Reps build quotes in Word because the native CRM quote tool feels worse than a blank document. Freshsales quotes can close that gap with about a day of setup. Skip these steps and reps will keep emailing untracked PDFs.
Enable and scope
Quotes live under Sales Activities, not deals, by default. Move them to the deal sidebar via the page layout editor so reps see “Create Quote” without hunting. Set the default quote owner to follow the deal owner, not the creator. Otherwise sales ops shows up as the quote owner on every quote built from a workflow.
Quote template anatomy
The PDF template is built in the quote settings, not the email template editor. It has five blocks: header (logo, your address), customer block (account, contact, billing), line items table, totals, and footer (terms, signature). Use the line items table tokens for product code, name, quantity, unit price, discount, total. Do not add custom HTML to the table; it breaks PDF rendering on long quotes.
Build at least three templates: standard, partner-discount, and renewal. Renewal templates skip the prospect-style intro and lead with “your current subscription” language.
Numbering scheme
Quote numbers are sequential and global by default (Q-0001, Q-0002). For multi-region teams, prefix the number with a territory code via a workflow on quote creation: Q-EMEA-0001. This makes audits and AR follow-up traceable.
Approval workflow
Quotes inherit the deal’s discount approval status, but only if you build the workflow. The trigger is quote.created OR quote.updated with a condition total_discount_percent > 15. The action sends a Slack ping to the rep’s manager and locks the quote from being sent until approved. Use the quote status field as the gate: only “Approved” quotes can be emailed.
Send and track
The send-quote action emails a PDF link, not an attachment. The recipient clicks through to a hosted page. This gives you open and view tracking which a PDF attachment cannot. The hosted page expires after 30 days; extend in settings if you do enterprise deals with long sales cycles.
E-signature integration
Native Freshsales does not include e-sign. Use the marketplace app for DocuSign or PandaDoc; both push the signed PDF back as a file attachment on the deal and update the quote status to “Signed.” Without an e-sign integration, reps will print, scan, and re-attach, which destroys the audit trail.
Versioning
Editing a sent quote creates a new version, not an overwrite. The customer link continues pointing at the latest version. Old versions are visible to internal users only via the version history panel. Train reps to always edit, never delete and recreate, so the version history stays clean.
What to do this week
Build one quote template that matches your brand, set up the discount approval workflow, and ask three reps to build a quote from a real deal. Watch where they hesitate, that is your next config fix.
