Why proposals are a web page, not a PDF
A proposal in 1pm is a web page, not a PDF. Your client opens it from their quote link, reads your pitch, adjusts the quote if you let them, and accepts it, all on the same page. 1pm doesn't generate a proposal PDF, and this article explains why, and what to do when a client asks for a file.
A proposal is always current
A PDF is a snapshot. The moment you export it, it starts going out of date: a price changes, the guest count moves, you spot a typo, and the file sitting in the client's inbox still says the old thing. The usual fix is to export again, email again, and hope the client opens the newest attachment rather than the first one.
A proposal in 1pm renders fresh every time the client opens it:
- The quote inside it is the live quote. Change a line, a price or a package, and the proposal shows the new figures the next time the client looks. There is no second copy to fall out of step.
- Details come from the lead. The Booking details and Space blocks, and merge fields such as [first name] and [event date], fill in from the client's lead. Update the lead and the proposal follows.
- Menus come from your Menus library. Change a dish or a dietary note on the menu and every proposal showing that menu has the change.
- Fixes reach every client at once. Correct a typo or swap a photo in the proposal template and every open quote using it is right straight away, without resending anything.
The client can act on it
A PDF can only be read. The client still has to reply to an email, ask for changes, wait for a revised file, then sign somewhere else and pay somewhere else again.
On the proposal page, the quote sits in the middle of your pitch with its Accept button. Where you have set up options or packages, the client can adjust the quote and watch the total change. Accepting books the date and takes them on to the terms and the deposit. The pitch and the booking happen on one page.
It works on a phone
Most clients open a proposal on their phone, often between other things. A PDF built for an A4 page means pinching and scrolling sideways. A proposal page reflows to the screen, so photos, menus and the quote all read comfortably at any size.
It also arrives as a link rather than an attachment, so it doesn't bloat the email or trip a spam filter the way a large PDF can.
When a client needs a file
Some clients need something to file or forward to an accounts team. The quote itself is always available as a PDF:
- The client can use Download PDF on their quote page.
- When you email a quote, you can attach the PDF as well as, or instead of, the link.
That PDF is the plain quote: the lines and the figures, without the pitch around it. It is the document an accounts team actually needs, and it matches the live quote at the moment it is downloaded or sent. Printing the quote page gives the same plain quote.
Related articles
- Proposal templates covers building a proposal and putting it on a quote.
- Letting a client adjust a quote covers the options a client can change on the page.
- Sending a quote or invoice in a reply covers reply templates that raise a quote with a proposal.