You can assess a Digital Employee for gathering requirements, identifying missing information and preparing a draft from authorised sources and price lists. Separate verified facts from terms awaiting approval. Special prices, availability, start dates and sending an offer need explicit rules: a prepared draft is not already a commitment to the customer.
A quotation starts before the document
A useful quotation answers an enquiry that is sufficiently clear. If quantities, sites, scope or constraints are missing, producing a polished document brings forward a decision your sales team will have to remake. The first task to delegate is identifying those gaps, connecting them to the enquiry and preparing the necessary questions.
Define the output: a requirements record, a calculation using an authorised price list, an internal draft or a proposal ready for the responsible person's approval. “Preparing a quotation” must not implicitly include choosing special prices, accepting the customer's terms or promising a delivery date.
A specific enquiry with unresolved questions
This example is entirely illustrative. The fictional company Arco writes: “We need your support service for two sites, starting next month. Can you include exceptional call-outs? We would like a single price.” No real prices, customers or confirmed availability are used here.
Scroll the table horizontally to read every column.
| Information | Available evidence | Action before proposing terms |
|---|---|---|
| Number of sites | Two, stated in email E-42 | Confirm operational addresses and each site's configuration. |
| Service required | “Support”, without detail | Ask about activities, coverage hours and expected volumes. |
| Exceptional call-outs | Explicit request, undefined scope | Define inclusions, exclusions and approval for additional work. |
| Start date | Preferred timing: the following month | Record it as a request; Operations checks feasibility and availability. |
| Single price | A customer preference | Sales checks whether the applicable price list supports this configuration. |
An initial question might read: “To prepare an appropriate proposal, could you confirm the activities required, sites and coverage hours? For exceptional call-outs, we also need to understand which situations you want included.” This is a draft clarification. Its tone and any sending follow the agreed rules, without promising to accept every condition.
Use identifiable sources for prices and terms
The process must know which price list version is valid, which services it covers and who can approve an exception. A price found in an old email does not automatically apply to a new proposal. If two sources disagree, present the conflict with its references and pause the affected calculation.
Where an approved list defines a unit price, the calculation can show quantity, unit of measure and subtotal, keeping each step visible. Discounts, applicable taxes, travel and additional charges need verified rules and data. Check availability against the authorised source at the agreed stage: historical information is not a future commitment. Where the rules do not cover a case, the correct output is a question for sales, not a plausible amount.
What the sales team should receive
For Arco, the first draft is internal and contains no total because the service has not yet been defined. That is a complete result for the information-gathering stage, rather than an incomplete offer to send. The following structure separates verified information from decisions still required.
Scroll the table horizontally to read every column.
| Section | Draft content | Source or approval |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement | Support for two sites; exceptional call-outs to be assessed. | Email E-42; sales confirms its understanding. |
| Scope | A record of the five outstanding clarifications. | The customer's response and approved service catalogue. |
| Commercial configuration | No amount proposed until scope and the applicable price list are established. | Price list version selected and checked by the responsible person. |
| Start and availability | The following month is requested, not confirmed. | Operations checks availability before a commitment is made. |
| Terms and sending | Current contractual template to be used; sending on hold. | Sales approval and, for deviations, the appropriate specialist's approval. |
When clarification arrives, create a new revision linked to the previous one. If quantities or terms change after approval, return the document for review: approval of Q-42 does not implicitly carry over to a different offer. Retain the sources and the version actually sent.
Choose a scope you can check
Start with a service family whose price list and template are stable. Examine ordinary, incomplete and non-standard enquiries. Ask sales to check omissions, prices, terms and the remaining review time. The aim is to reduce manual reconstruction without handing decisions to an apparently finished draft. The guide to measuring a pilot helps include rework and supervision.
The service businesses page describes information gathering and preparation of sales work, with feasibility and boundaries to agree. Applying it to your process requires checks on price lists, access and rules; a ready-made connection to your business system is not assumed. If enquiries arrive through a shared inbox, begin with email request management. If you are buying rather than selling, explore the separate problem of comparing supplier quotations.