Pipedrive Quotes: How to Create, Send and Track Them Without Leaving Your Deal

BOTrento Team13 October 20269 min read

Set up your deal so a quote has somewhere to live

Before you change how you write quotes, decide how a quote is represented in Pipedrive. Most of the mess comes from having no agreed rules for this.

One enquiry, one deal

Create a deal for every enquiry that could turn into a quote, even if it looks small. If the customer later asks for a second, unrelated job, open a new deal. If they change the scope of the same job, keep the deal and issue a new quote version.

A pipeline stage for 'Quote sent'

Your pipeline should show at a glance which deals are waiting on the customer. A typical sequence for a rental or event business is: New enquiry → Brief clarified → Quote in preparation → Quote sent → Negotiation → Won / Lost. A deal should only move into 'Quote sent' when a quote has actually gone out, with a date recorded.

A naming rule for files

Use one pattern for every quote file, for example [Quote number] v2 – Client – Event name. The version number in the file name saves you when a customer replies to an old email thread. Our article on sending a revised quote when the scope changes covers version rules in more detail.

The fields to record on every deal

Pipedrive lets you add custom fields to deals. You only need a few. These are the ones that make quotes easy to search and filter:

Keep the status field even though you have pipeline stages. The stage shows where the deal is, and the status shows what is happening with the document. For example, a deal can sit in 'Negotiation' while its quote is 'Revised'.

Step by step: create, send and track a quote

1. Check the brief. Before you price anything, check that the deal notes include dates, quantities, location and any must-haves. If something is missing, ask the customer before you quote rather than guessing.
2. Build the quote. Use your standard template. You can build it with Pipedrive's products and documents features (availability depends on your plan) or in your usual editor. If you don't have a template yet, start from our copy-ready service quote template.
3. Get approval if needed. Agree a simple rule, for example that a second person checks any quote with a discount or above a set value. Note in the deal who approved it.
4. Send it from a tracked inbox. Send from an email account connected to Pipedrive, or BCC the deal's address, so the email shows up in the deal history. If you send a quote from a mailbox that isn't connected, the rest of the team can't see it.
5. Attach the exact file you sent. Upload the PDF to the deal. A link to an editable document isn't enough, because the document might change later.
6. Update the fields. Quote number, version, sent date, valid-until date, status 'Sent', deal value.
7. Book the follow-up before you leave the deal. Create an activity with a due date, such as a call or email a few working days after sending. If a deal has no next activity, that quote is likely to be forgotten.
8. Review weekly. Filter deals in 'Quote sent' that have no future activity, and deals whose valid-until date falls in the coming week. For the second group, use our quote expiry reminder templates.

If follow-ups are where your process usually slips, read how to stop forgetting quote follow-ups. It covers the habits that keep follow-ups on track.

Cover email template for sending a quote

The email matters as much as the PDF. Customers often read the email first and open the attachment later. Some forward it to a colleague who never saw your earlier messages. Keep the email short and ask for one next step.

Subject: Quote [number] v1 – AV equipment for your conference on [date]

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for the details on Tuesday. Attached is our quote for sound, lighting and two projection screens for your conference on [date].

In short:
– Total: €[amount] excl. VAT, including delivery, set-up and a technician on site
– Based on [number] guests in the main hall, [start time]–[end time]
– Valid until [date]

One thing to confirm: do you need the recording package, or is a live feed enough? I've included it as an option.

If it looks right, reply 'confirmed' and I'll send the order confirmation. I'll give you a quick call on Thursday in case anything needs adjusting.

Best regards,
Tom

Notice the promise in the last line: 'I'll give you a quick call on Thursday.' Book that call as an activity in the deal as soon as you send the email. If you rent out equipment, our page on enquiries and quotes for equipment rental shows how this works for typical rental requests.

Where an AI draft with human approval fits in

Pipedrive stores deals, activities and documents well. It won't read a messy enquiry email for you, work out what's missing or write a sensible first reply. It also won't notice when someone promised 'I'll send the revised figures by Friday' and then forgot. That work still happens by hand in Outlook or Gmail, usually at the end of the day.

An AI draft can fill this gap, as long as a person stays in control:

• The AI prepares a draft reply, quote text or follow-up based on the enquiry email.
• A person checks prices, dates and scope, then edits and approves the draft.
• The person sends the email and records the result in Pipedrive.

Avoid tools that send quotes or confirm dates on their own. Prices and availability are commitments, and in a small company getting them wrong is expensive.

How BOTrento Chief of Staff handles quotes alongside Pipedrive

BOTrento Chief of Staff is a managed process for enquiries, quotes and follow-ups. It doesn't replace Pipedrive or your accounting software. It works next to them.

• It watches enquiries and quotes in your mailbox and in data you upload. Mailboxes connect via IMAP. Gmail, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 currently work through forwarding or import. You can import deal data from Pipedrive or a spreadsheet as CSV or XLSX.
• Every working morning you get a Today 1+3 overview in the app and by email. It shows the most important task of the day and three more to deal with.
• It drafts replies, quotes and follow-ups in English, German, French and Czech. It works from the email text and doesn't read attachments.
• It catches promises such as 'I'll get back to you by Friday' and reminds you of them.
• Nothing is sent without approval. A person reviews and sends every draft. BOTrento does not confirm dates or bookings.

AI usage is included in the plan. There's a monthly limit, and you get a warning when you reach 80 %. Data is stored on servers in Germany (EU). The text needed for each task is processed through a commercial AI model provider's API. You can see each step in the process walkthrough and compare plans on the pricing page.

The 14-day free trial needs no payment card and no API key of your own. The 14 days only start when you first upload data or connect your mailbox. Someone from our team will contact you within 24 hours on working days to help with set-up.