Synthetic example
Signal Card
1Our answer
We recommend not buying a quote-writing tool now.
BuyNot yetSimpler firstRecommendation: simpler first.
In the three cases we reviewed, preparing the price and the document took 15 of 80 hours (about 19%). That is the only stage a writing tool would shorten. For more than half the time, 43 hours (about 54%), finished quotes waited for approval. Another 22 hours (about 28%) went on waiting for information that, in two cases, was already in the approved service sheet.
Hours show how long a case sat in a stage, not how long people worked on it. Three cases show how the delays happen, not how often they happen across all sales.
We recommend three steps, in this order:
- Approval rules. Decide which quotes need the technical director’s approval, which the sales manager approves, and who stands in for the director.
- A register of current terms for the most common service, kept apart from one-off exceptions.
- An AI assistant to find the right terms. An option to test only if the register is not enough.
You can do the first two steps yourselves.
2What your cases showed
We reviewed three finished cases: the requests, the emails and every version of each quote. We also checked the approved sheet for the standard service and an earlier approval of a price exception. We spoke with the sales manager and with the person who prepares the prices.
| Stage | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waiting for missing information | 8 h | 10 h | 4 h | 22 h |
| Preparing the price and the document | 4 h | 6 h | 5 h | 15 h |
| Waiting for approval | 12 h | 16 h | 15 h | 43 h |
| Total until ready to send | 24 h | 32 h | 24 h | 80 h |
We rebuilt working hours from the emails and the document history. Each stretch of time belongs to one stage.
Approval (43 h). All three quotes went to the technical director, including the two standard ones (A and B). The people we spoke with described differently when the director’s approval is needed. No one stands in for the director. Only quote C needed a new decision: the client wanted weekend work and a discount like one given earlier to another client. That earlier approval was for a single job.
Missing information (22 h). In quote A, the person pricing it asked about the scope of the standard service. In quote B, the site preparation terms were confirmed again. Both answers were in the approved service sheet, but not in the materials used for pricing. The interviews added one more fact: there is no single place that shows which terms apply and which were one-off exceptions.
Preparing the document (15 h). 4 to 6 hours per quote. This is the stage where a writing tool would help.
3Recommended order of steps
| Step | What changes | Stage it works on | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Approval rules and a stand-in | Standard quotes no longer wait for the director. New decisions reach the director with all the facts. | Approval (43 h) | Needs a decision from the owner and the technical director. |
| 2. A register of terms and a simple request form | The person pricing the quote checks which terms apply without asking. | Missing information (22 h) | That person still matches the terms. With few variants, that is enough. |
| 3. An AI assistant on the register | Finds the terms that match a request and names the decisions still missing. | Missing information, part of preparation | Makes sense only with a reliable register. Its matching accuracy must be tested. |
| A quote-writing tool | Drafts the document faster. | Preparation (15 h) | Does not decide which terms may be used. Does not shorten any waiting. |
If waiting drops clearly after steps 1 and 2, we do not recommend adding AI.
4How it looks in daily work
A salesperson gets a request like quote C: the standard service, but on a Saturday and with a request for a discount. Instead of sending only the quote, they send the technical director a short note:
- We can base the quote on:
- the standard scope from the approved service sheet (weekday work).
- What is different in this request:
- work on a Saturday. The client asks for a discount like an earlier job, but that approval was one-off.
- We need a decision on:
- team availability on Saturday and the price terms for this case.
- Who decides:
- the technical director (stand-in: [name]).
- The quote must be ready by:
- [date].
The director sees at once what the decision is. Under the new approval rules, a standard quote with no differences and no new decision would not reach the director at all.
You can use this note today, in your current workflow. It does not change anyone’s authority or skip a required approval.
If you add an AI assistant later (step 3), it would draft the first version of this note. It would point to the terms in the register, with their source, and name the differences. The salesperson checks the note, and an authorised person approves the quote.
5Limits and next step
What we do not know. Three cases do not show how often this problem occurs across all sales. We did not speak with the technical director, so we do not know whether quotes waited for lack of the director’s time or for lack of rules. We did not measure working time, the cost of keeping a register or the quality of the whole archive. That is why we give no savings, implementation cost or return on investment. The note in part 4 shows a way of working. It is not the output of a working tool.
When the recommendation changes:
- If the director confirms that quotes wait mainly for lack of time, the priority is a stand-in, not new approval thresholds.
- If the terms in the service sheet cannot be treated as current, they need to be put in order first.
- If the register and the form are enough, there is no case for AI.
Decision for now. We recommend that the owner asks the technical director and the sales manager to agree the approval rules and the stand-in, and to put the terms for the most common service in order. The sales manager can start using the note from part 4 at the same time.
What to check before a bigger investment. After steps 1 and 2, has the time to send a quote dropped enough? Comparing the next 10 quotes with the table in part 2 will answer that. If it has not, and you consider AI, the next question is: can the register correctly match terms to a request, and separate them from cases that need a new decision? That is a more concrete subject for further work than a general “AI for writing quotes”.
Your team or a partner of your choice can use this card. Further work with Jutro is optional.