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Quoting solution software has become an increasingly popular discussion among business professionals, especially over the past few years.

There are very good reasons for this. Quoting solution software — also known as configure, price, quote (CPQ) software — is a critical component of any eCommerce business's tech stack.  

First, let's define the term to be sure we're all working from the same quotation system meaning. Quoting solution software or CPQ software is a business solution that helps users configure custom products, uses guided selling to walk users through the process of finding and building the perfect item, updates the cost in real-time with dynamic pricing, and streamlines the process of creating an accurate quote.  

There are many advantages to having this kind of software. It reduces friction in the buying process which makes a sale more likely. The ability to display real-time product visuals that update each time a product option is chosen or altered helps customers see what the finished product would look like, easing some doubts and purchase anxiety.

These visuals can be made in 3D, 360°, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) formats to give users an interactive experience that gives them much more information about the item. This makes customers more confident in their purchase and gives them a tailored product that they'll be more inclined to buy and enjoy. These are the ways that CPQ software creates an experience customers love from start to finish.

The best quotation software is a hotly debated topic of discussion among business professionals. Each business has unique needs depending on the niche it's in and the products it works with among other things. There's no one-size-fits-all business software. However, some names always rise to the top of the discourse. Salesforce CPQ is one of the options often touted as the best in the business.

Just as the best quotation software options always have a way of rising to the top, the least ideal options have a similar tendency to routinely sink to the bottom. Open-source quotation software is one of these options. It may seem like a way to save money, but it can end up costing you.

While you can easily find a free quoting tool online, they often lack so many of the features and benefits of professional options that there's no way to get anywhere near the same results. You may even lose customers because you can't compete with businesses using more sophisticated solutions. That's why professional sales quote software is your best bet.

The best quoting software for small businesses is a natural extension of the conversation around the best quoting software overall.

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. Small businesses often have different needs, less intense tech demands, fewer, less complex products, and fewer customers.

They very well might not need some of the bells and whistles that larger companies may consider standard and necessary. It's also good to keep scaling in mind when searching for your business software. As your business becomes more successful, you'll have more customers. This puts a higher demand on the software you're using.

Furthermore, most businesses don't keep their product offerings confined to the limited options they started out with. As the business grows, the options typically grow with it. As you get to know your audience better and you receive customer feedback with information about what they want and how you can improve your options for them, you'll likely add to your selection. Having quoting software that can scale with your business can be a huge advantage.  

Another related concern for small business owners is that of cost. Why pay for a fully loaded CPQ system equipped with features you don't need or can't use, right? In that case, having simple quoting software that does what you need without any fancy extras might be the perfect choice.

Businesses in certain niches and those with more complex configuration options will require a more advanced, specialized quoting solution software though. Examples of this include quoting software for construction, manufacturers, businesses making medical devices or high-tech products, and those requiring parametric configurations. The basic software options don't have the capabilities they need.

While free quotation software for small businesses might be a good place to start your search and begin sussing out options to try out different features before committing to any product, we can't stress enough how detrimental it can be to actually choose free open-source business software.

As mentioned above, some businesses have more advanced or specialized needs.

The quoting solution software you use should match the needs and complexity of your business, products, and processes. This is how you'll achieve the best results and get the most benefits from your CPQ solution.

Manufacturing is a perfect example of a niche business that has specific requirements unique to that industry. Manufacturers do a lot of things that most other businesses don't. For a long time, manufacturers didn't see the need to embrace eCommerce, shift their sales to online platforms, or implement eCommerce-focused business solutions.    

The past few years have caused a lot of changes throughout the global supply chain. The pandemic left no link untouched. Manufacturing was no exception to this. The current state of manufacturing is requiring more digital adaptation to compete. Having specialized manufacturing quoting software is a great place to start.

Manufacturing quoting software appeals to the unique needs of manufacturers and helps incorporate the kind of specific software solutions that only they would need. This includes things like product costing software, machine shop quoting software, sheet metal quoting software, and job shop estimating software among others.  

Many in the manufacturing industry are hesitant to shift toward digital commerce. There's often a kind of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude and a general resistance toward change. These business owners may view quoting and estimating software as something that might be a nice luxury to have but isn't necessary.  

People with that perspective tend to be more likely to consider doing a quick Google search and downloading some manufacturing quoting software free from GitHub. However, the benefits of a unified manufacturing quoting solution tailored to the industry can't be overstated. It isn't just about ease and speed. It also saves and makes a lot of money. Plus, the streamlining and automation make it hard for businesses without comparable software to compete.

We've touched on the idea of free quoting software, but we haven't gone into any real detail about why that's not something that's recommended.

To be clear, yes, you can absolutely find quoting software free online. It's very easy to find and widely available. Anyone who wants to can find a version in just a few minutes.

So then, why isn't this a more popular business option? If businesses seek to minimize costs to maximize profits, why isn't free CPQ software more widely used, and why don't any savvy experts recommend that you pursue it as a serious option to lower overhead? The answer is simple: it doesn't work.

That's not to say that the free quoting software option you get wouldn't do anything it says it can. It probably would. However, it can't do the things you need it to be able to do to make your business more successful and help you compete with the businesses using the real deal.

There are an abundance of options that come up for searches like free quotation app, best free quotation software, and free quotation software download. In fact, there are probably hundreds more options available for free CPQ software than for paid versions. However, you have to consider exactly why that is the case.

It's a matter of quantity vs quality. It's cheap and easy to create free software. It's time- and cost-intensive to create high-quality, professional business software. If they didn't charge for it, they couldn't afford to have the best programmers and most innovative developers work on it.

This disparity between the features and quality of each is exactly why even the best free quoting software will never save you as much money as even average professional CPQ software will help you make. Especially in the long-term, free is actually a much higher price to pay.

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