Software agency · Sales
Software project estimate and proposal
Send software proposals built on a real brief and an estimate your engineers stand behind. The prospect fills in the project brief through a shared link, and no price leaves the agency before the delivery director approves it.
- Duration: 1 to 3 weeks
- How often: For every quote request
- Steps: 9 steps
- AI agents: 2 AI agents
- Approvals: 2 approvals
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Quotes start from a one-paragraph email.
One developer estimates the whole project as a single number.
Prices go out without anyone checking capacity or margin.
Every proposal is written from scratch the night before it is due.
With it
The prospect fills in a structured brief, and open questions are listed before anyone estimates.
Every feature gets a range, with the risks and assumptions written down.
The delivery director approves the price and start date before the proposal is written.
An AI agent drafts the proposal from the approved scope and price, and the account manager finishes it.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A qualified prospect asks for a quote for a new application. The account manager starts a run with the prospect's name and the date the proposal is due.
- 1
Qualify the request and share the brief
Hidden from the shared linkDay 1Account manager · Team
Note what the prospect asked for, their budget and their deadline, then send the shared link so they can fill in the project brief.
Checklist
- Discovery call held
- Budget and deadline asked
- Shared link sent
Fields to fill in
- Prospect name (required)
- Proposal due (required)
- Budget range
- Target launch date
- 2
Prospect fills in the project brief
Days 1 to 5Prospect contact · Shared link
Through the shared link, the prospect describes the goals and users, lists the must-have features and the systems the application must connect to, and shares links to existing documents or designs.
Checklist
- Goals and users described
- Must-have features listed
Fields to fill in
- Goals and users (required)
- Must-have features (required)
- Systems it must connect to
- Link to existing documents or designs
- 3
Break the brief into a feature list
Week 1Scope drafter · AI agent
The scope drafter turns the brief into a feature list grouped by area of the application, with the assumptions it made and the questions to ask the prospect.
Fields to fill in
- Draft feature list (required)
- Assumptions and open questions (required)
Checked by: The solution architect corrects the feature list in step 4.
- 4
Review the scope and estimate each feature
Hidden from the shared linkWeeks 1 to 2Solution architect · Team
Correct the feature list, settle the open questions with the prospect and estimate every feature as a range. If answers are missing, mark the run blocked and note what you asked.
Checklist
- Feature list corrected
- Open questions answered
- Every feature estimated as a range
- Risks and assumptions listed
Fields to fill in
- Link to the estimate (required)
- Lower estimate in days (required)
- Upper estimate in days (required)
- Main risks (required)
- 5
Approve the price and terms
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 2Delivery director · Team
Check the estimate and risks against the team's capacity, choose fixed price or time and materials, and set the price, the payment milestones and the earliest start date.
Checklist
- Estimate and risks reviewed
- Team capacity checked for the start date
- Payment milestones set
Fields to fill in
- Pricing model (required)
- Price (required)
- Earliest start date (required)
Approval: The proposal is not written until the delivery director approves the price and terms.
- 6
Draft the proposal
Week 2Proposal writer · AI agent
The proposal writer drafts the proposal from the brief, the corrected feature list, the price and the start date, following the structure in its instructions, with what is in scope and what is not.
Fields to fill in
- Draft proposal (required)
Checked by: The account manager corrects and approves the proposal in step 7.
- 7
Finish and send the proposal
Week 2Account manager · Team
Correct the draft, put it in your proposal format, then approve it and email it to the prospect, who records their decision on the shared link.
Checklist
- Draft corrected
- Scope and exclusions clear
- Proposal sent
Fields to fill in
- Link to the proposal (required)
Approval: The prospect's decision step stays locked until the account manager approves the final proposal.
- 8
Prospect decides on the proposal
Weeks 2 to 3Prospect contact · Shared link
The prospect reads the proposal the account manager emailed and records their decision through the shared link, with what they would change or why they decline.
Fields to fill in
- Decision (required)
- What to change or why not
- 9
Record the outcome
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 3Account manager · Team
Record the outcome and the reason in your CRM. On a yes, send the contract for signature and plan the project kickoff; on a no, note what decided it.
Checklist
- Outcome recorded in the CRM
- Contract sent for signature
- Project kickoff planned
Fields to fill in
- Outcome (required)
- What decided it (required)
Done when
The prospect has accepted or declined the proposal, and the scope, estimate and price behind it are on the run.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Scope drafter
Turns the prospect's brief into a first feature list with assumptions and open questions.
What it does
- Reads the brief the prospect filled in
- Groups the features by area of the application
- Lists the assumptions it made and the questions to ask
- Completes its step, so the estimate can start
Checked by: The solution architect corrects the feature list in step 4.
Proposal writer
Drafts the proposal from the approved scope, estimate and price.
What it does
- Reads the brief, the corrected feature list, the price and the start date
- Follows the proposal structure in its step instructions
- Lists what is in scope and what is not
- Writes the draft proposal into its step
Checked by: The account manager corrects and approves the proposal in step 7.
Questions this template answers
Break the brief into features, estimate each one as a range and write down the assumptions and risks that could move it. In step 3 the scope drafter turns the brief into a feature list, and in step 4 the solution architect corrects it and estimates every feature.
The goals and users, the must-have features, the systems it must connect to and links to anything that already exists. Step 2 asks the prospect for exactly that through the shared link, before anyone estimates.
Price from an estimate range with named risks, and let someone who knows the team's capacity approve the number. Step 5 is an approval gate: the proposal is not written until the delivery director approves the price, the pricing model and the start date.
Fixed price suits a clear scope with small risks, and time and materials suits a brief that still has many open questions. In step 5 the delivery director picks the pricing model with the estimate range and the main risks from step 4 in front of them.
Let AI draft the scope and the proposal from what the prospect and your team already wrote, and keep pricing and the final text with people. The scope drafter in step 3 and the proposal writer in step 6 draft, and the solution architect in step 4 and the account manager in step 7 check their work.
Record the decision and the reason for every proposal, not only the ones you win. In step 8 the prospect records their decision through the shared link, and in step 9 the account manager notes the outcome and what decided it.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.