Odoo 18 Enterprise Book: sales

7. Sales Quotations

The process of creating sales orders in a business typically begins with sales quotations, which provide customers with detailed information about the products and services offered, including pricing and terms. A sales quotation serves as a preliminary agreement between the vendor and the buyer, ensuring transparency regarding costs before finalizing a sales deal. With the Odoo 18 Sales module, businesses can efficiently generate and send sales quotations, allowing customers to review pricing details before making a purchase decision. If a customer is satisfied with the quotation, it can seamlessly be converted into a confirmed sales order.

In Odoo 18, sales quotations can be managed from the Quotations option under the Orders menu within the Sales module.

This section provides an overview of all previously created quotations, displaying key details such as the quotation number, creation date, customer name, website, assigned salesperson, activities, company, total amount, and status.

Additionally, Odoo 18 offers multiple viewing options, including Kanban, Calendar, Pivot, Graph, and Activity views, allowing businesses to organize and analyze quotations effectively. Users can also filter and sort quotations using built-in and customizable sorting options to quickly access relevant records.

You can use My Quotations, Sales Orders, Create Date, Recurring, and Not Recurring as default filters. In the Group By option, you will get Salesperson, Customer, Order Date, and Referrer as default options.

To create a new quotation, users can click the New button, which opens a quotation creation form.

The customer’s name can be selected from the provided list, and once an existing customer is chosen, fields such as Invoice Address, Delivery Address, Pricelist, and Payment Terms will automatically populate based on the stored customer information. Additional details such as the Quotation Template, Expiration Date, and Referrer can also be specified. The Quotation Date field captures the creation date of the quotation for record-keeping purposes. The Expiration field specifies the validity period of the quotation, ensuring timely responses from customers.

Furthermore, users can configure Default Quotation Validity in the Settings menu, allowing the system to auto-fill expiration dates based on predefined settings.

Under the Order Lines section, users can add the products they wish to include in the quotation. By clicking the Add a Line button, they can enter product details such as Product Name, Description, Quantity, Unit of Measure (UoM), Unit Price, Taxes, Discounts, and Subtotal. Odoo 18 allows users to add multiple products as per the customer’s requirements. Additionally, the Catalog feature enhances product selection by redirecting users to a product catalog page, where items are categorized based on attributes.

This feature simplifies the selection process, enabling customers to explore various product categories with ease.

Odoo 18 also provides an Add Section button, allowing businesses to categorize products within a quotation into separate sections. Once products are added, the total quotation amount is calculated and displayed under the Order Lines section.

If the customer has Coupon Codes or Promotions, they can be applied directly from the same section. Additionally, users can configure Shipping Methods by clicking the Add Shipment button. Businesses can also include extra details through the Add a Section and Add a Note options, making it easier to provide relevant instructions or clarifications.

To support cross-selling strategies, Odoo 18 includes an Optional Products section, where businesses can suggest additional items that complement the customer’s purchase.

The PDF Quote Builder enables you to enhance the visual presentation of your quotations by incorporating header pages, detailed product descriptions, and footer pages. This feature allows for complete customization of the quotation layout, ensuring a more professional appearance that aligns with your brand identity.

You can manage and configure this feature under the Quote Builder tab.

Further customization is available under the Other Information tab, which includes details related to Sales, Deliveries, Tracking, and Invoicing.

The assigned Salesperson and Sales Team for the quotation can be specified here, ensuring accountability in managing sales operations. Additionally, Odoo 18 allows businesses to enable Online Signature and Online Payment options, streamlining the approval and payment processes. If enabled, customers can sign the quotation digitally and proceed with payment through online methods. The system also supports Print Variant Grids, allowing businesses to generate variant-specific documentation.

The Invoicing and Payments section within the quotation enables users to define Fiscal Positions, Project, and Invoicing Journal. Fiscal positions are particularly useful for businesses that need to adjust taxes and accounts based on customer-specific requirements.

Moreover, Odoo 18 provides flexible shipping policies, allowing businesses to choose between “As Soon as Possible” or “When All Products Are Ready” as their delivery preference. If applicable, the Delivery Date field can be used to specify an estimated shipment date.

For enhanced tracking, businesses can record details such as Source Document, Opportunity, Campaign, Medium, and Source under the Tracking section. Additionally, when the Online Signature option is activated, Odoo 18 introduces a new Signature tab within the quotation window.

Once a customer signs the quotation online, this tab displays relevant details, including Signed By, Signed On, and Signature information.

If the Online Signature and Online Payment options are enabled, customers can conveniently sign and complete payments directly through the portal, streamlining the quotation approval and payment process.

Once the quotation is finalized, it can be sent to the customer using the Send By Email option.

Clicking this button automatically generates an email with the quotation attached, which can then be reviewed and sent to the customer.

The system allows users to customize the recipient details and subject before sending the email.

Once the email is sent, the quotation status updates to “Quotation Sent.” Customers can access the quotation via the Preview option, which redirects them to the Odoo customer portal.

From here, they can review the quotation, download or print it, and proceed with signing or making an online payment using the Sign & Pay button.

Additionally, customers can provide feedback through the Feedback button or decline the quotation using the Reject option if they decide not to proceed.

If the customer accepts the quotation, the business can confirm the sale by clicking the Confirm button, which automatically converts the quotation into a sales order.

However, if necessary, users can cancel the quotation at any time by selecting the Cancel button.

The Send Pro-Forma Invoice button becomes available only if the Pro-Forma Invoice setting is enabled.

Pro-forma invoices are typically used as preliminary invoices alongside a quotation or during the importation process for customs clearance. Unlike a standard invoice, a pro-forma invoice is not a request for payment but rather an estimate or preview of the final invoice. It provides an outline of the products or services, along with their respective costs, before the actual transaction takes place.

When this button is clicked, a pop-up window appears displaying the customer’s name and email address in the Recipients field.

The Pro-Forma invoice, along with its reference ID, is automatically inserted into the Subject field. The email body contains a brief message, which can be modified as needed. Additionally, a PDF copy of the quotation is attached to the email. Once the details are reviewed and finalized, clicking the Send button will email the Pro-Forma Invoice to the customer for review and confirmation.

When the Lock Confirmed Sales setting is enabled, the sales order becomes locked upon confirmation, preventing further modifications to ensure data integrity.

This lock status is visibly indicated on the sales order form, restricting users from altering order details, such as quantities and pricing, after confirmation.

Once the quotation is confirmed and converted into a sales order, it is ready for invoicing and payment, streamlining the sales process and preventing unauthorized changes.