Custom quote app development
A quotation app lets your staff build a quote from a costing, send it, revise it and have it approved digitally, after which the data flows through to planning and post-calculation. Appfront builds that application to measure for organisations that can't fit their quoting process into an off-the-shelf package, for example because of custom price tiers, composite line items, or an approval route that must first pass through several people internally.
What is a quotation app?
A quotation app supports the chain from costing to signed order. It starts with building the quote from line items, hours and materials, runs through the outgoing document and the revisions that follow, and ends with the client's acceptance. The order then moves on to planning and delivery, and finally feeds back as a post-costing review.
That last step is where things usually go wrong in practice. Many organisations cost carefully and invoice carefully, but never compare the two. Margin then leaks away between estimate and delivery without anyone seeing where. A quotation app that keeps the costing attached to the order makes that comparison possible without a separate exercise.
Legally, a quotation is an offer. Once the client accepts it, a contract exists. That makes the record of acceptance more important than it usually receives: which version was accepted, when, and by whom. An app that records this consistently prevents disputes that would otherwise surface only months later at handover.
Costing stays linked to the order
The underlying costing is kept with the order rather than discarded after sending. This means you can compare afterwards what you estimated with what the work actually cost.
Version control during negotiation
Every revision becomes its own version. On acceptance, it is fixed which version was agreed, so there is no later dispute over which variant the client had in mind.
Acceptance with evidential weight
On acceptance, the app records the moment, the version and the manner of acceptance. That is the difference between 'the client said yes' and a demonstrable acceptance of a specific offer.
How we build your quotation app
We start with your costing, not the quotation document. Formatting a quote is quickly sorted; the logic underneath is where the real work lies and where off-the-shelf packages tend to fall short.
We work through how you build up prices: hourly rates by role, material tiers, surcharges, discounts and composite items. These rules are what determine whether a standard package fits or not.
We define who may create a quote, who must approve it and above which threshold. We also determine how revisions run and how long an offer remains valid.
We build in short iterations and integrate with your item file, CRM and accounts. You see working versions along the way and help decide what comes first.
After go-live we connect the feedback loop: actual hours and materials alongside the costing. This is usually the part whose return only becomes visible after a few months.
What a quotation app concretely does
Which components weigh most depends on your sales process. An installation company with many small quotes needs something different from a consultancy with long-running engagements.
Costing and margin
Price build-up from hours, materials and surcharges, with visibility of margin while the quote is being composed. For more extensive cost price calculation, see our costing software.
Composing the quote
Select items from your own item file or text blocks, with composite items for work that often recurs in the same combination. This reduces errors from retyping.
Versions and revisions
Every change after sending becomes a new version, with a view of what changed compared with the previous one. Useful in negotiations that run over several rounds.
Digital acceptance
The client accepts via a secure link, and the app records the time, the version and the method of signing. We determine together which level of electronic signature is appropriate.
Follow-up and validity
Visibility of which quotes are outstanding, which are close to expiry and which require follow-up. An offer has a validity period, and monitoring it is simpler than extending it after the fact.
Post-costing and reporting
Actual hours and materials alongside the original estimate, per job and per job type. This shows you where you are consistently under- or over-quoting.
Who we build quoting applications for
Custom work is rarely a matter of preference here. It concerns organisations whose pricing structure or approval route does not fit a standard package.
Installation and construction firms
Businesses that price by material, hours and tiered rates, and where post-job costing determines whether a project was profitable. See also our software for installers.
Technical service providers
Organisations with service contracts and additional work, where a quote often follows from something spotted in the field. Integration with the work order app closes that loop.
Wholesale and distribution
Companies with large product catalogues and customer-specific pricing agreements, where a quote is mainly about correctly assembling known items.
Consultancy and professional services
Agencies that quote by hour and role, with proposals that must pass through several people internally before they can be sent.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology, integrations and signing
A quoting app derives its value from its integrations. Items and rates come from your source system, customer details from your CRM, and the accepted quote flows on to scheduling and invoicing. For sign-off, the eIDAS Regulation distinguishes three levels of electronic signature, increasing in reliability. Which level fits depends on the importance of the agreement and what you may need to prove in a dispute. For recording costs in the field, this works well alongside an expense claims app.
For removal companies that want to carry out the survey and costing on site, there is our app for inventory surveys and removal costing.
Why choose Appfront for your quoting app?
We build custom software with smart technology and thoughtful design. In a quoting process, that thoughtfulness lies mainly in the pricing logic. Almost every organisation assumes it is simple, until you write out the exceptions: the long-standing customer with their own tiered rates, the item that only applies to a particular combination, the discount the director may grant but the salesperson may not.
We work in design and development sprints, so you see working versions along the way. For a quoting app, that means running real quotes through the system early on. This exposes discrepancies that stay invisible in a specification, and it prevents the situation where the package works except for your twenty most important customers.
The process runs from a no-obligation introduction through planning and development to ongoing management. For a quoting app, we recommend starting small: first compiling and sending quotes, then digital acceptance, then post-job costing. Each step delivers value on its own, and you learn along the way what the next step should be.
See also our broader app development, our web applications, and what we do in custom software.
- Custom software that fits your own pricing structure
- Running real quotes during the build, not only at handover
- Version control and a secure record on acceptance
- Approval workflows as they actually operate in your business
- Integrations with your item file, CRM and accounts
- Post-job costing so that margin becomes visible
- Building up step by step, with value delivered after each stage
- Clear documentation of integrations and data flows
- Ongoing management as your pricing structure or systems change
Legal validity, evidence and data protection
Two things come together around acceptance: legal validity and evidence. Article 3:15a of the Dutch Civil Code treats electronic data as equivalent to a signature under certain conditions. The eIDAS Regulation distinguishes within that between simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures, rising in reliability. A qualified signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature.
In practice, the question is rarely about validity and almost always about evidence. Can you demonstrate which version was accepted, by whom and when? That is why, upon acceptance, we record the time, the document version and the method of acceptance, and keep the accepted document available unchanged. We discuss in advance which signature level suits your contracts; that is a choice you make together with your lawyer, not a setting we fill in for you.
Quotation data is also commercially sensitive: your margins and client-specific agreements are in there. We set up authorisation by role, so that not every employee sees the full price build-up. We process personal data in accordance with the GDPR. Read more in our information security policy and CVD policy, or discuss your situation via our contact form.
- Recording of time, version and method of acceptance
- The accepted document kept available unchanged
- Choice of signature level discussed in advance
- Authorisation by role, so not everyone sees all margins
- Audit logging of changes to prices and documents
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher) and at rest
- GDPR-compliant processing of client and contact data
- Documented data flows for your record of processing activities
Frequently asked questions about building a quoting app
What organisations most often ask us first about custom work for the quotation process.
For a simple quote with fixed items, a standard package is almost always the better choice. Custom development becomes worthwhile once your price build-up deviates: your own volume tiers, composite items, client-specific agreements, or an approval route that runs through several people internally. These are exactly the points where standard packages stall, and where people start working in a spreadsheet alongside the package.
Article 3:15a of the Dutch Civil Code treats electronic data as equivalent to a signature under certain conditions, and the eIDAS Regulation distinguishes three levels within that: simple, advanced and qualified. A qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. Which level suits your contracts is a legal judgement you make together with your lawyer.
The time, which document version was accepted and how that took place. We also keep the accepted document available unchanged. That matters more than it is usually given credit for: in a dispute, the discussion rarely concerns the validity of the signature and almost always concerns exactly which version was on the table.
Yes, and that is often where the biggest gain lies. If the underlying estimate is retained with the order, you can later set the actual hours and materials against it. That makes visible where margin leaks between budget and delivery, rather than you discovering it only in the annual accounts.
Usually, yes. Items and rates come from your source system, customer details from your CRM, and the accepted quote flows on to scheduling and invoicing. Without those integrations the app remains a standalone document maker and you only shift the retyping. If a system has no usable API, we build an intermediate layer.
Yes. For sales staff and fitters who want to put together a quote on site, we build a mobile entry point that works with your product file and, where needed, carries on working offline. This is especially useful when a quote arises from something spotted during a visit.
Yes. In many organisations, not everyone is allowed to give every discount or quote every amount. We record those rules by role and threshold, so that a quote automatically reaches the right person before it leaves the building, without the need for a separate email exchange.
We usually recommend that. Start with building and sending quotes, then add the digital sign-off, and only then the post-calculation. Each step delivers value on its own, and along the way you learn which exceptions in your pricing structure really matter. That is better than trying to specify everything upfront.
Ready to build your quoting app?
Tell us how your quotes are currently produced and where it hurts: pricing structures that don't fit your package, versions getting mixed up, or a post-calculation that never happens. We're happy to review your calculation logic and approval route with you before we build anything.
For the technical details, see Building quote and proposal software on applatenmaken.com.