Quote Follow-Up Reminders & Automation (Email, SMS & WhatsApp)

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Quote Follow-Up Reminders & Automation (Email, SMS & WhatsApp)

Sending a quote (estimate) is only the first step. To convert more quotes into confirmed bookings, you need a follow-up process that’s consistent, trackable, and easy to manage.

Efficient quote follow-up and automation management overview

OctopusPro’s quote follow-up workflow helps you:

  • Set a follow-up date on each quote (so nothing slips through the cracks)
  • See all quotes due for follow-up in one place
  • Automate quote reminders via Email and SMS (and WhatsApp where enabled)
  • Track manual follow-ups (email, SMS, phone calls) with full logging
  • Let customers Accept or Decline quotes online (email link + customer portal)

On this page

How quote follow-up reminders work

Quote follow-up reminders are driven by two things:

  1. Follow-up reminder toggle (enabled/disabled per quote)
  2. To follow date (the follow-up date stored on the quote)

Once a quote has a follow-up date and follow-up reminders are enabled, your team can:

  • Manually follow up from the quote (Email/SMS/Call)
  • Let automation send reminders based on your configured timing
  • Stop reminders automatically when the quote is actioned (accepted/declined/converted)

Quote Followup and Automated Reminders

Tip: You can also automate other communications from the Automation settings. See Automated Reminders & Confirmations (Workflow Automations).

OctopusPro automated procedures overview diagram (triggers, automation engine, actions)

Set (or remove) a follow-up date on a quote

Option 1: Set the follow-up date while creating or editing a quote
  1. Open a quote (new or existing).
  2. Switch Follow-up reminder ON.
  3. Select the follow-up date (To follow date).
  4. To stop follow-ups for this quote, switch Follow-up reminder OFF (this clears the follow-up date and excludes the quote from follow-up lists/automations).

Enable follow-up reminder and set To follow date when creating a quote

Option 2: Update the follow-up date from the Quotes list
  1. Go to Quotes > All quotes.
  2. Find the quote you want to update.
  3. Either click the follow-up date in the list, or click Actions and choose Schedule follow-up.
  4. Update the follow-up date/time (or disable follow-up reminders for that quote).

Schedule follow-up from Quotes list

Follow-up reminder popup to set date/time or disable reminders

Important: If the quote status changes (for example, converted to a booking or declined), or if the follow-up reminder is switched off, the quote will no longer be treated as “due for follow-up” and will be excluded from automated reminders and follow-up lists.

View quotes due for follow-up

If you prefer a manual workflow, you can work from a central list of quotes that require attention:

  1. Go to Quotes > All quotes.
  2. Use the Follow-up filters/section to view quotes with follow-up dates that are due or overdue.
  3. From this list you can:
    • Open the quote record
    • Email or SMS the customer
    • Call the customer
    • Update the follow-up date or disable the follow-up reminder

Why this matters: It keeps your pipeline organised and ensures no quote is forgotten—even without automation.

Quote Approval Workflow and Client Acceptance Process

Accepting & declining quotes (and what happens next)

Customers can accept or decline quotes directly from their quote email (via buttons/links) or through the customer portal. This creates cleaner reporting and automatically controls follow-up reminders.

Quote email preview showing accept/decline actions

Declining a quote

For customers (email or customer portal):

  • Customer clicks Decline Quote and confirms.
  • The quote status becomes Declined.
  • Follow-up reminders stop and the quote is removed from follow-up lists.

For admins (declining on the customer’s behalf):

  • From Quotes > All quotes, use Actions to decline the quote.
  • Best practice: Capture a decline reason (where configured) to improve reporting and understand why quotes are lost.
Accepting a quote

For customers (email / customer portal):

  1. Customer clicks Accept Quote from the email.
  2. The customer portal opens to review the quote and proceed.
  3. Self-schedule (if enabled): customer selects a date/time from live availability and confirms.
  4. If self-booking is not enabled: customer can accept, and your team schedules the booking manually.

For admins (converting accepted quotes):

  1. Go to Quotes > All quotes and locate the accepted quote.
  2. Click Actions > Convert to booking.
  3. Confirm scheduling details (date/time, fieldworker assignment, etc.) and save.

Quote to Booking Conversion Process

Learn more:

Activate & configure automated quote reminders

Automated quote reminders send scheduled follow-ups based on each quote’s To follow date.

1) Open automation settings
  1. Go to Settings > Communications > Automation.
2) Enable the “Quote reminder” automation job
  • Find the Quote reminder automated job.
  • Switch it ON to enable automated reminders linked to the quote follow-up date.

Automation list showing Quote reminder job

3) Configure reminder timing (cadence)

Set when reminders should be sent after the follow-up date:

  • Example: send a reminder 7 days after the To follow date if the quote is still pending.
  • You can configure multiple intervals (days/weeks/months) depending on your workflow.

Edit quote reminder automation timing and settings

Example follow-up schedules
  • Fast turnaround services: +1 day, +3 days, +7 days
  • Mid-value quotes: +3 days, +7 days, +14 days
  • High-value projects: +7 days, +14 days, +30 days (plus a phone call task)

Customize reminder templates (Email/SMS)

Reminder content is controlled by your communication templates. To edit them:

  1. Go to Settings > Communications > Templates.
  2. Edit the Email and SMS templates used by the quote reminder automation.
  3. Use placeholders to automatically insert quote/customer details (name, quote link, totals, etc.).

Editing quote reminder email template

Example quote reminder template with accept/decline actions

Template resources:

Note for SMS/WhatsApp: To send SMS (and WhatsApp where enabled), your account may need messaging enabled and configured. If you use OctopusPro’s built-in messaging/VoIP, see Set Up Digital Phone System.

When reminders stop (and reminder caps)

Reminder cap (maximum number of reminders)

To avoid over-messaging customers, you can set a maximum number of reminders per quote. If you want reminders to continue until the quote is actioned, you can leave the cap blank (until a stop condition is met).

Set reminder cap in quote reminder automation

Automated reminders stop when:
  • The quote is converted to a booking
  • The quote is declined (by the customer or by an admin)
  • An admin switches Follow-up reminder off or removes the follow-up date
  • The customer opts out/unsubscribes using the links provided in your communications

Quote reminder automation stop conditions and controls

Optional control: You can pause/resume automatic notifications for quotes/bookings/invoices without changing your overall automation setup: Pause / Resume Notifications.

Follow up by Email, SMS & phone calls

Follow up via Email
  • Manual emails: Best for personalised outreach (high-value quotes). Use templates/canned responses to speed up sending.
  • Automated emails: Use the quote reminder automation to send scheduled follow-ups after the follow-up date.
Follow up via SMS
  • Manual SMS: Great for quick, direct contact. Use templates + placeholders for consistency.
  • Automated SMS: Use the quote reminder automation with SMS templates to send reminders automatically. Messages are visible in your message history for full context.
Phone call follow-ups (VoIP & direct calling)

For many service businesses, phone calls are the fastest way to close quotes:

  • Integrated VoIP calling (e.g., Twilio): Call from inside OctopusPro with call logging and (if enabled) recording.
  • Direct device calls: Make calls as usual—OctopusPro can still help you track follow-up activity depending on your setup.

Learn more: Twilio Digital Phone System in OctopusPro

Tracking & logs (Message Center, automation log, email/SMS logs)

To keep your team aligned and accountable, OctopusPro logs quote communications and automation activity:

Limitations & best practices

  • The follow-up date is for quote management only. It does not affect booking schedules, invoice due dates, or other time-based workflows.
  • Don’t spam customers: Use a reminder cap and sensible intervals (and switch to a phone call for high-value quotes).
  • Respect opt-outs: If customers unsubscribe/opt out, avoid contacting them through that channel. If you customise unsubscribe reasons, review: Unsubscribe Reasons Feedback.
  • Use decline reasons: Capturing structured decline reasons improves sales reporting and helps you fix recurring objections.

Troubleshooting

If automated quote reminders are not sending, check the following:

  • Automation is enabled: Settings > Communications > Automation > “Quote reminder” is ON.
  • Follow-up reminder is enabled on the quote: the quote has Follow-up reminder ON and a To follow date set.
  • Quote status is still pending: reminders stop once the quote is accepted, declined, or converted.
  • Reminder cap not reached: if you set a maximum number of reminders, confirm it hasn’t been hit.
  • Customer can receive messages: valid email/phone exists and customer hasn’t unsubscribed/opted out.
  • SMS sending configured: if you’re using SMS automation, confirm messaging settings/phone system are configured (if required).
  • Check logs: review the Automations Log and Email/SMS logs to confirm what happened.

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