Quote module

PolyBoard includes a highly customisable quote function.

This feature is accessed via the File menu > Quote.

Print quote and Quote preview act like standard Windows Print and Print preview functions and are not covered here.

Please note only that you have the option to print to a real printer, or to use a print to PDF option (e.g. Microsoft Print to PDF) to create a PDF for onward transmission to your customer.

Company information

As we’ll see below, quote templates can be created with your preferred data fields.

This data includes information on your company.

Go to Quote > Company information and add the details you eventually wish to display. Otherwise, leave the fields blank.

The Company tab in this window is shown below:

The Contact tab contains information on the contact within your company and is self explanatory.

The Quote tab includes a series of default quote preferences.

Options include:

• Preferred quote template
• Tax rate, included or excluded from the price
• How long the quote is valid for
• Quote numbering system
• Summary option 1: add additional information data fields
• Summary option 2: split fittings price into fitting itself and tooling, or combine

Customer and quote information

Open a specific PolyBoard design file first; the information we add here is associated with that project. Once the information is added save the design file and it will be present when opened again.

Go to Quote > Customer and quote information to add details on the specific customer the quote is for.

The Quote tab in this window is a little different to the Quote tab in the Company information window.

It pulls in the generic data we set up before, but allows for further editing for this specific customer if required.

Additional fields are also included:

• Reference (defaults to cabinet/project name but can be renamed)
• Date of issue of quote
• Expiry date

Edit quote templates

Now we’ve added our data, it’s time to set up a quote template. There are two key elements to configure.

Click on Quote > Edit quote templates to access both via the Editing quotes window shown below:

Edit layout and data fields for display

Click on the green + icon to create a new template. Other options here allow you to delete, rename, reorder and copy templates. You may wish to view the example quotes and copy and edit these.

To add content blocks for your data fields click on the central green + icon and select the Type of block.

These are automatically added in the correct location.

Below the first page header has been added. Drag the blue boundary square to resize, or in the block’s properties menu edit the position, size, background colour and border.

Note: the first page header and last page footer are specific to those pages. It is important to add these as well as the header and footer blocks otherwise some pages will not have headers and footers the final quote.

The signature block is optional if you wish to add a location for the customer to sign and approve the quote.

Once a block is in place, it’s then possible to add one or more text and images boxes to these blocks.
Une fois qu’un bloc est en place, il est alors possible d’ajouter une ou plusieurs zones de texte et d’images à ces blocs.

Now click inside the block with the mouse and drag then release to create the new text or image box. This can be resized and moved with grab handles or more accurately using the Properties menu on the right.

Once in place, double click inside the block, and type in the text you want. Alternatively right click and select Field, then select the data field to add. Here we’ve added the Company name field. This adds the shortcode for Company name which was entered previously via the Company information window.

Below we’ve added another text block and selected both using the Ctrl button and clicking on them in turn (alternatively drag a selection box across both).

Along with the Properties menu, a range of editing options is available to align the block, and format the text within them. The 2 icons top right equalize the height and width. Blocks can also be grouped and moved and aligned together.

As well as standard Windows copy/paste icons, standard Windows shortcuts apply e.g. Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V in this case.

If you would like to show page numbers like this: pages 1/3, 2/3, 3/3, use the data fields Page number/Page count, shortcodes for these are shown below and are accessible via the Field drop down menus as usual:

With an image block, as soon as it’s created a prompt will require you to navigate to an image file on your computer. This is how you add your logo to a quote template.

Click on the left green + icon to add additional pages to your quotes. Add headers and footers as usual (make sure to click outside the content block first), then just add text and images in the normal way to the content block.

Additional pages are useful for adding terms and conditions and other details as required.

Edit quote parameters (price, quantity etc)

The core element of any quote is a description of the products along with quantity, price and any tax payable. This is displayed in the Multipage content block.

To access and edit this information, right click on this block and select Parameters, or with the block selected click on Parameters > Edit.

The Parameters window, called Description by cabinet, is now visible:

The quote lists costs by cabinet and can be split into the following category options, with a category being each of the costed items listed in the window on the left e.g. panels, bars etc:

• Hide categories: the total cost only for each cabinet is displayed
• Single line per category: all panel costs (and bar costs etc) are combined into a single line for each cabinet; so two different panel materials would be combined into one line
• Details of categories: all panels, bars etc are listed individually

In the following quote Hide categories is selected:

In this quote Details of categories is selected, note each panel material and each fitting is listed in turn:

The window on the right includes all data fields that can be displayed for each category, these can be checked or unchecked for display as required, and reordered using the blue arrows.

To change the display text, select the data field and write the new text in the Title box. This is shown in the example below, note we have also selected multiple categories at once which speeds up the process.

As well format and alignment options, there is a button to access further Color and style preferences. These can also be opened via the right click menu, and in the Properties menu:

The style options allow you to choose the color and formatting for the product line data fields.

Options include:

• Horizontal alignment: of each line in the quote, or set the text to fill the entire width of the quote
• Interior margins: space above and to the left and right of each text field
• Vertical separators and associated color: add borders to text fields
• Background colors: of different text areas

Currency setting

The currency symbol ($, £, € etc) is not set in PolyBoard. Instead the software displays the default currency in Windows. This can be edited in Windows if required.