The quotes office, automated.

Enquiry in, priced quote out in your own format, logged in your CRM, chased to a yes or a no. For owner-run manufacturers, contractors and distributors who quote in volume and can't get them out, or chased, fast enough.

First built for a door manufacturer near Hull whose estimator was leaving. On the first test, 84 of 88 doors matched him to the penny.

Quotation
Ref Q-26-0412, for sign-off by the owner
Draft
Enquiry
Door schedule, 24 doorsets (PDF)
Received
Tue 09:14
Draft ready
Tue 09:41
RefDescriptionQtyRate £Total £
D01FD30S single doorset, 926 × 2040, ash veneer, vision panel6412.002,472.00
D02FD60S leaf-and-a-half doorset, 1500 × 2100, primed2684.001,368.00
D03FD30S double doorset, 1810 × 2040, laminate, two vision panels3918.002,754.00
D04Single doorset, 826 × 2040, laminate, no fire rating9296.002,664.00
D05FD30S single doorset, 1010 wide: size not on your schedule, held for a person to check1heldheld
D06Ironmongery pack 3, per doorset2358.501,345.50
18 more lines, priced from your own rate sheet
Subtotal, 24 lines31,840.00
23 of 24 lines matched to the estimator's quote 1 held for a person Logged to CRM Chase due Friday
Sample draft. Yours comes back in your layout, on your letterhead, for your sign-off.

Built for a firm whose estimator was leaving

A door manufacturer near Hull. 1,500 quotes a year, and the estimator handing in his notice with a fortnight to go.

In three weeks, their survey reports and door schedules were being read automatically, priced from their own product data, and drafted in their exact three-tab layout for the estimator to check and send. Chasing of everything already quoted went live on top.

First test, 88 doors84 of 88matched the estimator to the penny
The four that didn't£1,401his errors, under-quoted and found
246-door survey, four sitesOne runpriced in a single pass
First month of chasingFour cold jobs backthe largest worth £42,698
Their data, as found827 rules4,000 parts and 7,500 past quotes, read as they were

The estimator's desk, without the estimator.

Enquiries read, priced, drafted and chased while the people who make things make things.

What it does

The work of a quotes office, done on your data, in your format. Nothing goes out unchecked.

Reads
Enquiry emails, PDF surveys, Excel schedules, drawing lists. Pulls out the items, sizes, specs and quantities. Flags anything it isn't sure of instead of guessing.
Prices
From your own price list, costing sheet or quoting system, read-only. Your margins and rules, held as rules, not re-typed. Anything the rules can't price lands on a person's desk.
Drafts
The quote and covering email in your format, on your letterhead, ready for sign-off.
Logs
Every enquiry, quote, chase and outcome into Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Xero or whatever you run. No CRM? It keeps the log and you get it on a sheet.
Chases
Day 3, 7 and 14, in your wording. Replies are read and acted on: "send it again" gets re-sent, "call me Thursday" goes on Thursday's list, "gone elsewhere" is logged lost with the reason. The ones worth a call get one.
Reports
One sheet every Friday: enquiries in, quotes out, turnaround, won, lost and why, and the value still sitting unanswered.

Who it's for

Right for you if

  • You make, fit or supply things, and the owner or one estimator prices most of what goes out.
  • Quotes leave in your own layout, from Excel, Word or your quoting system, and you want them out faster without hiring.
  • Quotes you've already sent go unchased because everyone is busy doing the work.
  • An estimator is leaving, off sick, or you can't find one to hire.

Probably not for you if

  • You have a sales office whose job is pricing and chasing. They'll want to keep it in-house, and they're usually right.
  • You send a handful of quotes a month. A spreadsheet and a Friday phone call will do.
  • You want someone sitting in the office answering the phone. This runs remotely and works alongside the people you have.

What it costs

Three ways to buy it. Monthly, cancel any time. No VAT is added at present.

The full build

Automated Quoting

£4,000 to £8,000 buildthen £995 a month

Enquiry to priced draft, from your data, in your format, for your sign-off. Chasing and the Friday sheet included. The estimator's desk, without the estimator leaving.

Live in about three weeks.

The add-on

CRM Integration

Includedor £1,500 on its own

Every enquiry, quote and outcome logged where your team already works, with the chase status against each one.

Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Xero and most others.

The front door

Quote Chasing

£295 a month£495 if we make the calls. £750 setup, waived for the first three clients.

Every quote you already send, logged and chased to a decision. Replies read and acted on, the Friday sheet to the owner.

Live in a week.

The risk is ours, not yours.

  • No setup fee for the first three clients.
  • If nothing comes back in month one, you don't pay for month two.
  • Monthly. Cancel any time.
  • You own anything built for your pricing. We keep the platform.

How it starts

An hour of your time, and you'll know whether it fits.

  1. 1

    Forward one enquiry

    The last one you priced, and the quote you sent for it, to luke@boltonautomation.co.uk. Nothing else to prepare.

  2. 2

    Get the take-off back

    Within three working days: every line of that enquiry in your own layout, matched against your quote, with anything we weren't sure of flagged.

  3. 3

    Decide in 15 minutes

    If it's close, we talk about the build and your free first month. If it isn't, you've lost an hour and we've learned something.

Nothing installed on your machines. Read-only access to your data, deleted on request.

Who you're dealing with

Luke Bolton builds and runs every system here himself. Engineer by trade, across high-voltage power, lifts and marine work, and now putting the same discipline into the office side of firms that make and fit things.

Based near Hull, working remotely with firms anywhere in the UK. You get his mobile, not a ticket number.

Luke Bolton
Founder, Bolton Automation
Phone
07919 606382
Email
luke@boltonautomation.co.uk
Hours
Weekdays, 9 to 5
Based
East Yorkshire