Quotation workflow: from requirement to quote draft

Quoting is where small shops lose the most time, and where slow replies lose the most work. The goal here is not to replace your estimator. It’s to get a correct draft in front of them faster, with the arithmetic and the material costs already done.

Where the numbers come from

Two sources. First, your own rules — the rates, setup times, margins, and minimums your shop already uses. Second, current material and market prices that the engine looks up, so a quote built today reflects today’s costs rather than last year’s. Both are things you can see and correct. Neither is a black box that produces a number with no explanation.

What stays with a human

Anything that needs judgment: unusual geometry, a tolerance you rarely hold, a customer with special terms, a job that doesn’t match any pattern the shop has seen before. The estimator keeps the final say. The automation handles the routine volume so they have time for the jobs that need them.

How exceptions surface

Every draft shows where its numbers came from. If a line item falls outside the range your shop normally quotes — too high, too low, or missing an input — it’s flagged and the reason is stated, so it gets looked at instead of missed. Nothing passes through quietly as if it were normal.

What the output looks like

A quote draft: customer and job reference, line items with quantities, unit prices and lead times, the material costs used, and a short list of flagged items for review. It’s ready to be edited and sent, in whatever format your shop already uses.

A human approves every quote

Every quote is reviewed and approved by a person before it reaches the customer. The automation prepares the draft; it does not send prices out under your name. That rule doesn’t change as the system learns your shop.