Ofivio — from onboarding to final delivery · Part 2 · Winning the work · Chapter 10 of 56

Quotations, bids and tenders

Write a quotation line by line against a deal, track formal bids and tenders against their submission deadlines, and turn a win into a client and a project.

Quotations, bids and tenders

Sooner or later a client asks what it will cost. In Ofivio that answer is a quotation: numbered lines, a discount, tax and a validity date, tied to the deal it prices. A tender is different: a buyer invites several firms to submit by a fixed deadline, and you track that under Bids & tenders. Both sit in Sales, and both end the same way when you win: a client, and if you like, a project. The principal or the person running new business prepares them.

1. Press "New quotation" — On the Quotations tab. The builder opens and explains that line amounts, the discount and the tax are recalculated when you save, using the same arithmetic you see on screen.
2. Give it a Title and the Client name — Title is required, for example "Yousaf Residence — design commission".
3. Link it in "Against a deal" — Optional, but worth it: the quotation then moves its deal forward on the pipeline for you. Leave "No deal" for a one-off price.
4. Fill in the first line — "What is being provided", then Qty, Unit and Rate. The amount on the right is worked out as you type.
5. Press "Add line" for each further item — The bin icon removes a line you no longer need.
6. Set Discount, Tax % and Valid until — The discount is an amount, not a percent. Tax is charged on the discounted figure, which is why the totals show a "Taxable" line between Subtotal and Total.
7. Add Terms and press "Create" — The quotation joins "All quotations" with its own number, starting with QT, as a draft.

The list shows Number, Title, Client, Total, Valid to and Status. While a quotation is a draft you can click its title to change it. The status list on each row moves it on: draft, sent, accepted, rejected or expired. Mark it "sent" once the client has it. From that moment it carries a lock: the client is holding a copy, so Ofivio will not let you change it, and clicking it says to issue a new quotation instead. The line under the tabs counts how many quotations are out with clients and their value.

So when the client accepts, you do not have to go and win the deal too. Open the Pipeline tab and the deal is already in Won, with a "Create client" button on its card.

1. Press "Create client" on the won card — The dialog "Create the client" opens. It says exactly what it does: it adds a client to your workspace and nothing else. No invoice is raised and no money is recorded.
2. Check the Client name, and add Email and Phone — The name is filled from the deal's company.
3. Tick "Create a project for it too" if the job starts now — A "Project name" field appears, filled with the deal's title. Leave it unticked to add the project later.
4. Press "Create" — Ofivio says "Client created", and "A project was created too" if you ticked it. The card now reads "Client created"; press it to open that client in your Clients. "Not yet" closes the dialog without writing anything.

Quotation sent → Deal at Proposal → Quotation accepted → Deal won → Create client → Project (draft)

A project made this way is born like any other: a draft until the client signs its agreement, with its own OfiDrive folder and its own OfiRoom table, and the deal's value used as its starting budget. Nothing about it is treated as money in hand. Part 3 of this guide picks the project up from there.

Bids & tenders is for formal submissions to a named buyer, with a deadline and competitors. The list is sorted by submission deadline, soonest first. A deadline close at hand turns amber. A deadline that passes on a bid never marked submitted turns red, and a red line above the list asks you to move it to Submitted if it went in. "Show all" brings back decided bids; "Live only" hides them.

1. Press "New bid" — The form says a bid starts as Identified, and every later status is moved on the list.
2. Fill in Title and Buyer — Both are required. The buyer is who is inviting the bid, for example "Shifa Care Clinics".
3. Add "Their reference", Value and "Submission deadline" — Their reference is what the buyer will quote back at you.
4. Choose the Source and, if it applies, "Came through" — Sources are tender portal, invitation, referral, relationship, prequalification, repeat client or other. "Came through" lists your Relationships, so a consultant who brings you work gets the credit.
5. Add "Odds %" and Competitors — Competitors are comma separated, for example "Firm A, Firm B".
6. Press "Add bid" — Move it on as the work goes: Identified, Preparing, Submitted, Shortlisted.
7. Decide it — Choosing Won or Lost asks "Why did we win?" or "Why did we lose?". The reason is required; press "Mark won" or "Mark lost".
8. On a won bid, press "Client" — The same "Create the client" dialog opens, with the buyer's name and the option to create a project. A greyed button means your plan's client places are used up; point at it to read why.

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