Definition
Quote to order (Q2O, QTO)The part of the sales cycle from a customer’s request for prices until the accepted quote has become a sales order in the seller’s ERP. It is the front half of quote to cash.
Quote to order vs quote to cash, order to cash and CPQ
| Term | Starts | Ends | Main work at a distributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote to order (Q2O) | Enquiry or RFQ | Confirmed sales order | Identifying products, pricing, quoting, entering the order |
| Quote to cash (Q2C) | Enquiry or RFQ | Payment received | Quote to order, then delivery, invoicing and collection |
| Order to cash (O2C) | Order received | Payment received | Order entry, delivery, invoicing, collection |
| CPQ (configure, price, quote) | Product configuration | Quote document | Rarely the bottleneck: most lines are catalogue items, not configured products |
What are the steps in the quote to order process?
CPQ software describes it as product configuration, approvals and contracts. At a distributor selling from a catalogue, the steps are:
The enquiry arrives
An email, PDF schedule or Excel take-off in the customer’s shorthand (RFQ vs RFP vs quotation).
Identify each product
Turn abbreviations, sizes, customer part numbers and other brands’ codes into catalogue items.
Price and send the quote
Customer prices and discounts, delivery terms, a validity period and a quote number.
Revise
Changed quantities or an alternative product mean a second or third revision.
Check the order against the quote
Compare the customer’s purchase order with the quote: quantities, dropped or added lines, price validity.
Create the sales order and confirm
Convert the quote or enter the order, then send the acknowledgement (purchase order vs sales order).
Example: a quote, the purchase order that answers it, and the sales order
A fastener distributor gets a PO saying “as per your quote”, with no number. The quote had two revisions.
| Quote Q-2208, rev. 2 | Customer PO 5512 | Sales order line | To check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hex set screw M10 × 30, A2, DIN 933 · 500 | M10 x 30 s/s set screws · 1,000 | Same item · 1,000 | Quantity doubled: price break? |
| Hex nut M10, A2, DIN 934 · 500 | M10 s/s nuts · 1,000 | Same item · 1,000 | Doubled too: same price-break check |
| Washer M10, A2, DIN 125 · 500 | Not on the PO | Not ordered | Dropped or forgotten? Ask the buyer |
| Not quoted | M8 nyloc nuts · 200 | Nylon insert lock nut M8, A2, DIN 985 · 200 | New line: identify and price it |
Illustrative example: the companies, quote and PO numbers and quantities are fictional.
Where does the quote to order process lose time?
The conversion click in the ERP is quick; the time goes on the lines. According to our case study, a sales rep spends on average 4–7 minutes per line when creating quotes and orders by hand, so an example enquiry of 40 lines (40 × 4–7 minutes) takes 2 hours 40 minutes to 4 hours 40 minutes to quote. If the quote was built in a spreadsheet rather than in the ERP, the order has to be keyed in from scratch, so the line work is done twice.
Conversion also stalls when the quote has expired, the customer’s agreed prices have changed since it was sent, or the buyer orders only part of it, and someone has to decide which price applies. Speed matters too: contractors often send the same list to several merchants, so a late quote can lose the order (how to reduce quote turnaround time). Try your own volumes in the quote cost calculator.
Can the quote to order process be automated?
The line-by-line work can, for both the quote and the sales order; the decisions stay with people. ERP Agent reads the enquiry or the order from email, PDF, Excel or Word, identifies the right products in your own catalogue, brings in customer pricing and prepares the draft. Every line carries a match score from 0 to 100, with lines under 80 marked for review.
By default, a person approves before anything is written to your ERP, CRM or other system. The approved draft becomes a quote or sales order in your ERP: ERP Agent integrates with Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, Visma, IFS, Sage and any other ERP or CRM, and we set up the connection for your company during onboarding. The agent learns from the lines your team sends: the next time a customer writes the same thing, it picks the same product. More in quote automation for distributors and purchase order to sales order automation.
Your team stays in control
ERP Agent prepares the quote and the sales order; your team keeps the decisions that win the business, such as negotiating, following up open quotes and deciding whether a changed order keeps the quoted price. Nothing reaches a customer without your approval.
