Good / Better / Best proposals — let the customer choose

A single estimate asks the customer one question: yes or no? A proposal asks a better one: which? When you put a basic repair, a proper repair and a full replacement side by side, most people stop deciding whether to hire you and start deciding how much to spend. Many pick the middle option. Some pick the top one, which almost never happens when it's the only number they see.

A proposal in Suprata is a set of options on one job. The customer gets one link, compares the options, picks one, types their name, signs and, if your rules ask for it, pays a deposit then and there. This article covers when to use proposals, how deposits work, what happens when a customer changes their mind, and the mistakes that cost sales.

When you'd use this

• Repair vs. replace. An outboard that won't idle: carburetor rebuild ($450), rebuild plus a new fuel pump and plugs ($720), or a repower ($9,800).
• Good / better / best materials. Standard glass, low-E, or low-E with tempered safety glass.
• Scope choices. Fix the leak, fix it and re-seal the whole deck, or the full refit.
• Any job where the customer has to approve before you order parts. Even a single option works. You still get online signing, a deposit, and a record of who accepted and when.

Skip it for work you bill on the spot. If the customer is standing there ready to pay, make the invoice.

How it fits together

1. A proposal belongs to a job. Start one from the job's Proposals card with New proposal.
2. Each option is an ordinary estimate. Tax, your invoice theme, printing and the classic line editor all work exactly as they do for any estimate. There's no limit of three. Options are labelled Good, Better, Best, then Option 4 and so on, and you can rename any of them ("Repair", "Repower").
3. One option can be marked recommended. The customer sees it highlighted. Recommend the one you would actually choose for your own boat, house or car.
4. Sending locks the prices. Once the customer has the link, the options can't change underneath them. Any change after that is a revision (see below).
5. The customer accepts one option. The other options are withdrawn automatically. Only one acceptance can ever count, even if two people click at once.

Deposits: set the rule once, override when you need to

Deposits are set per type of work, because a service call and a custom install are not the same risk. Under the admin settings for Estimates & Proposals, each job type can have one of these rules:

Job types without their own rule follow Everything else. On any single proposal you can override the rule ("this customer is a contractor we trust: no deposit"), and the proposal page shows which rule applies.

When a deposit applies, accepting creates a deposit invoice and sends the customer straight to your normal invoice payment page. Every way your customers can already pay you works there, and they get the usual receipt. When the final invoice is made, a Less deposit line takes the deposit off it, so nobody pays twice.

Our recommendation: 50% on anything involving special-order parts or materials, nothing on service calls, and paid in full for small jobs with new customers.

Approve, or make the invoice straight away?

One company-wide setting decides what accepting does:

• Mark it approved (default). The estimate is stamped approved with the customer's name and the job counts as won. Your team makes the invoice when the work is done, the way most shops already work.
• Make the invoice straight away. Accepting also creates the invoice from the chosen option. Pick this if you bill before you start, or if approved estimates tend to get forgotten.

"Paid in full up front" always makes the invoice at acceptance, because that's what the customer is paying.

The typical workflow

1. Start the proposal from the job. If the job already has an estimate, you can start from a copy of it as your first option.
2. Build the first option. Use Edit items (or the visual builder, if your job type uses it) to add parts and labor.
3. Add the others. Duplicate copies an option so you only change what's different. That's much faster than starting blank, and it keeps the comparison honest.
4. Write a short message at the top. Two sentences in your own words ("The carb is gummed up from sitting. Option 2 fixes the cause, not just the symptom.") do more than any line item.
5. Send to customer by text or email, or use Just get the link to send it yourself.
6. Watch for it. The proposal shows when it was opened and how many times. A proposal opened three times and not accepted is a phone call waiting to happen.
7. The customer accepts: they choose, type their name, sign, tick the agreement box and, if needed, pay. You get a notification. If they said yes over the phone or in person, use Record acceptance to record who accepted.

When the customer changes their mind

Customers ask for a fourth option, a different brand, or "Option 2 but without the plugs." Don't edit what they already have. Click Revise. That creates version 2 with every option copied, ready to change. Version 1 is kept as a record. If the customer opens the old link, it takes them to the newest version you've sent.

Proposal links also expire (30 days by default, adjustable in settings). Prices on parts change, and a six-month-old quote shouldn't be accepted at last spring's prices. When one expires, revise it and send the new version.

Common mistakes

• Three options that are really one. If Good, Better and Best differ by $40, the customer won't see a choice. Make each step up a real difference in outcome, warranty or lifespan.
• A top option nobody would buy. The best option should be one you'd honestly recommend to the right customer, not a decoy. Customers can tell.
• Editing instead of revising. Once sent, options are locked on purpose: the customer agreed to the numbers they saw. Revise, so there's a record of what changed.
• No deposit on special orders. If you order a $1,400 part and the customer disappears, the deposit is the only thing between you and the loss. Set it on the job type, not by memory.
• Accepting for the customer without a record. When you record a phone acceptance, put the name of the person who said yes. It shows on the proposal and in the audit trail if there's ever a dispute.
• If acceptance fails. If your plan has reached its monthly limit for won jobs, the customer is asked to call you and you get a notification. Your plan limit is never shown to the customer. Upgrade or wait for the new month, then record the acceptance.

Related articles

• Estimates vs. invoices — when to use which
• The visual estimate builder
• Sending an invoice to a customer
• Closing, voiding and reactivating invoices