A promising sales opportunity can lose momentum when estimating happens in a separate spreadsheet or disconnected application. Sales teams may wait for cost details, estimators may work from incomplete information and employees may reenter the same customer and item data several times before a quote is ready.
Acumatica Cloud ERP connects manufacturing estimates with opportunities in its Customer Relationship Management tools. This gives sales and estimating teams a shared process for developing accurate pricing while keeping important opportunity information together.
Watch the video to see how users can create and manage an estimate directly from an Acumatica opportunity.
Build Estimates Around Real Costs
Acumatica Manufacturing Estimating allows teams to calculate expected costs for existing products or new custom items. Estimates can account for the materials and production resources required to complete the work.
Depending on the product and process, an estimate may include:
- Material and component costs
- Labor requirements
- Work center rates
- Manufacturing overhead
- Outside services
- Tooling and one-time costs
- Markups and customer pricing
Teams can create a quick summary estimate or build a more detailed structure that reflects the expected manufacturing process. Multiple quantities can also be evaluated to understand how setup and one-time costs affect the final unit price.
Keep Sales and Estimating Connected
Linking an estimate to an opportunity gives sales teams greater visibility into the expected cost and value of the potential order. Estimators can work from the related customer and opportunity information without creating a disconnected record.
Users can also create revisions while preserving the history of earlier versions. This makes it easier to adjust quantities, costs or production assumptions as the customer’s requirements change.
Once the estimate is approved, information can be used to create additional records such as an inventory item, bill of material, sales order or production order.
Move Opportunities Forward Faster
A connected estimating process reduces duplicate entry and helps teams respond to customers with more consistent information. Sales, engineering and manufacturing teams can work from the same platform as an opportunity moves toward an order.
Watch the video above to see estimating with opportunities in action, then talk with 3Value about improving your estimating and sales process in Acumatica.