Looking for a proposal management software to help you streamline your sales and pitching process? A tool that can level up your sales process and help you close more deals? We’re sure you can find the right tool here today.
Proposals are an essential part of the sales process. After the initial call or meeting, if the prospect wants to take it to the next steps, chances are that they will ask for a proposal. If you’re just starting out, you can simply do proposals on PowerPoint or even a Word document, but as you process but the ladder and starting to work on larger deals or corporate clients, that you need to present to, having a software to manage your proposals is incredible important.
Here are our top picks for the best Proposal Management Software apps:
1. Formstack – Best tool for any non-coders out there.
Formstack is an area of planning software that aims to change the way people collect and use data. Its flexible, secure data collecting and process automation tools enable users from a wide range of sectors to decrease data chaos and address critical business issues. Formstack allows businesses to enhance efficiency and accomplish more with the information they collect by combining collaborative work products such as electronic forms, documents, signatures, and data sync. Furthermore, Formstack’s robust security features ensure that businesses may speed up operations without losing security or compliance.
Key features:
- Fantastic for gathering information for surveys, program registrations, and exemptions.
- Forms that are both functional and attractive.
- Every feature is included.
- Forms that are HIPAA compliant can be created by businesses.
- A Customer Success Manager will help you get started.
- Single sign-on adds an extra layer of protection.
Cons:
- The cost varies depending on the contract. Unless individuals receive a price, it is unclear how much this plan costs per month.
- Users, submissions, survey numbers, and storage space are all limited.
Pricing:
Pricing for Formstack Forms begins at $50.00 per feature, per month. There is no free version available, though a free trial is available from Formstack Forms.
2. PandaDoc – Best for sales teams that help close more deals more quickly
PandaDoc is a web-based document management application that lets you organize track, and save documents online, and also sign legally binding agreements for fast transactions and procedures.
Using PDF and docs documents, as well as other digital forms, any organization can use PandaDoc services to manage paper-based documents more efficiently. In the end, PandaDoc is the ideal answer for businesses looking to go paperless. This electronic signature program merely adds to the convenience of online workflow.
Key features:
- The user interface was intuitive, and the dashboard was simple to explore right away.
- A very helpful free plan that includes a lot of the features that make PandaDoc so useful.
- Excellent drag-and-drop tools that make the proposal creation process go smoother.
- Hundreds of ready-to-use templates allow you to quickly build proposals.
- A Catalog feature that alleviates the worry of determining the best price for your proposal.
- Useful eSignature features that you may slap on your proposals
- Excellent statistics and tracking capabilities that help you improve your process.
Cons:
- Each user requires a separate subscription, therefore accounts cannot be shared among team members.
- In terms of drafting proposals on the go, the mobile app is currently fairly limited.
- You can not modify a document after it is been sent out, so any inaccuracies will remain on the proposal.
- Some proposals end up in spam folders, causing the document signing procedure to take longer.
Pricing:
PandaDoc is a completely free application. Paid subscriptions start at $19 per user per month and include a 14-day free trial.
3. HoneyBook – Best tool for small business management solution with deep CRM hooks
Honeybook is a contract management platform that enables creative firms and freelancers to book more clients, manage projects, and collect payments all in one place. From enquiry through invoicing, this program can assist you in managing your clients and business.
You can automate your busy work and remain on top of all your to-dos with this business management software, improving efficiency so you can improve your firm. It is like your own personal assistant.
You can use it on any device, including your phone, because it is cloud-based software.
Key features:
- User-friendly and user-focused CRM for business
- Easy installation and excellent assistance
- A system with a dynamic pipeline focus
- Business management, invoicing, automation, and payments are all integrated.
- Apps for iOS and Android that are versatile
Cons:
- It is more expensive than other CRMs for small businesses.
- Larger businesses or teams may find this inconvenient.
- Integrations are limited.
Pricing:
Free trial for seven days; $9 monthly starter plan (limited to $10,000 in total transactions); $39 monthly unlimited plan; $390 annual unlimited plan
4. Proposify – Best tool for sales professionals and growing sales teams
Making a visually appealing and persuasive proposal is crucial to enhance sales and expand your business. Proposify assists businesses in streamlining this process by providing a variety of tools that help with proposal development.
Proposify is a web-based proposal application that lets you take full control and insight over the most key step in the sales cycle. Get the confidence and freedom to dominate deals from deal design to sign-off.
Key features:
- Their project management interface is simple and easy to navigate. All of their options and tabs were easily accessible.
- With their drag-and-drop tools and pre-made phrases and paragraphs, creating and editing templates is surprisingly simple.
- Allows you to focus on outreach instead of wasting time drafting templates.
- Their content library lets you maintain a variety of templates on hand at all times.
- Knowing if someone opened an email or looked at key parts of your proposal gives you and your team a lot more information on how to approach a client for follow-ups.
- Non-programmers will find great sorts of materials and guides to assist them to explore the software’s integrations and APIs.
Cons:
- For businesses with a dedicated marketing team, paying a charge for individual users on the cheapest plan can be costly.
- As the template design program has difficulty aligning text, you will likely waste time trying to make your proposal “pixel-perfect.”
- If your proposals are not being viewed right away, limiting the maximum amount of active proposals on the cheapest plan can be detrimental, leading to missed engagement possibilities.
Pricing:
Individuals can utilize the free version; team plans start at $49 per month per user.
5. ClientPoint – Suitable for sales and marketing teams in businesses of all sizes
ClientPoint (the once known as Paperless Proposal) is a cloud-based proposal and marketing platform that enables users to make, transmit, monitor, and organize proposals, agreements, and pamphlets. It is appropriate for sales and marketing teams in all types of businesses. Proposal generation, tracking and analytics capabilities, and personalized branding are all important elements that are included. Users can generate bespoke proposals using proposal templates, brochures, and price quotes from a centralized library in ClientPoint. Users can exchange a variety of content types with clients, including text files, videos, brochures, and pricing quotes. Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Sertify, RightSignature, and DocuSign are all integrated with Paperless Proposal.
Key features:
- ClientPoint enables firms to swiftly create customized proposals based on pre-existing themes and start sharing them with clients.
- The solution interfaces with CRM and accounting software to synchronize and save all of a client’s information in one location.
- Users can include interactive multimedia content in their proposals, such as videos and photos.
- Sales administrators can evaluate proposals online and sign them electronically to expedite the process.
- ClientPoint’s easy dashboard tracks a proposal’s entire lifecycle and offers users detailed information and updates in real-time.
Cons:
- It is a little difficult to figure out where to click to obtain the proposal at first.
- Some charges are not disclosed. Along with the cost per user, there is an additional payment to upload this or that.
- The connection to the application can be a little sluggish at times.
- The customizing tools are somewhat limited.
- It does not feature any reminders for when you should call clients back or make follow-up calls.
Pricing:
The first month’s fee is $95 for the first user. Additional users can be had for as low as $35 per month, depending on the needs of the company.
6. Google Slides – Best tool for all kinds of professions in all kinds of projects
If you need a presentation tool, Google Slides is a good choice. This free application, which you can access via Google Drive, has a lot to offer. It is, in fact, one of the best presentation-making tools available.
The fundamental slide presentation tools of Google Slides include the ability to format text and include photos, as well as the option to employ layouts and themes. It also comes with more advanced presenting features, such as the ability to publish to the web and excellent collaborative capabilities.
Key features:
- It is completely free to use Google Slides
- Allows for in-the-moment collaboration
- It is a web-based application (there is no need to download any software!)
- Slides are saved automatically (no data loss!)
- It is a breeze to embed videos (and other elements)!
- Your presentation is available at all times!
- It is a cinch to share a presentation!
- Availability on Multiple Platforms
- Google Slides is also available offline.
Cons:
- To use Google Slides, you will need a Google account
- Themes are available in a limited number of variations
- Curve of learning
- Animations and transitions have a limited number of options
- When importing to Google Slides, there is a loss of formatting
- Exporting is limited to a few file types
- Advanced features are not available
- Many corporations restrict access to Google Accounts
Pricing:
Anyone with a Google account can use Google Slides for free.
7. QuoteWerks – Best for market leading sales quoting and proposal solution
Key features:
- Cost-effective
- Full features
- Easy to upgrade new releases
- Integrates nicely with CRM for quotes and opportunities
- Outstanding customer service
- Have multiple templates for quotes/proposals
Cons:
- Designing your print or PDF layout can be a bit challenging
- Integration with an app. Pipedrive CRM requires the use of a third-party solution for integration.
- The functionality of the website is limited.
- The number of retail finance solutions is restricted, and it necessitates sophisticated imports.
Pricing:
QuoteWerks features a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it costs $15 per user per month.
8. RFPIO – Best tool for larger and complex businesses
Key features:
- Dashboards that show you which segments you are in charge of.
- The final response that has been put together for you
- Answers and documents to commonly asked questions are available promptly.
- Setting up writers and reviewers for an RFP is simple.
- User-friendly interface
- A fantastic way to quickly access information.
- Effectively stores and organizes information
Cons:
- When working with tables in Word, the import can be a little tricky.
- Tutorials for beginners are not available.
- Learning all of the functions needs hands-on help from a previous user.
- Search results based on AI
- The majority of the search results are based on key terms or exact phrases.
- Importing complex Excel and Word files can take a long time.
- Cleaning up papers after exporting can take some time.
Pricing:
Pricing for proposal and RFP software starts at $495.00 per feature, with a one-time payment of $495.00. There is no free version available and no free trial available for Proposal & RFP Software.
9. Xait – Best for more complex and established businesses of all sizes.
XaitPorter is a cloud-based co-authoring and automation tool for documents. XaitPorter includes a built-in workflow that is built on a database to make data reuse faster, and manages layout, formatting, and numbering automatically.
XaitPorter is designed for high-value, high-impact documents, and it makes it simple to manage teams working on business-critical papers. Formatting, layout, and numbering are all handled automatically by XaitPorter. Furthermore, because XaitPorter is based on a database, it allows our clients to manage, preserve, and exploit their material more effectively.
Key features:
- XaitPorter’s automatic deadline notifications let you deliver proposals on time.
- Use of boilerplate proposals, information, and assignments to automate writing processes.
- Organize content with ISO-certified security in the XaitPorter Cloud.
- Using XaitPorter’s built-in workflow, proposal teams may increase their efficiency.
- Enable contributors to operate in parallel and simultaneously edit individual sections of documents.
- High-resolution visuals can be included in proposals without affecting the formatting.
Cons:
- There is not much that can be done with automated editing or formatting
- Search and replace does not function on attachment names.
- People must learn how to use the system and experiment with it
- There is no separate app.
- A simple method for numbering items in a table does not exist
- The flexibility of bullet and numbered lists is limited.
- It takes a long time to add new attachments or images.
Pricing:
Starting at $4,750 per year per company. Please note that the pricing given is for the app only; XaitPorter will incur additional charges.
10. Qwilr – Best for all types of business
Individuals or sales and marketing teams in large organizations can use Qwilr to create sales and marketing documents such as proposals, quotes, and other business documents.
For generating business documents, Qwilr includes a Template library. The Blocks feature allows you to reuse the best content or template, or mix and combine to keep on brand. The Quote Block is made up of a Quote package and line items with conditional pricing that allow the client to make decisions and choose the best solution.
Qwilr interfaces with the system’s CRM and Accounting capabilities, and has functionality for recording customer names and other client information for personalizing company documents. It also has e-signature capabilities and is integrated with Stripe, allowing payments to be made on any device.
Key features:
- Clients will be impressed by these excellent graphic suggestions.
- Client interaction analytics tracking that is robust.
- A wide range of integrations is available to help overcome the platform’s restrictions.
- The video integration is stunning.
Cons:
- Qwilr does not have an auto-fill feature for customer information.
- Colleagues and clients have limited collaboration and communication tools.
- The format of the web view is not preserved when you download a PDF.
Pricing:
Users can subscribe to Qwilr Business ($75/month or $792/year) or Enterprise ($490/month, invoiced yearly) for limitless projects and access to premium features.
What should you look for in Project Management Software?
You could invest all of your money on a flashy new project management program only to discover it only has three helpful functions!
So, what criteria should you use to determine which tool is ideal for your team?
The following are the top factors:
- Team Collaboration
- Innovative Features
- Customizability
- Ease of Use
- Customer-Focused Product Roadmap
- Task Management
- Scheduling and Planning
- File Sharing
- Real-Time Reporting
- Dashboards
- Time, Budget & Resource Management
Advanced Features To Consider
The following features may be essential depending on the nature of your company’s operation and the complexity of your projects:
- Visualization Tools
- API Integration
- Risk Analysis
- Issue Tracking
- Expense Reporting and Invoicing
What is the best way to keep track of projects?
A customizable project management software or application is the finest approach to keep track of projects.
Recent projects are becoming more complicated, with many lasting months or even years and requiring dozens or even hundreds of people.
Project team members are often remote working, which adds another layer of difficulties for project managers.
Consider managing a year-long project with hundreds of tasks and dozens of team members who work remotely.
Project management software can assist with the following tasks:
- Keeping team communication inline
- Monitoring of the project
- collaborating on documents
- Teams operating from afar
What is a project management tool?
Proposals are an essential part of running a small business. These attractive sales documents are designed to explain the advantages of working with your company, differentiate you from the competitors, determine the impact you will bring to the job, and, ideally, help you build new business.
If you are in the fortunate situation of needing to juggle numerous proposals at once in different phases of deal completion, then effective proposal management software is one of the most beneficial investments you can make to help you optimize and streamline the proposal workflow.
Why do you need Project Management Software?
For a monthly or yearly charge, proposal management software allows organizations of all kinds to swiftly produce and deliver professional-looking proposals and automate many portions of the process, utilizing a mainly cloud-based system.
Proposal software is used in sales operations to expedite and automate the proposal and request for proposal (RFP) process. Proposal software capabilities such as the ability to instantly prepare papers in numerous file formats, communicate documents across multiple channels and track the impact of RFP and proposal materials on sales success assist salespeople. Salespeople must include meaningful and consistent content that is specific to customer profiles and needs in proposals because they might be the first significant step in a business relationship.
How do you pick the right proposal software for your needs?
This article aims to assist you in making that decision. We will compare and contrast the benefits and drawbacks of each of the seven software options and two old-school ways in a fair and balanced manner. You will still want to assess some of the options yourself, despite my best efforts to make it as objective as possible. However, this will likely save you time evaluating something that was never suited for you in the first place.
There is something in here for everyone, regardless of where you employ, what you do for a living, or how you submit proposals. We know what matters to proposal software buyers because of our talks with them. We will use those as a starting point and evaluate each of the key possibilities equitably using the same criteria.
Conclusion
A well-designed platform will keep everyone on the same page, guarantee that projects are on track, give you visibility into all of your projects, and make high-level reporting as simple as pressing a button.
Many of you may have used Excel, Google Sheets, or other spreadsheet apps to track projects.
They are fine up to a point for modest projects with limited resources and a short turnaround time.
However, they fall far short of the capabilities of a professional project management tool.
A project management system that is suited to your team’s needs and processes is critical for everyone to work more efficiently and productively.
When looking for new project management software, make sure to match the numerous features to your company’s needs and team’s workflow to select a tool that will produce positive outcomes.
Remember to include your team members in the evaluation and “test drive” stage so you can incorporate their feedback into your decision-making process. This will not only guarantee that the software fulfils the demands of many departments, but it will also ensure that your team engages in, making the transition and installation process much easier.
Last but not least, take preventive measures.
Do not wait until you are faced with a large, difficult project to start looking for software that can handle your project management concerns.
Try to anticipate objectives by working with management to ensure that the solution you choose has the features and capabilities to support the company’s expected expansion.