📌 Stage 5 · Quotes to Orders · Sales Pipeline CRM · Quote Register · 30–40 min

Every price promise in writing, with a clock on it

Learning goals

  • Keep a quote register linked to opportunities by quote number
  • Compute quote expiry as date plus a Settings-driven validity window
  • Treat an expired quote as a follow-up trigger, not a dead end

Concepts

One row per quote

Eight quotes, QT-3001 through QT-3008, each tied to its opportunity number and carrying a description, an amount, a status, and - once accepted - the order it became. The status list is five words: Draft (writing it), Sent (out the door), Accepted (signed), Declined (rejected), Expired (the clock ran out). In this case: five Accepted, one Declined, two still Sent as of Jun 30, 2026.

The register does for quotes what the opportunity register does for deals: one flat table, filterable, countable, auditable. The quote number is the durable key - Orders will look up by it in Lesson 16.

=$C5+Settings!$C$7

Expiry = quote date (C5: Mar 18, 2026) plus the validity window in Settings!C7 (30 days) = Apr 17, 2026. Date plus number is plain serial arithmetic - the same trick as NET 30.

💡 Tips:

  • The validity window lives in Settings precisely so you can quote 14-day validity to retail accounts and 30-day to hotels by changing policy in one conversation - and one cell.

Expiry is a sales weapon

An expiry date converts a vague 'let us know' into a decision with a deadline. The two live quotes both expire in July: QT-3007 (Bluebird expansion, $9,600) on Jul 12 and QT-3008 (Harborview patio, $7,300) on Jul 26. A healthy habit: every Monday, filter Status = Sent and look at Expiry - anything inside ten days gets a call, not an email.

When a quote expires, the deal does not: renew it with a new quote row (new number, so the history survives) or reopen terms on the same opportunity. QT-3006, the bakery contract declined Apr 30 on price, is the cautionary tale - the opportunity stage moved to Lost and the quote register explains why in one row.

💡 Tips:

  • Revisions get new quote numbers. Overwriting the amount on a Sent quote erases the price you actually promised - auditors and customers both remember.

Practice

Fixed case (Jan-Jun 2026, aging date Jun 30, 2026). Pale-green cells are formulas; white cells are typed entries. This lesson opens on Quotes.

  1. Scan the eight quotes — Rows 5-12. H5 is blank - you will type it. Notice column J: the five accepted quotes already name the sales order they became (SO-4001 through SO-4005).
  2. Type the expiry formula — Click H5 and type =$C5+Settings!$C$7 then Enter. QT-3001 (Mar 18, 2026) gets expiry Apr 17, 2026 - thirty days, driven from Settings.
  3. Cross-check a second expiry — H8 (QT-3004, the pour-over kit quoted Apr 14, 2026) shows May 14, 2026. Apr 14 plus 30 - same formula, same Settings cell.
  4. Census the statuses — Column I: five Accepted, one Declined (QT-3006), two Sent (QT-3007, QT-3008 - both expire in July, both worth a Monday call).

Online exercise

The spreadsheet below is editable — follow the practice steps right on this page. Steps that need ribbon menus should be done in your own Excel with the downloadable practice file.

表格加载中…

Checklist

Work through each item; when every box passes, this lesson is done:

  • ☐ H5 returned Apr 17, 2026 (QT-3001 + 30 days from Settings!C7)
  • ☐ Verified H8 = May 14, 2026 and the status census of 5 Accepted / 1 Declined / 2 Sent
  • ☐ Can explain why an expiring quote triggers a phone call and how revisions get new numbers