Quote to job
Turn the customer RFQ into a reviewed offer and a released job with the right drawing, traveler and material plan.
7 stages · 2 approvals
Roles and responsibilities
-
Step 1RFQ
Quote NumberCustomerQuote DateValid Until
-
Step 4Send
Quote NumberCustomerQuote DateValid Until
-
Step 6Job creation
Work CenterJobOperation NumberDescription
-
Step 7Job release
Job NumberJob TypeCustomerPartSplit
Process steps
Follow the process from start to finish. Select a step to see who acts and what changes.
RFQ
Estimator records the customer inquiry, drawings, part revisions, quantity alternatives and requested delivery. Alternatives for the same requirement belong to one group; separate requirements remain distinct. The displayed option is identified without hiding other offered choices from review.
Estimate
Estimator copies a reviewed routing or builds the operations, including instructions, setup sheets and inspection points. Setup and quantity-based run work retain separate labour, machine and burden costs. Material uses the evidenced base-unit cost; outside services use their declared per-unit or lot scope. Customer material retains quantity at zero shop cost.
Approval required
Quote
Estimator releases only when every offered alternative meets or exceeds the protected margin floor and no unresolved exception remains. Otherwise Shop Owner decides the complete exception packet or declines NoBid. The actual signer, policy and immutable offer version remain attached. A permitted owner self-approval is recorded explicitly.
Send
Estimator sends the released offer with its validity and terms through the agreed channel. The selected benchmark price retains its quantity, unit and version on the part. A local send request is tracked separately from destination receipt, and changes require a newly reviewed offer.
Order entry
Office Manager verifies customer PO evidence against the exact still-valid sent version, alternatives, quantity, revision, price and delivery. Unquoted quantities return for a revised offer. Accepted lines and blanket releases consume their authorized quantity and value; repeated acceptance or release messages retain the same identities.
Job creation
Office Manager converts the accepted scope into order lines and Planned jobs with their demand allocations. Drawings, instructions, materials and the original estimate follow the accepted snapshot. Shipment or milestone/final billing is selected from the agreed terms; splitting a job later does not duplicate that billing obligation.
Approval required
Job release
Production Manager reviews the snapshot, dependencies and available inputs, claims exact eligible stock by heat and ownership, and identifies shortages. Release records the decision and traveler revision. Only work whose own material, predecessor and quality conditions are satisfied can begin; component jobs require a separate accepted transfer into the parent.
Approvals and exception handling
2 approvals required in this process
-
Quote
Estimator or Shop Owner signs · send waits
QuoteVersions, ApprovalDecisions, ShopPolicies -
Job release
Production Manager signs · closes the process
Jobs, JobSnapshots, MaterialReservations, JobMaterials, ApprovalDecisions - Review every customer-selectable alternativeA profitable display option cannot conceal a below-floor choice.
- Freeze setup, run, material conversions and ratesThe offer. Unknown costs require resolution; a price override changes the review basis.
- An order for a quantity absent from the offer needs a revised reviewed price. Office Manager cannot select the nearest break and absorb its changed setup recovery.
- One accepted blanket release consumes the approved ceiling once. A retry cannot create another job or another sale.
- Sent terms and released instructions are immutableA changed drawing or price invalidates the old authority for changed scope.
- Independent approval checks actual peopleThe eligible Estimator path and any permitted owner exception remain distinct, recorded decisions.
When the process needs attention
-
exception
Quote
Estimator releases only when every offered alternative meets or exceeds the protected margin floor and no unresolved exception remains.
-
duplicate
Job creation
Shipment or milestone/final billing is selected from the agreed terms; splitting a job later does not duplicate that billing obligation.
-
shortage
Job release
Production Manager reviews the snapshot, dependencies and available inputs, claims exact eligible stock by heat and ownership, and identifies shortages.
Records and postings
| Stage | Records | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 RFQ | QuotesQuoteLinesParts | Record offered alternatives |
| 2 Estimate | QuoteOperationsQuoteMaterialsPartRoutingsWorkCentersMaterials | Establish the complete estimate |
| 3 Quote | QuoteVersionsApprovalDecisionsShopPolicies | Authorize the exact offer |
| 4 Send | QuotesQuoteVersionsPartsShopDeliveries | Retain send and benchmark evidence |
| 5 Order entry | SalesOrdersSalesOrderLinesQuoteVersionsJobAllocations | Reserve accepted customer demand |
| 6 Job creation | JobsJobOperationsJobMaterialsJobSnapshotsBillingObligations | Create the authorized job plan |
| 7 Job release | JobsJobSnapshotsMaterialReservationsJobMaterialsApprovalDecisions | Release the reviewed traveler and stock claims |
Process reports
All reportsCustomer Margin
Accepted sales value and signed actual cost of completed customer-job families, consolidating root/splits/remakes/returned rework and linked Adjustment costs once. True component/internal jobs have no duplicate customer revenue; balanced child transfers cancel in consolidated cost. Show incomplete family/recovery work separately and preserve closed original values alongside later adjustments.
Quote Log
Frozen sent offers by sent-date cohort/customer/part and estimator, with Won, Lost, Expired, NoBid and still-open outcomes separate. Hit rate is accepted terminal offers divided by Won + Lost + Expired in the stated cohort; NoBid and open offers excluded from denominator but shown. Superseded versions and repeated conversion are not additional offers won. Quantity-break prices retain quantity/UOM and approval basis.
Job Cost Summary
Original release JobSnapshots and current approved per-type/operation estimate against signed posted JobCostEntries, with operational gross cost and balanced transfer effects separately identified. Include compensated originals plus negative legs once. Unknown/unposted amounts remain visible; no zero-margin calculation when sell price is zero.
Work Centre Load
Confirmed ScheduleSlots remaining occupied machine/work hours by named resource and week divided by actual available calendar hours, rolled up without multiplying machine count twice. Zero capacity shows unschedulable work, proposed slots shown separately; outside supplier spans are lead time, not internal capacity.
Late and At-Risk Jobs
Open active customer obligations against original and current approved due dates; estimate remaining path using confirmed resource capacity, material/inspection holds and outside promises. Show unknown duration/calendar as unresolved risk; this is a planning estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
Outside Processing Status
Each posted OutsideDispatches lot: sent, physically returned, accepted/rejected, still-outside and unresolved quantity, original/current promised instant and elapsed days. Partial returns do not mark the whole operation complete; LOT cost/billing basis and unknown promise remain explicit.
Run by an agent
Agent support
An agent cannot turn preparation into a required human approval. Margin exceptions, controlled purchases, production release, ticket approval, quality decisions and job close follow their configured authority. Automatic policy paths must be explicitly defined; an agent role does not create a bypass. Access to a record does not permit changing a released traveler, spending reserved stock or rewriting a posted amount.
# Example after configuration
$ curl -fsSL https://www.erp.ai/skill.md | paste into your agent
› quote to job · rfq on Quotes, QuoteLines, Parts
✓ Estimator records the customer inquiry, drawings, part revisions, quantity alternatives and requested delivery.
› quote to job · estimate on QuoteOperations, QuoteMaterials, PartRoutings, WorkCenters, Materials
✓ Estimator copies a reviewed routing or builds the operations, including instructions, setup sheets and inspection points.
› quote to job · quote on QuoteVersions, ApprovalDecisions, ShopPolicies
⏸ approval · waiting for the estimator or shop owner
# 4 more stages after approval: send, order entry, job creation, job release
Other processes
5 moreRelease to ship
Move released work through production, reviewed time and quality checks into a traceable customer shipment.
9 stages · 3 approvals
Outside processing
Follow each lot through its supplier order, outbound custody, partial return and quality acceptance.
7 stages · 2 approvals
Change orders
Review changes against the work already done, authorize their cost and customer impact, and release a clear revised traveler.
6 stages · 1 approval
Non-conformance and rework
Contain affected pieces, authorize the recovery plan and keep quality, quantity and cost evidence connected.
7 stages · 3 approvals
Job close
Reconcile completed work and remaining obligations, authorize the final cost review and preserve a useful benchmark for repeat quotes.
6 stages · 2 approvals