OK, I’ll admit that I’m shopping around for a central air system. Maybe that’s why the story about price quotation software drew my attention in a hurry. It seems so easy to understand that even a novice like myself could catch on in a hurry.

The software I’m referring to is Freedman’s Quick Quote, produced by the Vancouver, WA company bearing the same name. It was developed by company owner Jack Freedman, a former field service tech and residential salesperson.

Freedman came up with the idea for Quick Quote because he wanted a quicker way to write a proposal, a way that would give him more time to make sales and give his prospects an on-the-spot complete quote.

“I couldn’t find any software that worked for me so I wound up designing it myself,” Freedman said.

He came up with a program that was designed to quickly prepare a quote for a heating and air conditioning system. The quote can include optional upgrades for furnaces, condensers, boilers, coils, thermostats, condensate, and parts and labor warranties. The program will prepare up to seven quotes for each prospect, if necessary.

Some of the program features are:

  • Pull sheets — Separate sheets printed for installer, parts department, and office;

  • Sales totals — Automatically adds to the monthly sales totals;

  • Markups — Program can be customized by contractor’s formula or by adding a gross profit factor;

  • Itemization — 19 lines can be added to the proposal in order to change line item categories and customize them; and

  • Follow-ups — Follow-up dates can be added to the proposal as a callback reminder.

“The proposal gives a basic quote for basic equipment,” added Freedman. “If you want to differentiate your costs, you can add that to the options category.”

Setting it up

The software comes ready to use. Users only have to add their own costs and retail prices to existing line items. If an equipment line is not in the database, the user can change the database to include their equipment.

The user can also opt for sending requirements to Freedman’s Quick Quote Inc. and the company can customize the program at no additional cost.

“The user can produce a full quote in three minutes,” Freedman said, “and quotes involving a duct system installation in five minutes.”

The program is designed primarily for residential homes of 3,500 sq ft or less.

Armed with the knowledge that Freedman has presented more than 1,400 proposals with this program, I dropped in the demo CD and away I went. After all, the size of my home fits into the 3,500-sq-ft or less category.

It took me a little longer than three minutes but then again, I’m not a salesperson. However, it seemed simple enough.

At least now I have some idea of what to expect when my local a/c contractor pays me a visit.