Customers & sales

Quotes that don't go cold in someone's inbox.

A quote is written quickly. Then it goes out, and often you never hear back. Bricksta takes every quote from first draft to answer: line items from your service list, one PDF with all line items, sending via Outlook, and when the customer goes quiet, the follow-up comes on its own.

  • One PDF with all line items
  • Follow-ups come on their own
  • Live in days, not months
Case

Quote · Lindner Maschinenbau GmbH

Started: enquiry from Lindner

Progress68 %
  • QuoteLine items entered — donePDF generated — done
  • SendingEmail reviewed — doneSent via Outlook — done
  • Follow-up1st follow-up — done2nd follow-up — at risk
  • CustomerResponse — waiting

Early warning

Follow-up due

No response from Lindner for 7 days: Sarah Becker from sales has the task “Follow up on quote”.

Simplified example view with made-up data.

The quote is out — and then you hear nothing.

Quotes are written in Word, prices live in an Excel sheet, and follow-ups happen when someone remembers. At the end of the month, nobody knows exactly which quotes are still open and which were lost long ago.

What it costs if nothing changes

  • Quotes go cold although the customer was interested
  • Nobody knows how much is currently open
  • Reasons for declining get lost, and the next quote makes the same mistake
  • Every quote looks different

    The last quote gets copied and adjusted. Sometimes the discount is wrong, sometimes the old customer is still in it, and everyone checks the total themselves.

  • Follow-up depends on memory

    Whether a customer gets a call after a week depends on whether someone put a reminder in their calendar. On holiday or on a busy week, it falls through.

  • No clear ending

    Many quotes don't end with yes or no, they just stop. Why a customer declined is buried in an email at best.

A quote isn't done when the email is sent. It's done when the customer has answered.

Writing the quote is rarely the problem. It gets lost afterwards, between sending and answer. A nicer Word template doesn't solve that. What does is a process that keeps every quote in view until it is accepted, declined or deliberately closed.

Word and Excel, CRM, invoicing software or workflow platform? What carries your quote to an answer?

These are the usual ways to write quotes and keep track of them.
Here you can see, point by point, what each of them can do.

What a process needsKeep going as isWord template, price list in Excel, calendar reminderCRMQuote module of a CRM systemInvoicing softwareQuotes from your accounting or invoicing softwareWorkflow platformLow-code and BPM, set up by ITThe quote as a process, from draft to answer
Line items from a maintained service list, with a discount per line itempartlycan do itcan do itpartlycan do it
One PDF per quote from a fixed templatepartlycan do itcan do itpartlycan do it
Sending from Outlook, formal or informal to match the contactpartlypartlypartlypartlycan do it
Follow-ups come on a timer, with a fixed endpartlypartlycan't do itpartlycan do it
Every quote ends with an outcome and, if declined, a reasoncan't do itcan do itpartlypartlycan do it
Invoicing and payment in the same toolcan't do itpartlycan do itpartlycan't do it
Runs in days, without an implementation projectcan do itpartlycan do itcan't do itcan do it
Already there, nothing new to introducecan do itpartlypartlycan't do itcan't do it
Meets2 of 83 of 84 of 80 of 86 of 8
VerdictFamiliar and already there. But who follows up when isn't part of any process, only of individual calendars.Strong on contacts and pipeline. But rollout takes time, and the follow-up is often a reminder rather than a step with a result.Writes clean quotes and later the invoice. What happens between sending and answer is outside its view.Can handle any process. But months of project work, and every change needs IT.Quote, PDF, sending and follow-up as one process that only ends with an outcome. Invoicing and payment stay in your invoicing software.
1 of 4
Keep going as is

Word template, price list in Excel, calendar reminder

What a process needs
Keep going as is
Bricksta
Line items from a maintained service list, with a discount per line item
partly
can do it
One PDF per quote from a fixed template
partly
can do it
Sending from Outlook, formal or informal to match the contact
partly
can do it
Follow-ups come on a timer, with a fixed end
partly
can do it
Every quote ends with an outcome and, if declined, a reason
can't do it
can do it
Invoicing and payment in the same tool
can't do it
can't do it
Runs in days, without an implementation project
can do it
can do it
Already there, nothing new to introduce
can do it
can't do it
Meets
2 of 8
6 of 8
Verdict: Keep going as isFamiliar and already there. But who follows up when isn't part of any process, only of individual calendars.
Verdict: BrickstaQuote, PDF, sending and follow-up as one process that only ends with an outcome. Invoicing and payment stay in your invoicing software.
can do itpartlycan't do it

How a quote runs with Bricksta.

From enquiry to the customer's answer, in four steps, with a step back when the quote needs another revision.

  1. 1

    Line items from your service list

    You pick the customer and contact person from your master data; email, salutation and formal or informal address come along. For each line item you pick a service, set price, discount and period, and estimate the probability of acceptance. Bricksta calculates the total.

  2. 2

    One PDF with all line items

    Your document template turns the quote into a PDF, with all line items at their discounted price and the total. You maintain the letterhead, closing texts and payment terms once.

  3. 3

    Sent via Outlook, formal or informal

    The email with the PDF is prepared, in the formal or informal version, depending on the contact person. You see it before it goes out and send it via Outlook.

  4. 4

    Follow up until there is an answer

    If there is no response for seven days, “Follow up on quote” opens, up to six times. There you decide: keep following up, revise the quote, or wait for the answer. After 100 days without a response, it ends as “No response”.

What changes.

  • No quote goes cold

    The follow-up comes on a timer, even in a busy week, at most six times. After 100 days the quote ends as “No response”.

  • Quotes look the same

    One PDF from one template, with correct discounts and a total nobody has to recheck.

  • A clear view of what's open

    Every open quote is a case in one list, with quote total and current step.

  • Every quote has an end

    Accepted, declined with a reason, or no response. The reasons for declines stay on record.

Your first process: Monday start, Friday live.

Rolling out workflow or industry software usually takes three to six months. With Bricksta, your first process runs after five working days: Monday start, Friday live. Live means: from then on, your team handles real orders in the new process.

¹ A conservative estimate: process software typically takes 3 to 6 months with ready-made templates and 9 to 18 months as a toolkit (KMWorld). The five working days start on the agreed project start date and apply to a clearly scoped first process your team takes part in.

Hosted in Frankfurt

German and European law

Rights per role

Everyone sees only what concerns them

Complete history

Every step stays traceable

Connects to your systems

Start via email, CRM or form

Frequently asked questions

What teams most often want to know before they start.

Your question isn't here? Write to us

Which companies is this for?

For mid-sized companies that put quotes together from recurring services and whose sales team writes more quotes than it can keep track of in their heads.

Do I have to build the process myself?

No. Bricksta comes with the quote process as a ready-made template. You adopt it, maintain customers, contact persons and services once, along with the letterhead, payment terms and texts of the PDF, and adjust fields and email texts wherever you need them to differ.

Does Bricksta replace our CRM or our invoicing software?

No. The process deliberately ends with the customer's answer. If they accept, you record whether the order has been received and attach it. Order processing, invoicing and payment stay in the tools you already have for them.

Is the email sent automatically?

No. Bricksta prepares the email with the PDF, you see it before it goes out and send it via Outlook. Whether it uses the formal or informal version comes from the contact person.

How often is there a follow-up?

If there is no response for seven days, the task “Follow up on quote” is created, at most six times. Whoever follows up records how it went and what was discussed, and decides whether to continue. After 100 days without a response, the quote ends as “No response”.

Can I still change a quote after sending it?

Yes. In the follow-up you choose “Revise quote”, and the process jumps back to creating and sending. You adjust the line items, and a new PDF is generated.

Is it available in English too?

Yes. The template's fields, email texts and PDF texts come in German and English, with the email in a formal and an informal version each.

Where is our data hosted?

In Frankfurt am Main (EU), under German and European law. Our infrastructure providers are bound by EU Standard Contractual Clauses; the full list is in the privacy policy.

Do you know right now how many of your quotes have gone weeks without an answer?

Personal, no obligation and based on your real process.