Create and Send a Quote to a Customer in SamBooks
12 min read
How to build a quote with discounted lines, send it to your customer with an online acceptance link, and what actually happens once they reply.
What it's for
A quote is a commercial — not fiscal — document you use to offer a customer a price for items and/or services before committing to an actual sale. In SamBooks it lives under Quotes & proformas, tab Quotes (separate from the Proformas tab, a different, pre-fiscal document). This guide covers the whole journey: filling it in, the PDF, sending it to the customer with a link that lets them accept or decline without an account, the states a quote goes through, and exactly what SamBooks creates once the customer says yes.
Before you start
- The customer must exist in your directory: search by legal name/VAT number, or use Create customer on the spot without leaving the quote.
- If you sell catalog items or services, you can pull them in by code or description; otherwise type free-text lines.
- If the quote ships physical items, a delivery address already saved on the customer record speeds up the Transport section.
Step by step
1. Start a new quote
Go to Quotes & proformas from the left-hand menu (it opens on the Quotes tab), then click New quotation at the top right. This is a dedicated creation page, not a dialog.
2. Choose the customer
In the Customer section, search by legal name or VAT number. If the customer doesn't exist yet, use Create customer right there in the form: the data stays saved in your directory for future documents too. Once picked, a read-only summary appears (legal name, VAT/tax code, address, PEC, SDI code).
3. Fill in the subject and dates
Subject (optional, max 200 characters) also shows on the PDF. Issue date is required, defaulting to today. Valid until is optional but recommended: if you set it, you'll later be able to mark the quote as expired, and the acceptance link you send can never stay open past that date either.
4. Add the lines
Each line can come from the catalog (an item/service combobox: search by code or description and SamBooks fills in description, price and VAT rate for you) or be typed as a free-text line. For every line you set Description, Quantity, U.M. (unit of measure, required), Unit price — if the customer has a price list assigned, the price is pre-filled with a small source tag, e.g. "Price list RIV01" or "Item base price" — and up to three cascading discounts, Disc1 %/Disc2 %/Disc3 %, applied one after the other in sequence (they don't add up). The VAT code completes the line; at a 0% rate, VAT nature appears and becomes required. Line type marks a line as Normal, Free gift (with or without VAT charge), or Free goods discount. The Accrual period collapsible carries a date range through to the order and invoice generated from this quote. Add line for each further row.
5. Closing discount and shipping charges (if needed)
In the Discount and shipping box you can set a closing discount (%) on the whole document and shipping charges as a taxable amount with its own VAT rate (or VAT nature, at a 0% rate): both feed into the document total.
6. Set the payment terms
Payment terms asks for the payment conditions (installments, payment in full, or an advance), a payment method, the payment days and a Starts from reference (document date, end of month, or delivery date). If you pick the customer before touching these fields, SamBooks pre-fills them from the customer record — you can still edit them. Note: conditions and method are required to save, even though the fields carry no asterisk in the interface — leaving them blank blocks saving with the notice "Set payment conditions and method," with no other visual cue. Choosing bank transfer as the method also requires a collection account; conditions other than "advance" also require payment days.
7. Add transport details, if the quote includes items
Under Transport, Carriage terms starts as "Not specified" but becomes binding the moment you switch it to Carriage paid (sender) or Carriage forward (recipient): Pickup address and Delivery address then become required. Watch out: until you pick one, the pickup field shows a grey "Select warehouse" placeholder, and the first entry in the list — "Default warehouse" — is not an actual warehouse but the empty value: leave it there with carriage terms set and saving is blocked with a field-level error.
8. Save the quote
Click Create quotation. The document is created as a Draft, but already carries its final progressive number — visible right away in the header — unlike an invoice, which only gets one when issued. So deleting a draft later burns that number for good, leaving a gap in your numbering — expected, not a bug. After saving you land on the quote's detail page.
9. Check the PDF
From the detail page, click Download PDF: company and customer header, lines (with item code where present), VAT summary by rate, payment terms and shipping (where set), totals. It's the exact same file the customer receives by email.
10. Send the quote for acceptance
From the detail page, click Send for acceptance. A two-column window opens: on the left, the recipient's email (pre-filled if the customer has one on file, still editable) and an optional covering message; on the right, a live preview of the email, updating as you type. Click Send: SamBooks generates a single-use acceptance link, includes it — together with the quote's PDF — in a branded email, and the quote moves automatically from Draft to Sent. If you tell the customer about the quote some other way (phone, in person) and just want to record that it went out without emailing, use Mark as sent instead: same status change, no email.
The public link: what the customer sees and can do
The link opens a public page the customer can view with no account and no password: the issuer (legal name, VAT number), issue and validity dates, the full line table with any Free-of-charge/Goods-discount badges, payment terms, shipping (if filled in), and the total. At the bottom, two buttons: Accept the quotation and Decline.
- If they accept: in that same operation SamBooks creates an already confirmed sales order, the quote moves to Converted, and the page shows the order number with a Download the confirmed order (PDF) button — the customer downloads it immediately, with no need to ask you.
- If they decline: the quote moves to Rejected (a final state), and nothing else is created.
- The link is single-use: reopening it after use only shows the outcome already reached — a second click never creates a second order. Sending it again deactivates the previous link.
- It expires 30 days after sending, or sooner if that coincides with the validity date set on the quote. An expired link shows the customer a dedicated message, inviting them to ask you for a new one.
- No authentication is required: whoever holds the link can respond — don't share it with anyone besides the intended recipient.
The quote's states
Draft → Sent → Converted, or Sent → Rejected or Expired (final states). On the detail page, Workflow tab, the current state is always highlighted on the chain. The chain also shows Accepted: it's a pass-through state you'll never catch a quote sitting in, because accepting one carries it all the way to Converted in the same operation.
- Draft: still being worked on, freely editable and deletable.
- Sent: sent to the customer (by email or another way), awaiting a reply.
- Rejected: the customer, or you manually via Mark rejected, turned down the offer. Final state.
- Expired: the validity date has passed, but this doesn't trigger on its own — someone must click Mark expired, and SamBooks only allows it once the date has genuinely passed (otherwise it shows a notice and the quote stays "Sent").
- Converted: the quote has become a sales order. Final state for the quote; from here you work on the order (Chain tab, "Open the order" link).
What happens when the quote is accepted
Whether you click Mark accepted or the customer clicks Accept the quotation on the public link, the outcome is identical and immediate: SamBooks creates an already confirmed sales order — reserving warehouse stock right away for physical items — and moves the quote straight to Converted in a single, atomic step. An on-screen notice shows the new order's number with a link to open it. In the current flows there's no moment where the quote sits «on hold» waiting for a separate manual conversion: accepting it and creating the confirmed order are one and the same operation, always.
Editing, copying, or deleting a quote
- Edit: only while in Draft, from the detail page or the list row.
- Copy: available on any quote that is NOT a draft (list and detail). Opens a new quote pre-filled with all the source's data — lines included — with the issue date reset to today and validity cleared. It's a new, separate document, not linked to the original.
- Delete: only while in Draft, with a confirmation step. The quote is cancelled and removed from lists, but its number stays assigned forever: it won't be reused by a later quote, so gaps in the numbering after a deletion are expected. The confirmation dialog calls the action "reversible via AI history": that only holds if you asked Sam to delete it — in that case the quote's AI history tab lists the action with an Undo this action control that brings the draft back. If you clicked Delete yourself, nothing is recorded there and the deletion can't be undone.
- A cancelled quote shows a "Quote cancelled" banner; its lines remain visible read-only, for audit purposes.
Who can do what
Manager and Administrative roles can create, edit, send and manage quotes. A Viewer can only look at them.
Ask Sam
You can get the same result from chat, without touching the form:
- "Create a quote for customer Rossi with 2 units of [item] at €100 plus 22% VAT."
- "Send quote no. 14/2026 to the customer for acceptance."
- "Mark quote no. 14/2026 as accepted."
- "Get me the PDF of the last quote for Rossi."
Sam follows the same rules as the manual form: the two paths are equivalent.
If something goes wrong
- "Create quotation" does nothing: payment conditions or method are almost always missing. If carriage terms are set to carriage paid or carriage forward, check that you actually picked a pickup warehouse and a delivery address, and didn't leave "Default warehouse" selected.
- It asks for VAT nature on a 0% line: required in that case, from the menu next to the VAT code.
- "Mark expired" does nothing: the validity date hasn't passed yet; SamBooks blocks the transition and shows until when the quote stays valid.
- The customer says the link doesn't work anymore: it's likely expired (30 days, or sooner if that coincides with the validity date) or already used — the public page states either clearly. Send it again: the previous link deactivates itself.
- I deleted a quote by mistake: if Sam did the deleting, open the quote's AI history tab and use Undo this action — the draft comes back as it was. If you clicked Delete yourself, the quote won't reappear in lists and its number won't be reassigned: redo it from scratch, or start from a similar non-draft quote with Copy.
- I need to change a line but it's already sent: it's no longer editable. Use Copy, fix it, and send the new one.
Frequently asked questions
How do I create a quote for a customer? Quotes & proformas → New quotation: pick the customer, add lines, set payment terms and — if it ships items — carriage terms and addresses, then Create quotation.
How do I email a quote to a customer? From the detail page, click Send for acceptance: check the address, add a message if you like, then Send. The customer gets the PDF plus a link to accept or decline.
Can I add a discount to a quote line? Yes, up to three cascading discounts per line (Disc1/Disc2/Disc3), plus an optional closing discount on the whole document.
How do I add shipping charges to a quote? In the Discount and shipping box, enter the taxable shipping amount and its VAT rate (or nature at 0%): it adds to the document total.
What do "carriage paid" and "carriage forward" mean? Carriage paid means shipping is on you; carriage forward means it's on the customer. Choosing either one also requires a pickup location and a delivery address.
Do I really have to set payment terms on a quote? Yes, in practice: without conditions and a payment method, saving won't go through, even though these fields show no asterisk.
Why does nothing happen when I click "Create quotation"? Almost always missing payment conditions/method, or carriage terms set without a real pickup location or delivery address: check the toast at the top.
Can I duplicate a quote I've already made? Yes, with Copy on any non-draft quote: it creates a new document with everything pre-filled, independent from the original.
Is a quote still editable after I create it? Only while in Draft. Once sent, it no longer is: duplicate it with Copy and send the new version.
How do I download the quote's PDF? From the detail page, or the list row, with Download PDF: the same file the customer receives by email.
How do I delete a quote I made by mistake? Only if still in Draft: Delete from the detail page, with confirmation. It stays on record, but its number won't be reused — a numbering gap afterward is expected.
What's the difference between a quote and an order? A quote commits to nothing; an order — born from acceptance — reserves warehouse stock and starts the delivery-note/invoice chain.
How does the acceptance link the customer receives work? A public page, no login needed: lines, terms and total, plus Accept/Decline buttons. If accepted, the confirmed order's PDF downloads from that same page.
Do "Mark accepted" and the customer accepting via the link give the same result? Does it always create the order by itself? Yes: both immediately create a confirmed order and move the quote to "Converted." Use "Mark accepted" when the customer said yes some other way.
Is the quote expired, or is the link expired — what's the difference? The quote becomes "Expired" only once someone marks it after the validity date passes; the link expires on its own after 30 days (or sooner, matching the validity date). Either way, sending it again reopens the chance to reply, unless the quote is already in a final state.