Creating a Quote

A quote is the starting point for every customer order. It captures what the customer wants, what it will cost, and the terms of the deal.

Prerequisites

Before creating your first quote, make sure you've completed these setup steps:

  • Company profile — your company name, address, and logo appear on the PDF sent to clients. Set these up in Settings > Company Details.
  • Processes and equipment — operations on a quote reference your shop's processes and machines. Add them in Settings > Processes & Equipment.
  • Quote settings — default payment terms, validity period, markups, and email template. Configure in Settings > Quote Settings.

Creating a New Quote

  1. Go to Quotation in the sidebar.
  2. Click the Create Quote button in the top-right corner.
  3. Forge creates a new quote with a unique number (e.g., Q-0043) and opens it for editing.

The quote starts in Draft status and uses the default settings from your quote configuration.

Quote Details Section

The top section of the quote contains the client, currency, lead time, and notes fields.

Selecting a Client

Use the Client dropdown to search for and select an existing client. Start typing a company name or email to filter the list.

If the client doesn't exist yet, click Add New Client at the bottom of the dropdown. This opens the client modal where you can enter their details. See Managing Clients for more on this.

When you select a client that has a default currency set, the quote currency automatically switches to match.

Quote Number

The quote number is auto-generated and read-only. It follows a sequential pattern (Q-0001, Q-0002, etc.) and cannot be changed.

Currency

Choose the currency for this quote from the dropdown. Supported currencies include CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD. When you change the currency, Forge fetches the current exchange rate so totals can be converted back to your home currency.

Lead Time

Forge shows two lead times side by side, both measured in days from the customer's PO rather than as calendar dates. A quote can sit unanswered for weeks, so the clock starts when the customer issues the purchase order, not the day you write the quote.

  • Promised is the lead time you commit to the customer. Type the number of days you're willing to promise, or leave it blank if you haven't committed to one yet. When set, it prints on the quote PDF the customer receives ("15 days from PO"), and converting the quote to a job pre-fills the job's promised delivery date (counted forward from the conversion date).
  • Earliest is the soonest Forge thinks you could realistically ship. It's computed from the lead times you enter on each part's materials, operations, and purchased items, and it updates as you edit the parts. Click the info icon next to it to see the breakdown: which part drives the date, and inside each part, the input lead times and the machining time on top.

If your promised lead time is shorter than the earliest achievable one, a tight badge appears next to the earliest figure. The badge warns you without blocking the save, since you might know an expedite path the estimate doesn't. You can still promise the tighter lead time.

Notes

Click Add Note to open the internal notes field. These notes are for your team only — they don't appear on the PDF sent to clients.

Click Add Client-Facing Note to add a note that will appear on the quote PDF. Use this for special instructions, clarifications, or anything the client should see.

Files

Click Add Files to attach drawings, 3D models, or reference documents to the quote. You can upload PDFs, images, STEP files, STL files, and more. These files are stored with the quote for your team's reference.

Business Terms

The business terms bar shows the current payment terms, delivery terms, and quote validity at a glance. Click Edit Terms to change them.

Payment Terms

Select from common options:

  • Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, Net 90
  • Due on Receipt
  • COD (Cash on Delivery)
  • 50% Deposit, Balance on Delivery

You can also type a custom term if none of the presets fit.

Delivery Terms

Select from standard shipping terms:

  • FOB (Free on Board)
  • CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight)
  • EXW (Ex Works)
  • DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)
  • FCA (Free Carrier)
  • DAP (Delivered at Place)

Custom delivery terms are also supported.

Quote Validity

Set how many days the quote remains valid (e.g., 30). This is used to calculate the expiration date shown on the PDF.

Terms and Conditions

Click View/Edit Terms to manage the terms and conditions attached to this quote. By default, Forge uses the company-wide terms configured in Settings > Quote Settings. You can customize them per quote if needed.

The terms editor lets you:

  • Add, edit, or remove sections (each section has a title and body text)
  • Reset to company defaults if you've made per-quote changes

If the terms differ from your company defaults, a "Custom terms used" indicator appears.

Saving Your Work

Forge uses an explicit save model — changes you make are tracked locally until you save.

  • Click Save (or press Cmd+S / Ctrl+S) to persist your changes.
  • Click Discard to revert unsaved edits back to the last saved state.
  • If you try to navigate away with unsaved changes, Forge warns you.

The Save and Discard buttons only appear when you have unsaved changes. The Save button is disabled when there's nothing new to save.

Status and Next Steps

Use the status dropdown in the header to move the quote through its lifecycle (Draft, Pending, Sent, Approved, etc.). When the quote is Approved, a "Create Job" option appears to convert it into a production job.

For details on what to do next, see:

Related Articles

← Quotes OverviewAdding Parts to a Quote→