client Proposal Options

In the example client proposal below, you can see the MSRP of $3,500 on the left and the discounted price of $3,399.99 on the right.

Client Proposal Showing MSRP

 
 

Labor Price

Labor Price is the extended labor price from the Designer (see the Ext Labor column in the image below). The extended labor price is the labor cost for this item: the Hours column (labor hours) multiplied by the Rate column (rate for the labor phase).

To show the Labor Price on the Client Proposal go to:
Client Proposal Options menu > Advanced tab > Click the Show Labor VS Unit button.

Select Show Labor VS Unit in the Client Proposal Options

 
 

In the example client proposal below, you can see the Labor Price of $375 on the left and the discounted price of $3,399.99 on the right.

Client Proposal Showing Labor Price

2. Can I use a Job Site address on a proposal?

Proposal Info

When filling in the proposal address under the proposal info tab, the best practice is to select and enter in the Job Site address where the installation will take place. This way the job site address will travel with the proposal as it flows to a project and work order… because it would be awkward if a technician showed up at the billing office. No worries, once the job flows over to an invoice, iPoint will insert the billing address from the customer details.

From the Proposal Details page, start in the Proposal Info tab > inside the Proposal Address Name field, choose the address that includes the job site of where the installation will take place. This should be set up in the customer details page.

If you progress the proposal to a sales order & project, you will see this address automatically appear in the customer info fields.

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Project Contact Info automatically pulled from Proposal

Once you create work orders from the project, the address of the job site will be attached there as well. This is especially helpful for technicians who can simply pull up the work order, click the Map button next to the customer info, and know exactly where to go.

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Work Order location automatically pulled from Proposal

Once you push the project to an invoice, iPoint will automatically pull the “To Bill” address on the customer’s details page.

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3. Show the room contents after adding an item to a proposal.

Enable Go to Added

When designing a large proposal, the designer page will refresh to the top of the page each time a new item is added. But, you can jump to the room you are adding to, so you can keep track of those items added as you go. This may slow down the loading of the added item, but you don’t have to scroll down to the room you want to view your newly added item.

To Enable this setting so you jump to the room you are adding to instead of the top of the designer page, start in Proposal Details > Designer > Options > Advanced > click Enable Go to Added

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4. How do you show modifiers and discounts in the Grand Total Summary?

Grand Total Summary

To show modifiers and/or the total discount your client is getting in the grand total summary on a client proposal, change order report, or sales order summary, as a separate summary line follow these steps:

1. Add the Modifier Line or Discount Line to your Custom Grand Total Summary within your Custom Template

• Settings > Custom Templates > Choose the template you want to display the discount amount in the grand total summary > Options (tab) > Summary Options (tab) > Grand Total Summary select Custom in the drop-down menu.

*Note: You may want this to be a different template. You can easily duplicate a template first by clicking the Options button > Clone Current Template, then re-title it with something like “with discount” at the end

Customize Grand Total Summary

• When the Custom option is selected, you will be presented with 15 rows of drop-downs where you can select which summary items to present. Be sure to select a Modifier option or Discount Option as one of the lines to include it in your Grand Total Summary.

Find out more about these options here.

• In your client proposal preview, be sure to select the correct template. Once you create the PDF, be sure to include the grand total summary in your report.

!This only works for discounts added in the modifiers section from a proposal. If you added in a discount as a line item on the proposal, it will not show up in the grand total summary.

5. How do I edit my contract?

There are a few ways to edit your proposal contract. Is this for a current proposal or just future proposals? Do you want one contract or multiple? In order to not get lost in the options, follow this handy guide!

How Do I Edit My Contract flow chart

Edit Default Contract

Edit Default Contract

From the Dashboard, visit Settings > Module Settings > Proposals (tab) > Default Contract (tab).
Type away in this field to edit the contract text.

*Note: These edits will ONLY show up for NEW proposals created.

What if I want to edit a contract for a current proposal? Well…

Edit Proposal Contract

Edit Proposal Contract

If you want to edit a contract for a proposal you have already created, and want it “special” to that proposal, then start from the Dashboard, and go to Proposals > find the proposal on the list you want to edit the contract for > Reports (tab) > View Contract.
Click in the contract box and type away (or copy/ paste) to edit the contract.

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Template Override Contract

Template Override Contract

If you want the contract language to follow a custom proposal template, then you will want to add a contract override to each template.
To set up, first go to Settings > Custom Templates > select your template on the right hand side > Overrides (tab) > Contract Text (tab).
Click in the box to type in your contract.

To Select a Template Override Contract for your Proposal:

Open Proposals > click the proposal you are working in to view Proposal Details > Reports (tab) > Select Override Template from drop-down menu > click Proceed

*Note: If you made changes to this contract, be sure to re-select from the drop-down menu each time.

Additional Contracts

Additional Contracts

To create multiple contract options that you do not want tied to a template, go to Settings > Module Settings > Proposals (tab) > Contracts (tab) > New Contract. There you can name the contract and then type in the language into the body.

To Select an Additional Contract Option For Your Proposal:

Open Proposals > click the proposal you are working in to view Proposal Details > Reports (tab) > Select Override Contract Language from drop-down menu.

*Note: If you made changes to this contract, be sure to re-select from the drop-down menu each time.