The process starts when your company puts together a quote for a potential customer, including the details of a service or product and its price. Customers who request a quote from your company haven’t yet committed to working with you.

Configure, price, quote (CPQ) software streamlines the 3-step process.

After CPQ, your company sends its proposal to the potential customer in an effort to win their business. Proposals are typically more extensive than quotes, as they go into more details about the costs and the services that will be provided.

The legal review or contracting phase of the cycle may involve some back and forth between your company and the customer before a contract is signed.

Once the customer accepts and signs your proposal, your company fulfills their order—either by providing a service or sending the purchased products.

The next step is sending the customer the bill for services or products.

After receiving the invoice, the customer should pay. You can streamline the process by accepting multiple payment forms, such as credit cards and direct deposits.

Finally, you can review the entire process and produce reports that identify areas where there’s room to improve.