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Introducing Multi-Stage Approvals: A Game-Changer for Quoter Partners

3 minute read
July 9, 2024
Sarah Howe
A yellow arrow in a white circle at the beginning of a 6 node linked process with 4 yellow circles ending at a larger yellow circle with concentric rings like a target, representing a multi-stage approval process for MSP quoting.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, having a streamlined and efficient approval process for quotes can significantly impact your organization’s productivity and success. Quoter’s new Manager Approvals enhancement introduces multi-stage approvals, offering a robust solution to ensure your quotes are thoroughly vetted and approved according to your specific organizational needs.

What is Manager Approvals?

Manager Approvals is a powerful add-on that allows Administrators to create comprehensive Approval Policies and Rules. These policies and rules help control how your organization handles quotes by ensuring that certain conditions trigger the need for managerial approval. This feature is available on our Pro plan or above and can also be added as an add-on to lower plans.

Key Features

Flexible Approval Rules

Manager Approvals provides a range of flexible rules that can be customized to fit your organization’s specific requirements. These rules include various qualifiers and can be stacked to create complex approval workflows. For instance, you can set conditions based on quote value, one-time or recurring margin, line item name or description, etc.

Single or Multiple Approvers

Approval Policies can be configured to require either a single approver or multiple approvers.

  • Single Approver: Even if multiple approvers are set, once one of them approves the quote, it is approved and ready to be sent to the prospect or customer.
  • Multiple Approvers: You can set the order of approvers, ensuring that each stage of the approval process is followed meticulously. Each user will be notified by email when their approval is needed.

Clear Approval Tracking

The Pending Approvals tab provides clear visibility of the approval status:

  • Quotes requiring a single approver show approvers separated by a “/”.
  • Quotes requiring multiple approvers display an arrow between approvers, indicating the required order of approval.

In the Approval History tab, you can quickly see the status of approvals with color codes: green denotes complete approval, and red denotes rejection. For multi-stage approvals, if a quote is approved but not all approvers approved, it means the approval was overridden by an Account Owner.

Expedited Approvals

Account Owners have the ability to expedite the approval process. Under Pending Review > All Quotes, they can review and override approvals to fast-track the quote when necessary.

Comprehensive Feedback Visibility

Once a quote is approved or rejected, all feedback received during the process is saved and visible from the Internal Quote View. This includes clear communication about any approvals overridden by Account Owners.

Use-Cases and Value for Quoter Partners

Ensuring Compliance and Accuracy

For organizations that need to adhere to strict compliance and accuracy standards, Manager Approvals ensures that every quote is thoroughly reviewed before being sent out.

Enhancing Collaboration

Multi-stage approvals foster collaboration among team members by involving multiple stakeholders in the approval process. This collaborative approach ensures that all perspectives are considered, leading to more comprehensive and well-vetted quotes.

Streamlining Complex Approval Workflows

Organizations with complex approval workflows benefit from the flexibility of Manager Approvals. By stacking rules and setting multiple approvers, you can create a customized approval process that fits your unique business needs. This feature is especially useful for large enterprises with multiple departments and approval layers.

Improving Decision-Making Speed

The ability for Account Owners to expedite approvals by overriding the process ensures that critical quotes are not delayed. This is particularly important in fast-moving industries, such as IT Service Providers where speed and responsiveness can make a significant difference in winning deals.

Conclusion

Manager Approvals is a valuable addition to Quoter, providing a robust framework for controlling and streamlining your quote approval process. By offering flexible rules, multi-stage approvals, and comprehensive feedback visibility, this feature empowers your organization to ensure accuracy, enhance collaboration, and improve decision-making speed. Upgrade to the Pro plan or add this powerful feature to your current plan to start reaping the benefits today.

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