We've added a bolded, red font line into the interactive section of the PDF box reminding the customer to click the "UPDATE" button on any changes. Seems like a decent low effort fix. Not foolproof, of course.
One of my clients has a small script that appends the text "Optional Item" automatically to a CustomText field for relevant item(s) to address the potential for a client not quite understanding.
This field is then displayed on QuoteValet.
If it's not optional, there's obviously no text to display.
I'll have a little fiddle to see if it's possible to change the formatting (say put the text in green) if it's optional via the HTML/CSS
Yes, I've made a raft of changes and my default QuoteValet template looks very different to the out of the box one provided by QuoteWerks.
Changes such as different formatting for group members/headers/summary/comment, etc. lines are straightforward.
It's the attribute element (is it optional, is it recurring) that's a little more tricky.
I don't believe QW offer any alternatives on QuoteValet templates as they're, relatively, much more complex that QuoteWerks (PDF) templates
An example of one of my quotevalet templates is available as an attachment (I hope!), this includes online chat and various other elements too
(I also overhaul the email/acceptance confirmation pages, etc.)
It's do-able, but needs a bit of JavaScript to refresh the formatting when the customer changes selected options. It can be made to work even with the new AutoUpdate document totals. Contact me for more details!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Clicking new... "What would you like to do now?"
A bit like Word/Excel, etc. all do, giving you half a dozen things you'd typically like to do.
"New Blank Quote"
"Use Default Template"
etc.etc.
Extends the drop-down next to the new button (which almost no one uses)
Option for "Remember this selection the next 10 times" or something.
What would be nice would be to be able to set a default template, rather than a document when you press new.... there's a new feature request. I'll add it and you can vote for it.
All that places a little reliance on Sales Reps doing what they're asked to do.. and we know what that can sometimes lead to ;)
Your solution is absolutely right.
Templates are woefully underused in my experience of working with long time QW users.
I also find that using the F2 lookup in the description field, to add this sort of 'intruction', can help.
Another solution is much simpler.
If you have all your items in a separate section, use the section header, so the dollar value is zero.
Then put in a comment that says, here are some options you might consider.... tick the check box, and then click the update button below....
You could do lots of fancy formatting, (which I've done with my QuoteValet layouts), but the unsubtle direct approach may be the best.
If you have a sales team, create a template and get them to use it.
By the way, you guys know that you can actually embed HTML code in the item description? It works, you can change the color and size of fonts, create links to sites and more but just make sure you do not include a PDF file in your QuoteValet or that you skip these lines in your QuoteWerks template otherwise the PDF is going to look like an HTML document.
Ah, right. Yeah, we've had some issues with that in the past. I've gotten in the habit of clearing all lines when duplicating, but it's definitely laden with error possibilities.
Joe, I appreciate your suggestion and I will give it a try, however, what I referring to by color code is within the QuoteWerks application document window where I believe the hidden price is in gray, optional I think is green, I also think purple is group total, etc. of course I am speculating here because I am yet to see the document in the QuoteWerks website that explains it in detail or that explains it at all.
Easiest way to change colors and other options is <span> tag... I've had some success with it.
Roberto Elizondo
I am having a lot of problems with customer visualizing the optional items check box. I just closed a deal where the customer forgot to check the box and was expecting the item to be included in the price that was approved. This is becoming a big problem for me because people are busy and are not reviewing the QuoteValet quote thoroughly and often skip the optional items thinking that they are included.
I was able to display the message "(Optional Item NOT Selected)" or "(Optional Item Selected)" underneath the extended price field of the PDF document, you cannot miss it. If I could code something similar in QuoteValet, it will serve me two-fold because either the customer will catch it or I will while on the preview.
I am not an expert on css or html but I know enough to have comfortably done some extensive customization on some of the templates however this coding has proven to be a little bit more challenging than what I expected. I started by trying to add test text to what I assume is the optional line item under the line items section but nothing so far has shown up on the preview. Can somebody be so kind as to offer some sort of tip or trick that can help me jump start the coding or is all this coding internal Java that I will not be able to touch?