Step by Step of How to Create a Proposal
Once you've built your estimate — work areas, pricing, and all the details — the next step is turning it into a proposal you can send to your customer for approval.
Before you start
Make sure your estimate is complete: your work areas are set up in the plan view and your pricing is where you want it.
Step 1: Create a new proposal
Go to the Proposal tab on the job and click Create New Proposal.
Step 2: Name your proposal
Give it a name, such as "Version 1." This is an internal name only — your customer will never see it.
Step 3: Write the cover letter
The cover letter is where you present the project as a whole. This is especially useful on larger jobs — say a backyard install with a patio, plantings, lighting, an outdoor kitchen, and a water feature. Use the cover letter to describe the overall vision, then let each individual work area speak for itself further down the proposal.
Step 4: Add attachments (optional)
Attachments added here apply to the proposal as a whole. Common examples:
Project drawings
Sample photos of the finished look
Specimen photos of trees or plant material
You can upload new files, or click Attach Existing to pull from the job's attachment folder — anything already saved on the job in SynkedUP (videos, images, PDFs, and more) can be attached to the proposal.
You can also add attachments to individual work areas further down.
Step 5: Select and configure your work areas
Select which work areas you want included in the proposal. Expand any work area to configure it:
Description — enter the description for that specific work area
Attachments — add files specific to that work area
Lock — locking a work area means it's automatically approved and the customer can't opt out of it. Use this when one item is a requirement of another. For example, if there's a drainage issue that has to be addressed for the patio to be built, lock the drainage work area so the customer can't decline it.
Show Items on Proposal — turn this on to itemize the work area. You then choose what to display: everything, or just certain items, quantities and units, or price. As you toggle options on and off, you'll see exactly what will and won't appear. Itemizing isn't typical, but the option is there if you want it.
Step 6: Review your terms and conditions
These are pre-populated from your My Company → Proposal Settings page. You can adjust them for this proposal if needed.
Step 7: Add links (optional)
Use this section to include links such as a Google review page or your portfolio.
Step 8: Set the payment schedule
Most installs use a progress-based schedule. Your default comes from your settings, and you can tweak it for this job alone.
You'll also find these options here:
Enable card payments
Enable bank transfers
Require a payment method on file
Include pricing type on customer proposal — displays whether the work is Quoted, Per Visit, or Time & Materials. You usually don't need this on a single install job, but it's helpful when you have multiple pricing types on the same proposal.
Sales tax — leave this on if you want to show an estimated sales tax amount.
Redirect to payment page after approval — turn this on if you want to collect a down payment or deposit immediately after the customer approves.
Step 9: Create or send
When everything is set, you can either Create the proposal (saves it as a draft) or Send it right away.
If you create it, you'll see your version listed as a draft that hasn't been sent yet.
Working with a draft proposal
Click the three-dot menu next to the proposal for these options:
View Link — get the shareable proposal link
View PDF — generate the PDF
Preview — see the proposal as the customer will
Edit — make tweaks
Send — send it to the customer
Sending the proposal
When you send, you'll set:
Recipients and anyone to copy
Reply-to — defaults to the salesperson
Email template — choose from your saved templates
Allow the customer to download a PDF
Notify the salesperson when it's been viewed
Show the company address on the proposal
Follow-up emails — automatically follow up if the customer hasn't responded within 3 days, 5 days, or whatever schedule you choose
Then click Send for Review.
Creating additional versions
Need to revise? Don't edit the old one — click Create New Proposal again and name it something like "V2" or "With Planting Work Area," then walk through the same steps.
You'll always keep a record of every proposal version and the state it was in when it was sent.
Note: Sending a new version of a proposal will deactivate any old proposal links, ensuring that only the latest proposal is accessible to the client.
If you have any questions, please don't forget to use our chat box in the lower right-hand corner of your screen. We will be more than happy to help you.