What is the best quoting software for manufacturers and printers?

QuickEasy BOS, a South African business system with estimating and quoting built in, does this effortlessly. Here is what good quoting software should do.

Key takeaways

• A quote for something you make has to add up every cost, including waste.
  
• Good quoting software uses today's prices, as well as landing costs, so your quote matches what you will really pay.
  
• An accepted quote should become the job card, with every detail carried across.
  
• Checking the real cost against the quote after each job makes the next quote more accurate.

Skip ahead: Show us how QuickEasy streamlines quoting

Why quoting is harder when you make things

A shop that sells kettles knows what each kettle costs, because it bought them at a set price. A printer quoting 5,000 boxes has to work the price out from scratch. A baker making a cake to order has the same problem. The baker has to count everything that goes into the cake, including the cake that cracked and went in the bin. Leave anything out, and the cake loses money.

Factories quote the same way, using board, steel, ink, machines and people. A price worked out in a spreadsheet is easy to get wrong, and one missed cost can wipe out the profit on a job.

What good quoting software should do

QuickEasy is built to meet real-world business needs. Here is what the quoting and sales order functionality in QuickEasy does.

• Uses today's costs. Material prices and labour rates come straight from the system.
  
• Includes import costs. Imported material carries its shipping and import charges, so the quote shows what it really cost to get that material to your door.
  
• Works out waste for each job. Setup sheets and offcuts are counted in the price.
  
• Shows more than one quantity. Customers can see how the price per item drops between 1,000 and 5,000 units.
  
• Shows the customer's history. Past quotes and payments are on screen while you price.
  
• Quotes in the customer's currency. Export customers see their own currency, and you still see the cost in rands.
  
• Turns into the job. An accepted quote becomes the order and job card without being typed again.
  
• Checks itself afterwards. The system compares the real cost with your quote.

Quoting software for printers and packaging companies

BOS has a ready-made estimating tool built for printers and packaging companies. It prices wastage and ink use, along with each machine's speed and its share of running costs, such as rent and electricity. It also shows how to lay the job out on the sheet, so less paper or board is wasted.

Because paper and board prices change often, our South African print customers get paper price updates as part of their subscription, so their quotes match current costs.

When the customer accepts, the estimate becomes the job card with the full job details. Read more about the best printing industry software and our packaging ERP. Signmakers use the same tool, which is covered on our signage software page.

Quoting software for manufacturers and engineers

Manufacturers quote from a bill of materials. That is a list of every part and material that goes into a product, much like a recipe. They also use a routing, which is the list of steps and machines the product goes through.

In BOS, each product carries its own bill of materials and routing, priced from today's costs. Each machine is costed at its own speed and its own share of running costs. Your most expensive machine costs more per hour on the quote, which is how it should be.

When a customer wants a different size or finish, our product configurator adjusts the recipe for you. Imported parts include their landing costs, meaning the shipping and import charges on top of the supplier's price.

Learn more about our manufacturing ERP and job costing software.

A comparison: Spreadsheets, quoting apps, or quoting inside an ERP

The step most quoting tools miss

Most quotation tools stop once the quote is sent. But the best part of an integrated setup is when you are able to compare the quote with what the job really costs.

In BOS, staff record their time and material against the job while they work. Once the job is done, BOS sets the real cost next to your quote, cost by cost. You can see which jobs made money, and which customers or types of job keep running over.

Those answers go straight into your next quote. To check your hourly rates, start with our guide on how to work out your hourly rate. Good software also lightens the load on your estimators, the people who price your jobs, which helps with South Africa's shortage of skilled estimators.

Price one of your own jobs in BOS

Ready to experience streamlined quoting? Send us a job you priced recently, and we'll price it in BOS with you so you can compare the numbers. Book a demo.

FAQs

What is the difference between an estimate and a quote?

An estimate is your working-out of what the job will cost you. A quote is the price you send the customer, which is that cost plus your profit. In QuickEasy BOS, both sit on the same record, so the numbers always match.

What is the best quoting software for a printing company?

Choose software that prices waste and ink properly, then turns the accepted quote into a job card. QuickEasy BOS includes a ready-made estimating tool for print and packaging.

Can one quote show different quantities?

Yes. BOS can show several quantities on one quote, so the customer sees how the price per item changes.

Can we quote in foreign currencies when using QuickEasy ERP?

Yes. Quotes can go out in the customer's currency. BOS converts the amounts automatically and records your cost in rands.

Can QuickEasy BOS handle more than one company?

Yes. BOS manages multiple entities, with reports for each company or for the whole group. That suits businesses that run separate companies for print and manufacturing, for example.