Proposals
Proposals let you send a priced offer to a contact before any contract or invoice exists. A proposal is addressed to a contact and a specific deal, can carry full line items and totals, and can optionally require the recipient to sign before accepting.
Proposals are different from Estimates. Estimates go to a Contact you already do business with; proposals go to a deal in your sales pipeline.
This menu item only appears if your company has the deals feature enabled and your role has view access to proposals.
What a proposal looks like
A proposal contains:
- A reference to a recipient contact and one of that contact's deals
- A validity date ("Valid Till")
- One or more line items (item, quantity, unit price, tax, amount)
- A subtotal, optional discount, tax, and final total
- A description, a note, and your company's standard terms
- An optional signature requirement
How to create a proposal
- Go to Finance → Proposal.
- Click Add Proposal (or Create Proposal).
- Choose the Lead Contact. The Deal dropdown will then load the deals belonging to that contact.
- Choose the Deal the proposal relates to. (If you opened the form from inside a deal, the recipient and deal are already filled in and locked.)
- Set the Valid Till date (defaults to 30 days from today; it must be today or later).
- Choose the Currency if it differs from your company default.
- Pick how tax should be applied under Calculate Tax (after discount or before discount).
- Add a Description if you want a rich-text overview at the top of the proposal.
- Decide whether to keep Require Signature ticked (it is on by default) — see Signatures below.
- Add your line items (see Line items).
- Set a Discount if needed, review the totals, and add a Note.
- Save using one of the three buttons:
- Save — saves the proposal without sending.
- Save & Send — saves and emails it to the contact.
- Save & Mark as Sent — saves and marks it as sent without emailing (use this if you delivered it another way).
The proposal number is generated automatically by the system (using the prefix and numbering rules in your Invoice Settings). There is no number field to fill in.
Line items
Click Add Item to add a row. Each line item has:
| Field | Meaning | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Item Name / Description | The product or service name | Yes (at least one row must be filled) |
| Item summary | A longer description shown under the item name | No |
| HSN/SAC | Tax classification code (only shown if enabled in Invoice Settings) | No |
| Qty | Quantity | Yes (numeric, at least 1) |
| Unit | Unit of measure (Pcs, etc.) | No (a default unit is pre-selected) |
| Unit Price | Price per unit | Yes |
| Tax | One or more taxes to apply to this line (shown as name: rate%) |
No |
| Amount | Quantity × Unit Price, calculated automatically | — |
| Item image | An optional picture for the line item | No |
You can also use the Select Product picker to drop a saved product straight into a line item (this appears if the Products or Purchase module is enabled). If you have permission to add products, there is an inline link to create a new one without leaving the form.
Discounts, taxes and totals
- Discount can be a percentage or a fixed amount. The discount cannot exceed the subtotal.
- The Calculate Tax setting controls whether tax is worked out before or after the discount is applied.
- Subtotal, discount, tax and total are all calculated for you as you edit.
Signatures and acceptance
- When Require Signature is on, the recipient is asked to sign the proposal before it can be accepted.
- The recipient reviews and responds to the proposal through a public link — they do not need a BusinessHRM login.
- A proposal has three statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting | Sent (or saved) and awaiting the recipient's decision |
| Accepted | The recipient accepted (and signed, if required) |
| Declined | The recipient declined; their reason is stored on the proposal |
Acceptance and decline happen on the recipient-facing public page, not inside the admin screens. There are no inline Accept/Decline buttons in the staff view.
Sending and sharing a proposal
From a proposal's detail page you can:
- Send to recipient — emails the proposal.
- Mark as sent — records it as sent without emailing.
- Public Link — opens the recipient-facing version in a new tab so you can preview or copy the link to share manually.
Other actions
| Action | Notes |
|---|---|
| Download | Downloads the proposal as a PDF (named Proposal-<id>). |
| Edit | Available while the proposal is still waiting and not yet signed. |
| Delete | Available for the most recent proposal, or one with no signature yet. |
Converting a proposal: Proposals do not convert directly into estimates or invoices in BusinessHRM. To bill an accepted deal, create an estimate or invoice separately.
Templates
If you send similar proposals often, use Proposal Templates (button on the Proposal list). A template stores reusable line items, currency, discount, tax handling and description. You can also import ready-made templates from the built-in template library. When you start a new proposal from a template, all of those details are pre-filled for you.
Permissions
- View proposals — see the proposal list and individual proposals.
- Add proposals — create and send proposals.
- Delete proposals — remove proposals.
- Manage proposal templates — create and manage templates.
- View — controls which contacts appear in the dropdown.
Tips
- Set a realistic Valid Till date — it tells the recipient how long the pricing holds.
- Use Save & Mark as Sent when you've already delivered the proposal in person or by another channel, so your records stay accurate without sending a duplicate email.
- Build a template for your most common offer so your team can send consistent, on-brand proposals in seconds.