Basic
One Page Documents
When a quote only contains a few items with short descriptions,
it is clear that it will print on a single page. Some users
produce quotes that always fit on a single page and therefore
their design efforts focus on "single page" layouts. In layout
view, you select "single layout" from the page pop-up list and
add header and footer elements to surround your quote body.
There is no limit to the number of elements you can add to your
headers and footers. In addition, these elements can be placed
anywhere on the screen. You are not forced to work within the
confines of a grid as is the case with most layout solutions.
There are several alignment tools available to help the user
design the perfect document. Hold down the ctrl key and select
several elements with the mouse, then right-click and choose an
alignment method. Multiple selections can also be quickly
defined by dragging the mouse over all of the elements to be
included in the selection. Elements can also be centered on the
screen using this tool.
Multiple
Page Documents
In many cases, however, you will be generating documents with
too many items to fit on a single page. You can deal with these
situations by defining a multi-page layout. To do this you need
to define three different page styles:
First Page – This page will begin
like the single page layout but may not contain the footer
elements. You have the choice to add any footer elements you
like – such as page subtotals or page numbers.
Middle page – This page will be
used when there are too many items to fill the body of the first
and last pages of a quote. Often, these pages contain a minimal
header to identify the document and footer information and
display page subtotals and page number.
Last Page – This page usually
contains a quote body at the top, and the footer information
normally used at the bottom of a single page document, such as
terms and conditions and final totals.
Copying Elements - It's quite easy to copy
elements from a single page layout to the various multiple page
layouts. For example, a common operation is to copy the header
information from a single page to the corresponding first page.
Simply select all of the desired elements in the single page
layout and pick "Copy selected fields To" under the file menu
and choose first page.
Additional Supporting Pages, Proposals, Terms
Many salespeople wish to include opening and closing documents
as part of a quotation. These pages are easily defined in
QwikQuote. There is one cover page and 11 ending pages that can
be attached to a layout. These pages can include any of the page
elements described above.
The cover page is often used as a letter to describe the quote
to the client. The body can be a standard paragraph created by
adding a text element to the layout, or it can be a field that
is linked to a notes user-defined field which contains
personalized text.
Ending pages can be used for a variety of purposes. In addition
to providing more information to the client, ending pages can be
used to create internal reports. Summary sheets which includes
cost and commission information can be printed and filed from
each quote.
Labels,
Fields, Text and Graphics
Labels - Static text strings that can be used
to represent field names or single line comments, disclaimers,
etc. Any format can be applied to these elements; however, the
format changes effect every character in the label
Fields - These are pieces of data obtained from
the specific quote you will be printing. There are 40 different
fields to choose from, such as quote number, current and
expiration date, complete and partial address elements of your
customer, salesperson, commission, total cost etc. In addition,
you can add any user-defined field from the quote. These fields
can contain payment terms, credit card information, notes, etc.
Finally, you can any field you like from your external contact
manager.
Text - This powerful feature allows you to add
any number of fully formatted text elements to a quote. Unlike
elements, every character can be formatted differently. These
elements are typically used to present Company titles, terms and
conditions and warrantee information.
Graphics - Any number of graphics can be added
from a wide variety of image formats, such as bmp, jpeg, gif,
etc. In addition to company logos, these elements are often used
place fancy frames and other graphic elements onto the quote to
further individualize the document.
Converting Quotes to Orders/Invoices
QwikQuote provides you the option of defining a specific layout
as the default quotation and layout, and a different layout as
the default order layout. When a client approves a quote and it
is converted to an invoice or an order, the salesperson presses
the "> order" button and the default layout is applied. This
layout might differ significantly from the quote in that it may
include shipping and payment information, for example.
Attach Quote Columns to Layouts
When a document layout is defined, the user can choose to
associate a specific set of column types with names and widths
titles displayed in the quote body. Some user take advantage of
this feature so that quotes to customers contain appropriate
information, but internal reports contain cost and inventory
information. The user chooses to associate quote body columns
with layouts by toggling on the corresponding check box in the
layout tab of the options screen.
Insert Pictures, White Space, Select
Printer/Fax
Additional options can be defined for each individual layout.
These are available in the properties box accessed in layout
view. The user can:
1. Choose if pictures should be included in the quote body in
the current layout
2. Insert additional white spacing between each item of the
quote body
3. Choose to use the default printer/fax or select a particular
printer/fax for the current layout. This option is particularly
useful if your office uses a specific printer to serve corporate
stationary.
