Open quotes living in email threads, Drive folders, and "I'll ping them Friday" notes are not a pipeline. They are a leak.
Here is the workflow I use when someone dumps a month of proposals and wants one sheet that shows what is open, what is stale, and who to follow up with next.
What "good enough" looks like
- Every open quote is one row with a clear stage
- Amount, send date, and next action are filled (or marked unknown)
- Stale quotes are visible without digging
- Closed-won / closed-lost are parked, not mixed into the active view
- Follow-ups are dated, not vibes
Intake checklist
- The quote PDFs / Doc links / email threads (whatever they have)
- Their stage language (sent / negotiating / verbal yes / dead) — even if messy
- Currency and whether tax is included
- Who owns follow-up on their side
- How old is "too old" for them (14 / 30 / 60 days)
The pass order that saves time
- Inventory — list every open (or maybe-open) quote with client name + rough amount.
- Normalize stages — map their words onto a short fixed set (Draft, Sent, Negotiating, Verbal, Closed-won, Closed-lost, Stale).
- Date the file — send date, last touch, next follow-up due.
- Flag gaps — missing amount, no owner, no next step.
- Build the sheet — active tab + closed archive + a "next 7 days" follow-up slice.
- Hand back — sheet only; no cold outreach done for them unless they asked separately.
Sheet columns that work
| Column | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Client / contact | Who the quote is for |
| Offer | One-line description |
| Amount | Quote total (note currency) |
| Stage | Draft / Sent / Negotiating / Verbal / Closed / Stale |
| Sent date | When it left their inbox |
| Last touch | Last real reply or call |
| Next action | Concrete step + owner |
| Due | Follow-up date |
| Notes | Blockers, discounts, competitors |
Common traps
- Keeping "maybe" quotes in the active list forever with no stale rule
- Logging amount but not the follow-up owner
- Treating a soft "looks good" as Closed-won without a signature or deposit
- Mixing closed history into the working view so nothing looks urgent
- Building a CRM novel when a 20-row sheet would do
Soft handoff
When the sheet is done, send:
- The pipeline sheet (active + closed tabs)
- A short list of quotes past their stale rule
- One suggested next step (three follow-ups due this week, or a cleanup pass on missing amounts)
That is the whole job. No full CRM migration required for a quotes cleanup pass.
I do this as a 24-hour DFY service for freelancers and small businesses ($12 for open quotes → pipeline sheet). Shop: https://brittanybonds.gumroad.com/l/pipelinesheet — code ADMIN12 for $2 off. Full catalog: https://brittanybonds.gumroad.com/ and https://brittany-bonds.github.io/
Top comments (0)