This chapter covers the following topics:
A quote can be created as a new quote, as a copy of an existing quote, or from an opportunity. If created from an opportunity, the opportunity name is displayed in the Quote field.
Quotes have certain basic attributes. These attributes include quote name, quote number, version number, customer, operating unit, status, creation date, and assignment to a sales representative.
Quote Defaulting
You may notice that when you select the option to create a quote, the form opens with some of the fields having values in them. This is possible because of defaulting rules.
The quote header defaulting rules are applied for each field that does not have a value and has a defaulting rule set up for it. The quote line defaulting rules are applied when a quote line is created. If a trigger attribute is subsequently changed, then the dependant attributes are cleared and defaulted again. For example, if the pricing agreement (trigger attribute) is changed, then the payment terms and price list (dependant attributes) values are cleared and the defaulting rules are applied again to derive fresh values. For more information on setting up defaulting rules, refer the Oracle Quoting Implementation Guide.
A record for the new quote is created when you enter the mandatory fields and save the quote. Oracle Quoting then generates the quote number, version number, creation date, and status. The quote number is unique across all quotes for all customer IDs and account numbers. For a new quote, the version number is always 1 and by default the status is Draft. If you had not specified a name for the quote, the name is generated as Quote for <Customer Name>.
Quote number, customer, customer account (if specified), and operating unit fields cannot be changed after quote creation.
The searchable list of customers comes from the customer repository in the Trade Community Architecture (TCA). You can create new customers if the profile ASO: Create New Customer is set to Yes at the appropriate level. You can create account customers from the AR Customers form. You can create prospect customers from Oracle Sales, Oracle TeleSales, or Oracle Quoting - HTML.
A quote is an offer to a customer that contains priced products and shows a total price for the offer. You create a quote when you accumulate products for a customer and save your work.
Oracle Quoting automatically assigns a number to the quote. This number appears in the Quote Number field. The quote number is composed of the quote number itself and a version number that increments each time a new quote version is created.
Note: The profile option ASO: Automatic Numbering determines if the system automatically generates a quote number. For more information, see the Oracle Quoting Implementation Guide.
In the Forms UI, your administrator can specify that when a quote is in the Draft status, any changes you make simply overwrite your previous entries. If the quote is in a status that is auto-version enabled, each time the user selects the Save icon from the Quoting form, the application creates a new version of the quote. See Section Quote Status for more details. These restrictions and permissions can be fully determined by your organizational policies and implemented by your System Administrator.
Oracle Quoting keeps a list of all of the quote versions you have created. You can view general information about all previous quotes for the customer. You can also view the history of the current quote. In the Oracle Quoting main form, you can modify only the latest version of a quote. Previous versions of a quote are read-only: you can neither modify the quote from the user interface nor change the quote status. However, in the Forms UI you can use the Copy Quote functionality to create a new quote version from a previous quote version if all the following conditions are met:
The highest quote version is not in the Order Submitted or in the Approval Pending statuses
The quote is not submitted for batch pricing
You cannot delete quotes once you create them. You can inactivate quotes or set quotes to expire automatically after a certain period of time.
The status of a quote indicates the evolution of a quote from the initial offer to order placement. Quote status and transitions reflect your sales process. Status data indicates progression of the quote life cycle. You may define your quote statuses to determine what kind of changes a sales representative can make to the quote.
Oracle Quoting is delivered with predefined quote statuses. You can define new quote statuses to reflect your business processes. But you cannot modify seeded statuses unless they are user maintainable. In addition, you cannot delete any statuses. You must deactivate those statuses you no longer want to use. See the Oracle Quoting Implementation Guide for more information.
The status of a quote determines what kind of activities related to that quote are possible. Your application administrator can set up and customize the rules governing each updateable status in several ways, including the following:
Decide for each status if a new version of the quote is created or if the quote is overwritten when you select the Save icon in the toolbar
Decide which statuses allow modification of the quote and which are read-only
Add statuses
Change status names
Define, by application, a default quote status on a new quote or version
Decide the statuses to which a given status can change
Set up quote status transitions by operating unit
The following table shows the available seeded quote statuses.
| Quote Status | Description | Read-only |
|---|---|---|
| Approval Canceled | Sales representative canceled the approval process. | No |
| Approval Pending | Quote is pending approval. | Yes |
| Approval Rejected | Approval was rejected by the approvers. | No |
| Approved | Approved by the approvers. | Yes |
| Draft | Initial status. | No |
| Inactive | No more activity allowed. | Yes |
| Order Submitted | Order submitted to Oracle Order Management. | Yes |
| StoreDraft | For iStore internal use only. | No |
The statuses in the following table exist for backward compatibility (for previous version of Oracle Quoting), but there is no functionality behind them.
| Quote Status | Description | Read-only |
|---|---|---|
| Bid | Could be used to show that the quote was presented to a customer. | No |
| Lost | Could be used to show that the customer declined/rejected the quote. | No |
| Problem | Could be used to show there is a problem with the quote being submitted as an order. Note: The system will not automatically set this status if the order is not submitted. |
No |
| Reviewed | Could be used to show that the quote was reviewed internally. | No |
Note: The statuses Ordered, Entered, Contract Canceled, Contract Pending, and Contract Required are obsolete. They still appear in the Quote Status setup form but they will be locked. You will not be able to create any transitions to them, nor will you have the ability to enable them.
If a quote status is read only, you only update the following attributes:
Modify notes.
Change the quote status, as long as the transition is valid. Thus, you can potentially place an order, initiate approval, etc.
Publish or unpublish a quote, if publishing is enabled and the quote satisfies publishing criteria.
Modify payment information, until the order is submitted.
Add and remove attachments. You cannot replace existing attachments.
Note: A user can fully update a quote in read-only status if the system administrator sets the profile option ASO: Status Override to Yes for that specific user. Yet, even if the profile is set to Yes, the user must have update access to the quote to be able to modify it.
If you want to update a quote in read-only status:
Transition to an updateable status.
Create a new quote version.
Use Copy Quote to create a brand new quote.
Status changes are regulated to prevent accidental changes, such as reverting an ordered quote status back to a non-ordered status.
Note: You cannot set up a transition from a status to the same status.
The following table shows the seeded transition rules for quote status changes.
| From | To | User Maintainable |
|---|---|---|
| Approval Pending | Approved | No |
| Approval Pending | Approval Canceled | No |
| Approval Pending | Approval Rejected | No |
| StoreDraft | Draft | No |
| StoreDraft | Inactive | No |
| StoreDraft | Order Submitted | No |
A quote lists the products your customer is interested in purchasing before you place an order.
The behavior of the Customer and Account LOVs in the header depends upon the ASO: Auto Account Creation profile option setting. See Customer Data for more information.
Note: The maximum number of results in the LOVs for the Quote To, Ship To, and Bill To customers and accounts at the header and line level is limited by the profile option ASO: Max Number of Results.
You must enter the following information to create a quote:
Customer
Customer Account (if the customer has an active account)
Primary Salesperson
Primary Sales Group
Expiration Date
Order Type
Currency
Operating Unit
Quote Number (if ASO: Automatic Numbering is set to No)
Field Behavior
Quote
The name of the quote will be populated with Quote for <Customer> if it is not specified.
Customer
The customer cannot be changed once the quote is created.
If ASO: Auto Account Creation is set to Always and the party does not have an account, the account will be created when the quote is created. For more information on the profile, see the Oracle Quoting Implementation Guide.
Contact
This LOV displays all parties of type Person with a valid party relationship with the quote-to customer. Disabled if the quote-to customer is of type Person.
Quote Number
If ASO: Automatic Numbering is set to Yes, Oracle Quoting automatically assigns a number to the quote. If set to No, the user must manually enter a value in this field.
Account
This field automatically populates when you select the customer.
If the customer does not have an account number, one may be created based on the setting of the profile option ASO: Auto Account Creation. See Customers and Relationships for more information.
If the customer is not specified, the user can use the Account LOV to select the Quote To customer and account. The Quote To customer will be copied to the Customer field.
Status
This status of the quote is automatically populated by Oracle Quoting, according to the profile option ASO: Default Quote Status.
Order Type
This field is automatically populated with the value from the system parameter Default Order Type.
Operating Unit
This LOV displays all the operating units that you have access to. The default value is based on either the defaulting rules setup or the MO_UTILS.Get_Default_OU API.
Salesperson
This field is automatically populated with the current user if the user is set up as a valid salesperson. If not, the field defaults to the sales representative designated in Default Salesrep system parameter.
If ASO: Automatic Sales Team Assignment is set to Full or Partial, this field is read only without defaulted values.
Contract Template
A default contract is defaulted from the system parameter Default Contract Template. This field is only enabled if the profile OKC: Enable Sales Contracts is set to Yes.
Notes
Upon saving, the application generates a quote number that is displayed in the Quote Number field.
The customer must exist in the database as a party of type Person or Organization.
Field Behavior
Customer LOV
Displays customers with or without active accounts. The customer list displayed is based on the value set in the ASN: Customer Access Privilege profile. For more information, see the Oracle Quoting Implementation Guide.
Account LOV
Oracle Quoting automatically populates the Account field when you select the Customer. The LOV displays all active accounts for the selected customer.
If no account exists, one may be created for the customer based on the setting of the profile option ASO: Auto Account Creation. See Creation of Accounts for more information.
If no customer was selected, the LOV displays all accounts and their related parties.
Contact
The LOV displays all parties of type Person that have a party relationship with the customer.
Notes
The maximum number of results in the LOVs for the Quote To, Ship To, and Bill To customers and accounts at the header and line level is limited by the profile option ASO: Max Number of Results.
If your discussions with the customer has reached an advanced stage, you can create a quote from an opportunity. Many of the values from the opportunity are passed on to the quote. If defaulting rules are set up, some fields in the quote header and lines may obtain values based on the rules. If a trigger attribute is subsequently changed, then the dependant attributes are cleared and defaulted again. For example, if the pricing agreement (trigger attribute) is changed, then the payment terms and price list (dependant attributes) values are cleared and the defaulting rules are applied again to derive fresh values.
Prerequisites
You must be logged onto Oracle TeleSales to perform this procedure.
Use an existing opportunity or create a new one. See the Oracle TeleSales User Guide for detailed instructions on creating and accessing opportunities.
Notes
The following fields, when available, are defaulted and cannot be changed:
Customer
Quote Number (if ASO: Automatic Numbering is set to No)
Opportunity Name
Salesperson (If ASO: Automatic Sales Team Assignment is set to Full or Partial)
Sales Group (If ASO: Automatic Sales Team Assignment is set to Full or Partial)
If the profile option ASO: Require Service Reference on Add to Quote is set to Yes, the service items from the opportunity are not copied to the quote. If set to No, the service items are copied and the start date is defaulted to the current date. The duration and period default from the values set up in Oracle Inventory for the service item. These can be changed after the quote is created.