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Quoter has expanded its API capabilities by introducing new endpoints for Quote Templates and Quotes. These additions enhance integration options, streamline workflows, and improve quoting efficiency for businesses.
If you joined us for Ignition, it’s no secret that ScalePad is building deeper integrations between its own products. The Quoter API functionality here is a foundational first step towards bringing Quoter’s capabilities into Lifecycle Manager to create quotes from Initiatives, a win for users of both products. This full functionality is not there yet, but you can see what we’re building towards.
With that caveat in mind, let’s dive into the features, use cases, and current limitations of these Quoter API endpoints.
Quote Templates Endpoint
As the name suggests, the Quote Templates endpoint enables users to retrieve a list of existing quote templates. This feature provides a standardized foundation for creating quotes, ensuring consistency across the organization.
Key Endpoint
List Quote Templates: Fetch a list of all available quote templates.
How It Can Be Used
The List Quote Templates endpoint is ideal for identifying and applying the right template for specific quotes. MSPs offering varied products or services can leverage this to ensure all quotes align with pre-approved formats and branding.
Limitations
Currently the API only supports retrieving quote templates.
Creating, updating, or deleting templates must still be done via the Quoter web interface.
Quotes Endpoints
The new Quotes endpoints provide tools for programmatically creating and retrieving quotes, making it easier to integrate Quoter with external systems and automate workflows.
Key Endpoints
List Quotes: Retrieve all existing quotes for management or reporting purposes.
Create Quote: Automate the creation of new quotes.
Create Quote Endpoint
This is an early-stage piece that, as the name suggestions, creates draft quotes. Remember up at the outset when we mentioned this API was part of what we’re building out to create quotes from Lifecycle Manager Initiatives? Create Quotes is a key part of that first step.
Looking for other creative ideas? Look no further:
How it Can Be Used
CRM-Driven Quoting: Does your MSP rely on a CRMs to manage client interactions and track opportunities? When a deal reaches a specific stage, the external system can send all relevant line items to Quoter to generate a draft quote. Your MSP’s account manager can focus on managing sales and client relationships, while Quoter handles quote delivery, approval, and payment.
Custom Quoting Logic: MSPs may choose to build custom tools for calculating pricing and margins based on unique metrics like device counts, service tiers, or usage. These tools can push the calculated line items directly to Quoter for creating client-facing quotes.This allows your MSP to retain full control over custom quoting logic while leveraging Quoter’s delivery and transactional capabilities.
Automated Service Renewal Quotes: For recurring services or licensing, MSPs can use external systems to automate the creation of renewal quotes by sending renewal details directly to Quoter, which creates a templated quote and the ability to accept and pay online.
Limitations for Quote Creation
While the Create Quote endpoint introduces powerful automation capabilities, there are some significant initial limitations to be aware of:
Draft Only: All quotes created via the API are saved as Draft Quotes.
Line Items: Users can include line items in the POST payload, and these will be added to the draft quote. However, the API does not currently support automatically including line items associated with the supplied Quote Template.
File Attachments and Custom Fields: File attachments and custom fields tied to a Quote Template will not be applied to the created quote.
Ownership: Draft Quotes are created with the owner set as the user who generated the API key in Quoter.
Access Restrictions: Links to created quotes will only work for authenticated Quoter users with Sales Manager or higher permissions.
How These Endpoints Can Be Used
The introduction of these endpoints allows MSPs to enhance their quoting processes in several ways:
Improved Efficiency: Automate the creation of quotes and integrate Quoter with other systems, such as CRMs or billing software, to save time and reduce manual effort.
Standardized Outputs: Use templates to ensure quotes maintain consistency in structure, branding, and messaging.
Enhanced Reporting: With the ability to retrieve a list of quotes, businesses can track quote statuses and generate insights for better decision-making.
To get started using the API, everything you need is right in Quoter – all Quoter partners can generate API keys and jump right in.
The Road Ahead
These new endpoints mark a significant milestone in Quoter’s API development. While there are some current limitations, they lay the foundation for more robust features in the future. MSPs can begin leveraging these tools today to enhance automation and optimize their quoting workflows. ScalePad is going to use them to bring our product suite together to improve your workflows in our software too.
And speaking of the road ahead, while the Bill Gates / Nathan Myhrvold / Peter Rinearson book The Road Ahead is 30 years old now (wasn’t 1995 just 20 years ago? Can’t be 30, can it?), we should not be distracted from the fact that just three years later, in 1998, The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer’s table.
Stay tuned for updates as Quoter continues to evolve its API capabilities and unlocks even greater potential for integration and automation.
We are thrilled to announce several powerful new enhancements to our Quoter and HaloPSA integration. These updates bring improved security, expanded functionality, and greater efficiency to your workflow. Here’s an overview of the new features and how they benefit our mutual Quoter and Halo partners.
New Enhancements
1. HaloPSA Authentication Using Client ID and Secret
What’s New?
We’ve introduced a new authentication method using Client ID and Secret, which no longer requires a paid Halo license.
Benefits:
Cost Savings: By eliminating the need for a paid Halo license, your operational costs are reduced.
Enhanced Security: This method allows for reduced permissions, minimizing potential security risks.
Simplified Setup: Setting up the integration is more straightforward, reducing the time and effort needed.
How It Works:
Simply generate a Client ID and Secret in Halo, then enter these credentials in Quoter to establish the connection.
2. HaloPSA Opportunity Creation
What’s New?
You can now associate Quotes with existing Halo Opportunities or create new Halo Opportunities directly from Quoter.
Benefits:
Streamlined Sales Process: Start your quoting process in Quoter by associating Quotes with existing opportunities or creating new ones directly from Quoter.
Integrated Workflow: Quotes created in Quoter are automatically synced with Halo Opportunities, providing a unified view of your sales pipeline.
How It Works:
When preparing a quote in Quoter, you can associate it with an existing Halo Opportunity or decide to create a new one. Customer matching helps avoid duplicate data and ensures all potential sales are tracked and managed efficiently within Halo.
3. HaloPSA Lead Support
Hot tip: Quoter is the only quoting solution integrated with Halo that provides this!
What’s New?
By specifying a Halo Lead Ticket Type in Quoter, you can help avoid Halo Customers from being created for accounts that you don’t have won Opportunities with yet and are really prospects/leads. This keeps your customer list accurate in Halo and helps techs more efficiently manage tickets because they won’t see Leads in your Halo Customer lists or queries.
Benefits:
Improved Lead Management: Capture and track leads directly from Quoter, or leverage Quoter’s CRM integrations, ensuring a consistent follow-up process.
Enhanced Customer Insights: Leads are automatically synced with Halo, providing a comprehensive view of your customer journey and helping avoid an inflated customer list.
How It Works:
Use Person Search to lookup a Halo User or we’ll create a Lead if no match is found. This allows you to manage potential customers effectively right from the quoting stage.
4. Sales Order (SO) Creation
What’s New?
Direct creation of Halo Sales Orders from Quoter.
Benefits:
Efficient Order Processing: Automate Sales Order creation in Halo based on Quoter Quote statuses, speeding up the order fulfillment process.
Reduced Manual Entry: Automatically sync sales orders with Halo, minimizing errors and saving time.
How It Works:
Once a Quoter Quote is Won (in a status of accepted, ordered, or fulfilled), a Sales Order can be created in Halo, ensuring your sales and fulfillment teams are always in sync.
5. Purchase Order (PO) Capture and Push
What’s New?
Capture Purchase Order Numbers from customers via Quoter custom fields and push them to Halo.
Benefits:
Integrated Procurement: Streamline the purchasing process by capturing POs during quote acceptance and pushing them directly to Halo.
Accurate Record-Keeping: Ensure all purchase orders are accurately recorded and tracked within Halo.
How It Works:
A custom field in Quoter captures the PO Number during Quote Acceptance. This information is then pushed to the Halo Opportunity when the Quote is Won, ensuring a seamless procurement process.
6. Support for HaloPSA Suppliers
What’s New?
Enhanced support for managing Halo Suppliers within Quoter.
Benefits:
Comprehensive Supplier Management: Automatically pull supplier information, including SKU, Cost, and Price, directly from Quoter.
Accurate Costing: Ensure that quotes reflect the correct supplier costs and prices, improving pricing accuracy.
How It Works:
If a Halo Product has associated Suppliers, the Quoter Line Item will be populated with the first Halo Supplier’s details. This ensures that all relevant supplier information is included in your quotes.
7. Quoter Quote PDF Push to Halo Opportunity
What’s New?
Automatic attachment of Quoter Quote PDFs to Halo Opportunities.
Benefits:
Unified Documentation: Keep all related documents in one place by attaching the Quoter Quote PDF to the corresponding Halo Opportunity.
Improved Accessibility: Ensure that all team members have access to the latest quote documents within Halo.
How It Works:
When a Quoter Quote is published or updated, the PDF is automatically attached to the corresponding Halo Opportunity. This keeps all documentation organized and easily accessible.
Conclusion
These new enhancements to the Quoter and HaloPSA integration are designed to provide a more secure, efficient, and streamlined experience. By leveraging these features, our mutual partners can enhance their operational workflows, reduce costs, and improve overall productivity.
We’re committed to continuously improving our integration to meet your needs. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out. Happy Quoting!