Creating Proposals: Step-by-Step Guide
With FreshSignal's proposal builder you create professional-looking quotes in minutes: customer details are auto-filled from our database of 7.9 million companies, VAT and discount math is done for you, and you share the proposal by email or with a private link. Your customer can accept it with one click. Proposal and CRM tools are included in all paid plans (including Starter); tools like bulk email require Professional and above.
Before you start
- An active FreshSignal subscription (the Starter plan is enough — proposal and CRM tools are included).
- Your company's details: legal name, address, tax ID; optionally a logo file (PNG/JPG/WEBP, max 2MB).
- Your customer's email address — the proposal is sent there. If it's in our database it auto-fills; otherwise you enter it manually.
- 1
Define your company first
The first time you create a proposal you'll see the "My Companies (Proposals)" card — you can't continue until you define the company making the offer. Click "+ Add company", type your company name into "Find your company in our database (recommended)" and pick it from the list; if it's not listed, fill in fields like "Company name", "Address" and "Tax ID" manually, then hit "Save". These details appear as the "From" block on your proposals.
💡 Picking from the database opens an ownership claim on save; once verified with documents, a "verified ownership" badge appears next to your company. To add a logo, save the company first, then use "Edit" → "Upload logo".
- 2
Start a new proposal
On the "Proposals" page click "+ New proposal" and fill in the "Proposal title" (e.g. "Software services proposal"). If you defined more than one company, pick which one sends the offer in the "From" section.
💡 The company you mark with "Make default" comes pre-selected on new proposals.
- 3
Pick the customer from the database
Type the customer's name into "Search our database by company name (7.9M companies)" and pick them from the list — company name, address, tax ID and province/district fill in automatically. Alternatively, enter their email and click "Match". If there's no match, just enter the details manually.
💡 The customer email is required — the proposal is sent to that address. If we have an email on file for the company it auto-fills; otherwise get it from your customer and type it in.
- 4
Add line items
Each row has "Description", "Qty", "Unit", "Unit price", "Disc. %" and "VAT %" fields; click "+ Add item" for a new row. Use "Search catalog to add a product…" to pull saved products in with their price in one click. "Subtotal (after discount)", "VAT" and "Total" are calculated automatically as you type.
💡 Save your common units and VAT rates on the "Proposal Settings" page and they become pickable while entering items.
- 5
Choose the currency — TCMB rate included
Pick TRY, USD or EUR at the top right of the "Line items" section. If you choose USD or EUR, the "TRY equivalent" is shown under the total using that day's TCMB (Turkish Central Bank) rate — no need to look up the rate yourself.
💡 If a catalog product uses a different currency than the proposal, its price is converted automatically via the TCMB rate; if no rate is available you get a warning and fix the price manually.
- 6
Set terms and the validity date
Fill in "Valid until", "Payment terms" (e.g. 50% upfront) and "Delivery terms"; put extra conditions in the "Notes / footer" box. The "template…" and "add template…" menus above these fields insert your saved texts with one click.
💡 Prepare payment, delivery and footer templates on the "Proposal Settings" page; the one you star as default is pre-filled on new proposals.
- 7
Create, send and share the proposal
Click "Create proposal" and the detail page opens. From there, use "Send by email" to mail your customer, "Copy link" to grab the proposal's private link and share it over channels like WhatsApp, or "Print / PDF" for a hard copy. When your customer opens the link they see "Accept proposal" and "Decline" buttons under the document; their answer updates your proposal's status instantly.
💡 Use "Preview" to check the proposal exactly as your customer will see it; the link is hidden from search engines — only people with the link can view it.
- 8
Revise and track status
If prices or items change, click "Revise": the current proposal is archived and an editable new version (Rev. 2) opens, with all versions kept in the "Revision history" strip. You can also set the status manually from the dropdown: "Draft", "Sent", "Accepted", "Rejected". Use "Duplicate" to spin up a similar proposal quickly.
💡 Archived versions can't be edited or sent — changes always happen on the latest version.
FAQ
My customer's email isn't in the database — how do I send the proposal?
Just type the address into the required customer email field while building the proposal. If you click "Send by email" on the detail page without an address on file, a small form asks for it and saves it to the proposal. If you don't know the email at all, use "Copy link" and share the proposal link through another channel.
I spotted a mistake in a proposal I already sent — can I fix it?
Yes — click "Revise" on the proposal's detail page. The current proposal is kept as an archived copy and an editable new version opens; you send the new version to your customer. What you offered in each version stays recorded in the "Revision history" strip.
How do I download the proposal as a PDF?
Click "Print / PDF" on the detail page, then choose "Save as PDF" as the destination in your browser's print dialog. Your customer can do the same on their side with the "Print / Save PDF" button.
Is the "verified ownership" badge required?
No, it's not required to send proposals — you can quote with a manually entered company too. If you pick and claim your company from our database, the verified ownership badge appears next to it after you upload documents (signature circular or tax certificate) and they're approved.
Ready? Start from the panel
Every step in this guide is waiting in the panel.