Custom software for the capital goods quoting process
Appfront builds software for builders and suppliers of machines, installations and other capital goods where a quote is a process: the enquiry with the customer's requirements, the technical specification and execution, the costing from bill of materials, hours and purchasing, quote versions and the changes between them, internal approval, follow-up and negotiation, and the handover to delivery once the order is in. So every process sits in one file, and nobody has to search for which version the customer has.
What is software for the capital goods quoting process?
Anyone selling a machine, installation or production line doesn't put together a quote in an hour. The process starts with an enquiry and the customer's requirements, moves through technical engineering and a costing, produces a quote that is revised over a few versions, and ends after negotiation with an order or a rejection. Software for the capital goods quoting process keeps all of that in one file.
Without such software, the specification lives in a Word document, the costing in a spreadsheet with hidden tabs, the versions in email, and the opportunity in the CRM. Only the salesperson knows which version the customer has. A costing gets carried over from a previous quote with prices that are no longer correct. And when the order arrives, engineering starts searching for exactly what was promised.
We build custom software because the process has to fit your products and your organisation: how your machines or installations are structured, how you calculate, which options and configurations you offer, who approves quotes, which CRM and ERP you use, and how engineering takes over the order. A CRM knows the opportunities; it doesn't know the costing and technical specification of your machine.
One file per project
Request, requirements, specification, costing, versions, correspondence and decisions brought together, for everyone working on the project.
Costing you can rely on
Drawn from the bill of materials, labour hours and current purchase prices, with margin and risk per quote, and approval before it leaves the building.
Handover without searching
When the order is placed, the latest version with specification and agreements goes to engineering and production.
How we build quoting software for capital goods
We start with a recent project: how long it ran, how many versions there were, where things were kept, and what engineering still had to work out after the order.
Your products and options, your method of costing, the steps from enquiry to order, the approvals, and your CRM and ERP.
The project file with request, requirements and documents, and the technical specification with configuration options.
The costing from bill of materials, hours and purchasing, quote versions, approval and the quote document.
Follow-up and negotiation, the pipeline, handover to engineering at order, integrations, and then maintenance.
What quoting software for capital goods actually does
The components below come up with almost every capital goods supplier. Which ones you need depends on your products and your organisation.
Enquiries and requirements
The enquiry with the customer's requirements, drawings and documents, and the questions still open.
Specification
The technical specification and options, built from your modules or freely described where the work is custom.
Calculation
Bill of materials, engineering and assembly hours, purchase prices, risk surcharge and margin per quote.
Versions and approval
Every version with the changes compared to the previous one, and approval on margin and risk.
Follow-up and pipeline
Follow-up points, negotiation and chance per project, and the pipeline per salesperson and product group.
Handover
On order, the latest version with specification and agreements goes to engineering and production.
Who we build quoting software for capital goods for
The software is intended for companies whose quoting process is currently spread across documents, spreadsheets and mailboxes.
Machine builders
Machines with standard modules and custom work. The specification and the costing are the core.
Installation builders
Installations for manufacturing or process industry. Versions and handover matter most.
Vehicle body builders
Bodywork on the customer's chassis with many options. Options and approval are what's needed.
Production line suppliers
Long projects involving several parties. The file and follow-up are the core.
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 and integrations
This page covers the process from enquiry to order. For machine execution after the order, see our page on machine building software; for configuring products with rules, see our page on a CPQ system; and for quotes on the move, see our page on a quoting app. You can read about how we work under custom software development.
Why Appfront for your capital goods quoting software?
A quote for a machine is a promise. We build on that: a costing that adds up, versions you can trace, and a handover where nothing gets lost.
Not dependent on a single salesperson
The project is held in a file. A colleague can take it over without digging through the mailbox.
Margins you can rely on
The costing uses current prices and is approved before anything goes out. A quote with too little margin gets flagged before it leaves the door.
What is promised is known
Engineering receives exactly what the customer was given at the point of order. The searching does not begin after the signature.
Security and privacy in software for the capital goods quoting process
The software holds customer data, technical specifications, costings and margins: commercially sensitive information. Access is set by role: the salesperson sees their own projects, costing sees cost prices, and management sees margins and the pipeline. Every version and approval is logged with name and time.
The software runs in a European data centre or on your own server, with encrypted storage and daily backups. Integrations with CRM and ERP use your own keys, which can be revoked.
Frequently asked questions about software for the capital goods quoting process
Questions that capital goods suppliers ask before getting started with this.
For each project it keeps the enquiry, requirements, specification, costing, quote versions and correspondence in one file, has quotes approved on margin and risk, supports follow-up and negotiation, shows the pipeline, and hands the order over to engineering and delivery.
A CPQ system configures products using fixed rules and turns them into a price. That works well for standard products with options. This software is for processes with custom work, long lead times and multiple versions. The two can work together: modules from a configurator, the process in this file.
Yes. Bills of materials from your ERP or engineering system, with hours per module and current purchase prices. Anything custom is costed separately and added.
Each version is a new one, with the changes from the previous version visible. Which version the customer has is recorded in the file.
You set the rules, for example approval by the managing director where margin falls below a threshold or for a given risk. Without approval, the quote does not leave the building.
Yes. Customers and opportunities come from the CRM, and the project status flows back. We will review which CRM and ERP you use in the first step.
Check that first. A CRM tracks opportunities and an ERP creates quotes for standard items, which is enough for simple products. Custom software makes sense if your quotes need technical engineering and costing, if there are multiple versions, or if the handover to engineering currently loses information.
Every quoting process in one file, from enquiry to order?
Tell us what you sell, how you cost, and how a project currently runs. We will show you what the file, the costing and the handover look like.