Technology has been changing the way we live, work and play. With a few taps on a tablet or phone, you can order food for delivery in less than 30 minutes, watch videos from around the world with just a click of a button and even hail an Uber to take you anywhere your heart desires.
The same is true when it comes to software solutions that help businesses run more efficiently and effectively every day–from managing customer relationships to improving workforce productivity. In this blog post, I’ll review five of the best quoting software for IT businesses in 2021 so that you can find the one that will work best for your company’s needs!
1. Scoro
Scoro is a single web-based platform for your entire business needs. From CRM to eCommerce, project management, and of course, an incredibly easy-to-use quoting tool. In fact, Scoro’s quoting features are some of the most powerful I’ve ever seen in a SaaS solution. Scoro allows you to build quotes with unlimited pricing plans and product variants that include both standard products as well as services or time & material items. Plus there’s no software to install–just sign up and go!
Top 3 Features:
1) Unlimited products, services and pricing plans—all on one simple platform so you can streamline your entire business from one place. No need to log into different software solutions to manage your business.
2) Ability to create and quote on one product or service at a time by automatically applying customer-specific pricing rules based on saved products, services and pricing plans.
3) Generate quotes directly from an opportunity (similar to Opportunities in Salesforce). You can easily attach scheduled events such as meetings, phone calls, tasks and even email correspondence to the opportunity. The best part? Scoro will build custom quotes for each stage of the sales process which you can use as needed–such as meeting notes, follow-up tasks and more.
Pricing:
Scoro offers 4 different plans: Essential, Work Hub, Sales Hub, and Ultimate. Their price starts at $26 per user per month for an Essential plan, with a minimum of 5 users per account.
2. ConnectWise Sell (ConnectWise)
ConnectWise gets it. Back in 2013, they knew that quoting software was an integral part of any solution that helped businesses manage customer relationships and grow through recurring revenue numbers. This led them to acquire QuoteWerks which then allowed them to create ConnectWise Sell–a complete SaaS based quoting tool for IT companies that also includes project management, CRM, time tracking, and invoicing all on one platform! I’ve seen some amazing quotes built with this app—from simple single line items up to complex custom proposals using both standard products as well as services and time & material items.
ConnectWise Sell makes it easy to quote both on IT services as well as B2B products. Back in early 2016 they made the move to a cloud-based quoting app.
My favorite features are the ability to create custom templates that you can then use over and over for each type of project or service, an automated pricing engine with nearly unlimited rules, free 24/7 phone support, built-in tax calculation tools, rich content editor with WYSIWYG capabilities. They even have YouTube videos right inside the application so you don’t have to leave ConnectWise Sell to find training information (and trust me when I tell you, their support rocks!).
Top 3 Features:
1) Ability to quote on services AND products—a must for VARs and MSPs! You can link both standard products as well as custom-branded offerings in your proposals. Plus ConnectWise has some of the best built-in product content available which makes it easy to find exactly what you need, right when you need it.
2) Built-in BI features that are designed specifically for IT service providers. These include real time reports on sales performance, pipeline analytics, team member utilization–even accounting updates with quotes/opportunities paid vs pending invoices. If your business needs help making sense of all the data across your organization, ConnectWise Sell can help.
3) Built-in quoting right from any opportunity so you can quote based on the latest information available including all existing notes, tasks, activities and milestones. When a new opportunity is created, simply click “Add Quotation” to automatically build a new proposal using pre-configured project settings that include customer/marketing contact as well as product and service items.
Pricing:
ConnectWise Sell has three plans: Basic, Standard, and Premium. You have to send your information to them so they can send you a customized quote. Contact them to discover their fees!
3. QuoteWerks
The latest addition to this list is QuoteWerks which makes it easy to build custom quotes from any existing opportunity with—you guessed it—just a few clicks! And when I say “easy to build”, I mean it’s very simple yet still delivers all of the features that VARs and MSPs need including product & service pricing rules, recurring billing, granular tax calculations plus integrations with most CRM systems including ConnectWise CRM. And yes, as a cloud-based application, it runs in the cloud so you don’t have to worry about backups or server maintenance.
In addition to QuoteWerks, ConnectWise also acquired ConnectWise Sell so those who may already have been using QuoteWerks for quoting can now use both applications without having to pay twice!
Top 3 Features:
1) The ability to build custom quotes from any opportunity within ConnectWise without having to recreate the existing quote—a big time saver!
2) Granular tax calculation tools that allow you to configure your own rules. This is perfect for adding additional subtotals based on state, local or country specific taxes.
3) Built-in marketing templates help you create professional looking proposals right from within QuoteWerks — no more transferring data back and forth between applications because now everything is in one place!
Pricing:
Like most things these days, it depends on what type of company you have and how many users need licenses. For example, a single user license is $15/month per user for a Standard plan. Price scales up to $20 to $30 on higher plans.
4. Oracle CPQ
Since Oracle acquired QuoteSoft back in 2012, they have now integrated this software into their own CPQ solution which is now called “Oracle CPQ Cloud.” As you can imagine, their solution packs a ton of features that are specifically designed for the technology industry including marketing & sales teams, product lifecycle management (PLM), order-to-cash and professional services automation (PSA). For companies who use Oracle Financials (e.g., PeopleSoft), there’s even tighter integration between the two applications where automatic updates to quotes happen within QuoteWerks saving users time updating proposals on both sides.
Top 3 Features:
1) Allows users to build quotes & orders more than 50% faster than traditional methods.
2) Product Data Management (PDM) -helps your company manage all of their product data across multiple locations and distributors.
3) Online Collaboration – enables management teams to work together in real-time with an unlimited number of people on either side of the quote.
Pricing:
For their pricing information, contact Oracle CPQ.
5. Conga CPQ
Conga is another company with a cloud-based quoting solution that focuses on the IT industry. This application can be used for quoting, order management and also documents the entire sales process by tracking opportunities from start to finish along with users’ activities within each stage of the pipeline. It provides companies with real-time visibility into deal progress, has out-of-the box templates for popular quotes/proposals and allows users to create custom fields as needed.
Top 3 Features:
1) Smart List Quoting – allows you to configure your own rules like “must match” or “is less than” during the quote process which significantly reduces time spent manually building quotes.
2) Drag & Drop Editing – simplifies the quote process by allowing users to drag and drop from a library of line items from multiple modules including hardware, software or services.
3) Custom Fields – get rid of those default fields that don’t apply to your company and build exactly what you need instead!
Pricing:
For accurate pricing information, contact Conga CPQ or get a demo from them.
6. Vendavo Quote Management
Vendavo is another quote management solution that focuses on the technology industry and was ranked #4 in IT Quoting Software in 2016’s List of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America! Vendavo quotes are interactive and adhere to strict corporate branding which increases customer engagement & dramatically improves close rates for users. The application includes a custom pipeline builder, allows you to customize any type of quote such as proposals, invoices or even contracts and understand each deal’s profitability and risk.
Top 3 Features:
1) Dashboard – this is a customizable interface that provides quick insights into your sales process including the progress of every deal along with potential risks. Vendavo also offers a mobile app for iPhone and iPad users which allows you to connect with customers, manage quotes & capture signatures -on-the-go!
2) Deal Builder – allows you to create customized quote templates based on each customer’s unique requirements easily and quickly by connecting the application to any back end system such as Salesforce, Oracle or SAP.
3) Branding – delivers a professional look regardless of how your company’s branding colors & logo are displayed throughout the quoting process
Pricing:
Vendavo’s pricing information is not displayed on their website. Contact them or request a demo to learn more about their fees.
Conclusion
With all of these quote management tools on the market, it can be difficult to narrow down your options and decide which is best for your business. That’s why we recommend giving each one a try by signing up for their free trial and see which one you like most before moving forward with an investment. If your sales process is complex then you should consider a quote management software with features that allow you to build custom quotes quickly and easily.
On the other hand, if simplicity is what you need then a basic application may suit you better. Whatever the case may be, these 5 options will enable any business in the IT industry to streamline their quoting process to help grow their bottom line!
