Customizing the ExtensionStart work with the extension customizing the three blocks of settings: General, Email Notifications and File Attachments. General SettingsTo get access to the settings proceed to Stores > Settings > Configuration > Aheadworks Extensions > Cart to Quote.
This is where you can set up the following parameters: - Enable "Add to Quote" button and "Quote List" - when enabled, the two elements will appear on the storefront switching the Cart-to-Quote mode to Quote-List-to-Quote;
- Auto Acceptance of Quote - when enabled, quotes will be automatically assigned the Accepted status;
- Acceptance Comment for Customer (displayed when Auto Acceptance of Quote is enabled) - an automatic comment as sent to the customer to support automatically accepted quotes;
- Extra Block in .doc of Exported Quote - select one of the eighteen informative blocks to be added to the .doc file of an exported quote (the block is added below the quoted products);
- Customer Groups Allowed to Request a Quote - select the groups of customers who will have access to the functionality of the module (Not Logged-In customers can request a quote as well);
- Default Quote Expiration Period (in days) - indicate the default period of quote validity in days (setting to 0 will disable the option);
- Admin User Quote Is Assigned To - choose a store admin to manage quotations.
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How does Auto-Approval of Quotes Work? With regard to the feature, the following logic is employed within the present version of the extension (1.3.0): - A quote receives Accepted status.
- An automatic comment/notification is sent to the customer (By default, the text is “Thank you for your Quote. Unfortunately, we don’t provide any discounts nowadays. You can buy this Quote at current catalog prices or decline it”). The comment is displayed in the Quote History Log and Quote Comments tab, both on the front- and backend.
- Discount negotiations are disabled.
- The customer is able to either place an order against the quote or decline it.
- The behavior of the quote on the backend matches the status “Pending Buyer Review”: Admins can only view the quote;
- “Submit for Approval” is hidden from the Quote page on the frontend.
The Quote Auto-Approval function can be used, for example, during massive sales or promo campaigns - when no further discounts are stipulated for a time being. It is a marketing means to put price negotiations on hold, without taking away the visual functionality of the module from the storefront. |
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The following eighteen blocks are available for support of the quote product list, when the latter is exported to a *.doc file:
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To finalize the configuration click the Save Config button in the top right, or proceed to the next step. Email NotificationsThis is where you configure how customers and admins are notified on each consecutive act of negotiations over the quotation.
The Email Notifications block provides the following configuration settings: - Notification Email Sender - Choose one of the roles to feature as an addresser in the email: General Contact, Sales Representative, Customer Support of Custom Email;
- CC Email Recipients - Type in the recipients of the copies of the notifications (emails separated with comma ',');
- Seller Quote Changes Template - Select a template for the notification on change to the quote, as seen by the seller/admin;
- Buyer Quote Changes Template - Select a template for the notification on change to the quote, as seen by the buyer;
- Seller New Quote Template - Select a template for the notification on a new quote receipt, as seen by the seller;
- Buyer New Quote Template - Select a template for the notification on a new quote receipt, as seen by the seller;
- Send Reminder in X Days Before Quote Expiration (in days) - indicate the number of days to remain before the expiration of the quote for a reminder be sent to the buyer;
- Email Template for Quote Reminder - Select a template for the reminder on quote expiration;
- Quote Admin Change Template - Select a template for the reminder on admin change.
To finalize configuration click the Save Config button in the top right, or proceed to the next step. File AttachmentsThe extension allows attaching files to the comments to support the quote. This is where you can configure (see the picture above): - Max Upload File Size (Mb) - maximum size of the file to upload (in Mb);
- Allow File Extensions - a list of file extensions permitted for uploading.
To finalize the configuration click the Save Config button in the top right, or get back to the steps above. Quotations GridTo get access to all the quotations, past and present, proceed to Sales > Quotes.
The page shows a grid of the following columns: - ID - the identification number of the quotation;
- Store - the store where the quotation comes from;
- Quote Name - the name of the quotation as indicated by the customer;
- Company (available when the Company Accounts modules is installed) -
- Created - the date and time of quotation creation;
- Last Updated - the date and time of most recent updates to the quote;
- Customer Name - the name of the customer who initiated the negotiations (was assigned the quotation to, by the admin);
- Quote Total - the total price of the quotation;
- Quote Total Negotiated - the total cost of the quotation (with the discount negotiated);
- Status - the status of the quotation indicating the progress of the negotiations;
- Action - the View active link redirecting to the Edit Quotation page.
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How are negotiations over a quote implemented in the extension? Negotiations are implemented here as a series of alternating changes to the quotation when customers and admins swap cession of control over the quote. Please refer to the table below for further explanations on the control rights with regard to the status of the quotation: Status | Admin Actions | Customer Actions |
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pending seller review | Approve (and set to pending buyer review), decline, edit, convert to new order | Locked | declined by seller | Locked | Locked | declined by buyer | Requote | Requote | pending buyer review | Locked || requote | Submit for approval, decline, buy || requote | ordered | Requote | Requote | expired | Requote | Requote | accepted | Locked | Decline, buy |
"Locked" means that the user can not perform any actions with the quote. "Requote" means that on clicking the "Requote" button a new quote with the same content will be created. The page will be reloaded and the user will see a duplicate quote, which can be edited, submitted or approved, depending on the user role (buyer or seller). |
You can decline quotes individually or in bulk with the help of the Actions drop-box field on the left above the grid. Editing is only possible for each individual quote via the View active link in the correspondent cell of the Action column. To create a quote from the backend click the Add Quote button in the top right of the page. Create / Edit QuoteTo create a quote on the backend click the Add Quote button in the top right of the page. To edit the quote click the View active link in the correspondent cell of the Action column of the Quotes Grid. Starting a quote on the backendOnce Add Quote is clicked, the module suggests choosing a customer from the Create New Customer for New Quote grid.
The grid lists all customers who fall under the Request for Quote selection, giving information on their contact details and points of sign-up. For user convenience, there is a filter available on the page with value-boxes above each column of the grid. Fill-in the box(es) with some data you are looking for (parts of known data) and click the Search button above the grid. Click on the row of the chosen customer and proceed to creating the quote. You will then be redirected to the Create/Edit Quote page.
The page is split into 6 sections: Quote and Account Information, Quote Total, Products, Shipping Details, Comments and History, and Quote Totals / Discount Calculator. Quote and Account Information The block features the following elements: - Name - the title of the quotation (* required field);
- Customer Name - the name of the chosen customer (active link, redirects to the Customer Account page on backend);
- Customer Group - the name of the customer group the customer belongs to;
- Customer Email - the email of the chosen customer (active link, redirects to the mailing system popup);
- Admin User Quote Is Assigned To - the dropbox to select the store user to deal with the quote (by default, the admin selected in the Settings);
- Send CC to - the email addresses of the people, you would like to receive a copy of the present quote (in addition to those entered in the Settings);
- Reminder Date - the date of a reminder to be sent to the customer to prompt action regarding the quote;
- Expiration Date - the date of quotation expiration (the quote will get the Expired status on reaching this date, and will become unavailable for the customer).
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When in the Edit Quote mode, the Quote and Account Information block will feature three more fields: - Status - current status of the quotation;
- Created - the date of creation of the quote;
- Order (only when status is Ordered) - the number of the order as per the quote (active link to the corresponding Order page).
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Order Total The block briefs on some financial details of the quote: Subtotal, Shipping and Handling, Tax, and Grand Total. This information, for convenience reason, will appear again at the bottom of the page in the Quote Totals / Discount Calculator. Managing products in the quoteThe Product block of the Edit / Create Quote page allows adding products to the quote and removing them from it, changing quantity of products, configuring product parameters, altering the proposed price of each product, browsing the discounts and totals.
The grid here is a financial summary of the quotation, split into products, and featuring the grand totals at the bottom. This is where admins can see the price (catalog, cart and proposed), stock availability, quantity of each product on the quote, alongside the discounts, taxes and subtotals. Tip |
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The name of the product here is an active link. If the product is simple, then clicking on the name will redirect you to the Product Page. If the product is configurable, then clicking on the name will launch a popup to suggest editing product parameters. |
To alter the quantity of a product on the quote, use the Qty text-box. When done, click the Update Items and Quantities button behind the grid to update the figures in the table. Alternatively, you can use the Configure button below the name of the product. When clicked, it calls out the Configure Product popup.
The Configure Product popup allows selecting a different size, color (for configurable products only) and quantity of the chosen product. When done, click the OK button in the top right corner to call the popup away. The quote summary grid will get updated automatically. To alter the proposed price of a product (by default - product catalog price), use the Proposed Price text-box. When done, click the Update Items and Quantities button behind the grid to update the figures in the table. Info |
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On update of the quantity of a product, the proposed price does not change to the default value. |
To remove a product from the quote, use the Action dropbox next to the chosen product, select "Remove" and click the Update Items and Quantities button behind the grid. To add a product to the quote, click the Add Products button on the top right of the grid. The Please Select Products block will appear on the page. The block features a grid and a filter, with filter boxes above each column of the grid: - id - the identification number of the product;
- Product - the name of the product;
- SKU - the stock keeping unit number of the product;
- Price - the catalog price of the product;
- Select - the select box for bulk action;
- Quantity - the text-box to hold a decimal number of items of the product you want to include in the quote.
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The Configure active link next to the product name tells you it is a parent-product, and when clicked calls out the Configure Product popup (see above), where you may set the child-parameters of the given parent-product. Alternatively, use the grid to select the child-products. |
Once all target products selected, click the Add Selected Products to Quote button in the top right of the grid. The products will be added to the quote summary grid. Managing shipping detailsThe Shipping Information block features the Shipping Address form and Shipping Method radio-button list. For convenience reasons, the block is rolled-up by default. To roll it down click the Add/Hide shipping information active link. Shipping address is part of the data stored about a customer, and thereby the form herein will show the default shipping address as indicated in the customer profile. If need be, you may select a different address from the Select from existing customer address dropbox or suggest a new address by filling-in the required fields in the form.
Discount calculatorThis is the block to adjust your discount to the quote. It features all sort of totals: Total Cost, Subtotal, Catalog Total, Total Discount, Quote Total (excluding Tax), Tax Total, as well as shipping - an extended total summary as compared to the Quote Total block. To figure out your best offer, use either of the three: - Percentage Discount - a % applied;
- Amount Discount - a numeric rebate;
- Proposed Price - a new suggested Subtotal.
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The % or numeric rebate is applied to the Subtotal of the quote. |
When a value is entered in one of the fields, the whole Quote Totals block will get updated and the figures recalculated.
Comments and HistoryThe Comments and History block features two tabs which, in an alternating mode, give access to the comments which support the quotes and the history of changes to the quote. The Comments tab takes you to where you can support the quote with a cover comment, or send a comment as a separate message. This is also your chatbox for negotiations.
To leave a comment type it into the Comment text field, attach any files, if need be, and click the Send button (at the bottom of the page). The comment will appear both in your customer's email inbox and in My Account on the store front. Mind the file types allowed for uploading, as configured in the Extension Settings above. To browse the history of the negotiations opt for the History log tab. This is where all the updates to the status and total price of the quote, alongside the history of commenting, are available. Info |
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When the status of the quote is Ordered, the top History Log entry will also feature the number of the order (active link of the corresponding Order Page). |
When all in the quote seems sorted and looks all right, depending on whether you have created it from scratch or been editing, there are a few ways to finalize it: - To save the quote, click the Save button on the top right of the page (you will have to save first the new quote, created from the backend, only then apply other actions);
- To discard changes, click Back on the top right (you will be redirected to the Quotes Grid);
- To approve the quote, click Approve (you will remain on the same page, but only the Back button will be available. The control over the quote will pass onto the customer);
- To decline the quote, click Decline (you will remain on the same page, the quote will get available for requoting);
- To requote the quote, click ReQuote (you will get onto the active duplicate of the quotation);
- To sell the quote, click Sell (the quote will get converted into an order, you will be redirected to the order page).
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