Accept or Decline Quotes (Admin, Customer Email & Customer Portal)

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Accept or Decline Quotes (Customer Approval Workflow)

Quote Approval Workflow and Client Acceptance Process

OctopusPro lets you manage quote approvals end-to-end: you can mark quotes as Accepted or Declined internally, or email the quote to customers so they can Accept, Decline, or Sign & approve (where enabled). Each action is logged in the quote record, and your team can track follow-ups, expiry dates, and customer responses in one place.

  • Reduce back-and-forth: customers approve or reject with one click.
  • Capture proof: acceptance/signature and decline reasons are stored in the quote communication/history.
  • Improve pipeline visibility: filter quotes by status (Draft, Sent, Accepted, Declined, Expired, All).
  • Stay on top of sales: use expiry + follow-up indicators and reminders to prevent quotes going cold.

Table of contents

Understand the new Quotes layout (tabs & lists)

In the updated OctopusPro web app, quotes are managed from Quotes using: All Quotes (team-wide) and My Quotes (quotes assigned to you), plus quick access to key quote statuses.

Where to find it: From the left sidebar, go to Quotes → All Quotes (or My Quotes).

Quotes menu showing All Quotes / My Quotes and quote status links

Quote status tabs (top of the list)

At the top of the Quotes list, use the tabs to filter your pipeline: Draft, Sent, Accepted, Expired, Declined, and All. Each tab shows a count so you can quickly see volume by stage.

Quotes list (new UI) with tabs, columns, expiring badge, sales rep, and actions menu

Columns & indicators you’ll commonly use

  • Status chips: show the current quote state (e.g., Sent, Signed/Accepted, Declined) and any labels/tags.
  • Expiring: shows how soon the quote expires (e.g., “in 6 days”). If it’s past expiry, it may show how long ago it expired.
  • Follow up: highlights quotes marked for follow-up.
  • Sales rep: shows ownership/assignment.
  • Contact history: quick signal that customer communication exists and when it last occurred.
  • Search & filters: use the top-right icons to find quotes by customer, status, rep, dates, etc.

How admin users mark quotes as Accepted or Declined

Admin users can manually set a quote to Accepted or Declined from the quote record. This is useful when the customer confirms approval by phone, in person, or via another channel and you want your system status to reflect the outcome.

Step 1: Open the quote

  1. Go to Quotes → All Quotes (or My Quotes).
  2. Find the quote in the list.
  3. Open it by clicking the Quote # (e.g., EST-xxxxx) or the ⋮ actions menu (then choose View/Manage Quote).

Step 2: Mark as Accepted or Declined

In the Manage Quote screen, use the ⋮ actions menu near the quote number (top left) and select: Mark as accepted or Mark as declined (the menu shows the relevant action based on the current state).

Manage Quote (new UI) showing Quote Status, expiry toggle, follow-up toggle, and services panel

Tip: If you need expiry and follow-up tracking, enable Set expiry date and Requires Follow Up? in the quote overview panel, then save changes.

How to view Accepted & Declined quotes

To review quotes that customers have accepted or declined (or that your team marked manually), use the tabs at the top of the Quotes list: Accepted and Declined.

View Accepted quotes

  1. Go to Quotes → All Quotes (or My Quotes).
  2. Click the Accepted tab.
  3. Open any quote to view details, services, and communication.

Quotes list (new UI) filtered to Accepted quotes

View Declined quotes

  1. Go to Quotes → All Quotes (or My Quotes).
  2. Click the Declined tab.
  3. Open a quote to see the customer’s decline reason and communication history.

Quotes list (new UI) filtered to Declined quotes

Convert Accepted ↔ Declined (change your decision)

You can change a quote decision at any time (for example, if the customer initially declines and later accepts, or if an accepted quote is no longer proceeding).

  1. Open the quote from the Accepted or Declined tab.
  2. Click the ⋮ actions menu in Manage Quote.
  3. Select Mark as accepted or Mark as declined.

The quote will immediately move to the corresponding tab, and the change will be recorded in the quote’s activity/history.

How to ask customers to Accept/Decline (email quote)

The most common workflow is to email the quote to the customer. The email contains action buttons that allow the customer to Accept, Decline, or Sign & approve (if signature approval is enabled for your account).

  1. Go to Quotes → All Quotes.
  2. Open the quote (View/Manage Quote).
  3. In the quote record, choose the email action (e.g., Email → Email Estimate/Quote).
  4. Confirm the recipient email address, then send.

What happens next: When the customer clicks an action button in the email, the quote status updates automatically based on their selection.

What customers see (Accept, Decline, Sign & approve)

When customers open the quote, they can review quote details and choose one of the available actions:

  • Accept: approves the quote (status updates to Accepted).
  • Decline: rejects the quote (status updates to Declined) and prompts the customer to provide a reason (recommended for sales follow-up).
  • Sign & approve: (if enabled) captures a signature and confirms agreement to your terms before approving.

How customers enter a decline reason

When a customer clicks Decline, OctopusPro can prompt them to enter a short reason explaining why they are not proceeding. This helps your team capture the real objection (price, timing, scope, competition, or “no longer needed”) instead of guessing.

Common decline reasons customers may enter

  • Price objection: “Too expensive”, “Found a cheaper option”.
  • Timing objection: “Not ready yet”, “Need to postpone”.
  • Scope objection: “Not what I expected”, “Need different inclusions”.
  • Competitive loss: “Chosen another provider”.
  • No longer needed: “Job no longer required”.

The decline reason is stored in the quote record and is visible to your team in the quote’s Communication area (and/or discussion thread), so your sales rep can respond quickly and professionally.

How to use decline reasons to win back quotes (sales playbook)

Declined quotes are not always “lost deals” — they are often stalled opportunities. The customer’s decline reason gives you the exact objection, so you can run a targeted win-back or re-engagement process instead of sending generic follow-ups.

Turn decline reasons into win-back actions

  • Price objection: reframe value (warranty, quality, inclusions), offer an alternative package, adjust scope, or add an option that fits the customer’s budget.
  • Timing objection: keep the deal alive with a “book later” approach (extend expiry, schedule a follow-up, offer flexible slots, or hold pricing for X days).
  • Scope objection: clarify deliverables and rebuild confidence (add photos/examples, update inclusions/exclusions, provide a revised quote).
  • Competitive loss: ask what they chose and why, then differentiate (service levels, guarantees, response time, credentials, reviews).
  • No longer needed: confirm and preserve the relationship (offer future support, seasonal reminders, alternative services).

Sales terminology your team can apply

  • Objection handling: address the real blocker quickly while the quote is still fresh.
  • Re-engagement: re-open the conversation with a specific, customer-relevant message (“I saw you declined due to price—would a smaller scope option work?”).
  • Save the deal: offer a revised proposal or alternative option without discounting unnecessarily.
  • Improve win rate: track patterns (top decline reasons) and refine packaging, messaging, and pricing strategy.

Best practice: When you respond to a decline, keep the tone helpful and consultative. The goal is to remove friction and rebuild confidence — not to pressure.

Automations: quote follow-ups & reminder emails/SMS

Quote follow-up automations help you convert more quotes by consistently re-engaging customers who haven’t responded. Instead of relying on manual chasing, you can automatically send quote reminders after a set number of days, and keep your pipeline moving without losing deals to inaction.

How quote reminder automations help

  • Increase conversions: customers often intend to proceed but forget — reminders bring the quote back to the top of mind.
  • Reduce sales admin: fewer manual follow-ups for your team.
  • Standardise your sales process: every quote gets the right cadence and messaging.
  • Improve speed-to-close: shorten decision cycles by staying present during evaluation.

Learn more about setting up quote reminder automation here: Quote Follow-Up & Reminder Automation.

Tip: Combine reminders with Set expiry date to add urgency and reduce stalled quotes.

After acceptance: let customers self-schedule via Customer Portal (optional)

If you want to reduce friction after a quote is approved, you can allow customers to self-schedule their booking directly from the Customer Portal after accepting the quote (when the self-scheduling button is enabled).

Customer Portal Self Scheduling and Booking Options

Why this improves conversions

  • Faster close → faster booking: customers can lock in a time immediately after approving.
  • Less drop-off: removing the “next step” delay reduces the chance customers go cold.
  • Less admin workload: fewer calls/emails to coordinate scheduling.

To enable this option, follow: Enable Self-Scheduling Button in Customer Portal.

Note: Availability rules, time slots, and scheduling controls still apply based on your booking settings, service availability, and business hours.

Notifications when customers accept or decline

When a customer accepts or declines a quote, OctopusPro records the event and notifies admin users. You can review these updates from the Notifications area in the web app so you can respond quickly (e.g., book the job, follow up, or update pipeline).

Where to view accept/decline history & decline reasons

In the new UI, quote history is typically split across: Communication (messages, decline reasons, email logs) and Activity (audit trail of changes).

Communication tab (decline reasons & messages)

Open the quote and go to Communication. Here you can see customer messages, decline reasons, and system email records. You can also reply directly to the customer from this area (depending on your communication settings).

Manage Quote (new UI) Communication tab showing customer decline message and email history

Activity tab (audit trail)

Use Activity to review key actions such as: sent date/time, acceptance/decline changes, reminder emails, edits, and other status changes.

Best practices (expiry, follow-up, record keeping)

  • Always set an expiry date: prevents stale quotes and creates urgency (your list shows “Expiring” indicators).
  • Use follow-up tracking: turn on Requires Follow Up? for quotes that need callbacks or reminders.
  • Automate reminders: use quote follow-up automation to re-engage customers and improve close rates.
  • Capture decline reasons: treat declines as objection data—use it to improve win rates and sharpen your sales messaging.
  • Use “My Quotes” for accountability: keep reps focused on their pipeline and follow-ups.
  • Reduce post-acceptance drop-off: enable customer self-scheduling so customers can book immediately after approving.
  • Standardise terms & conditions: if using “Sign & approve”, make sure your terms are clear and current.

Troubleshooting

  • Customer can’t see Accept/Decline buttons: confirm the quote was sent via OctopusPro email (not forwarded as a PDF only), and that the email template includes the action buttons.
  • Customer declined but no reason is visible: open the quote and check Communication (Discussion/All). If the customer entered a reason, it will appear in the conversation/history.
  • Quote shows “Expired” unexpectedly: check if an expiry date was enabled and whether the expiry date/time has passed.
  • Status changed but you can’t find the quote: check the correct tab (Accepted/Declined/Expired) and use search/filters.

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