Quote Statuses Explained: Track Every Opportunity

Every quote you create in SemaQuote moves through a journey from creation to decision. Understanding this lifecycle helps you see where each opportunity stands, know when to follow up, and ultimately close more work.

In this guide, you'll learn what each status means, what triggers transitions between them, and how to use this information to improve your quoting process.

The Quote Journey at a Glance

Here's how quotes flow through the system:

Draft --> Sent --> Viewed --> Accepted --> Invoice
                         \-> Rejected
                         \-> Expired

Every quote starts as a Draft and ends with one of three outcomes: Accepted (you won the work), Rejected (the client passed), or Expired (time ran out without a decision).

Understanding Each Status

Draft

What it means: You've created the quote, but your client hasn't seen it yet.

Badge color: Gray

What you can do:

• Edit everything, including line items, pricing, and client details
• Delete the quote if you change your mind
• Send it when you're ready

Why quotes stay in Draft:

• You're waiting to confirm pricing with suppliers
• A manager needs to approve before sending
• You created it during a meeting for later follow-up
• It's a voice quote that needs final review

How long can it stay here? As long as you need. Drafts don't expire on their own, though old drafts can clutter your list over time.

Sent

What it means: Your client has received the quote notification, but hasn't opened it yet.

Badge color: Blue

What you can do:

• Resend the notification if they might have missed it
• View the quote (but not edit it directly)
• Copy the shareable link
• Cancel if you sent it by mistake (returns to Draft)

What your client sees: An email notification with a link to view the full quote.

Where it goes from here:

• Automatically moves to Viewed when your client opens the link
• You can manually mark it as Expired if you need to retract it

Viewed

What it means: Your client has opened the quote in the client portal at least once. They're looking at what you're offering.

Badge color: Purple

What you can do:

• See exactly when they first viewed it (in the quote activity log)
• Send reminder notifications
• Follow up by phone or email
• Wait for their decision

What your client sees: The complete quote with Accept and Decline buttons.

Where it goes from here:

• Moves to Accepted when they sign and approve
• Moves to Rejected if they decline
• Moves to Expired if the valid-until date passes

Pro tip: A viewed quote that goes quiet is a golden follow-up opportunity. Your client was interested enough to look. They might have questions, concerns, or just need a gentle nudge.

Accepted

What it means: You won the work. Your client has approved the quote and provided their electronic signature.

Badge color: Green with a checkmark

What you can do:

• Convert the quote to an invoice
• View acceptance details (signature name, timestamp, IP address)
• Start scheduling the work
• Print or download the accepted quote as documentation

What your client agreed to: When accepting, they typed their name as an electronic signature and saw:

• The full quote amount
• Confirmation that they're authorizing the work
• Your terms and conditions (if you've set them up)

The e-signature creates a record of agreement that you can reference if questions or disputes arise later.

Rejected

What it means: Your client has declined the quote. They're not moving forward with this proposal.

Badge color: Red

What you can do:

• View the rejection reason (if they provided one)
• Create a revised quote with different pricing or scope
• Learn from the feedback to improve future quotes
• Archive or delete the rejected quote

Common rejection reasons:

• "Price too high"
• "Going with another contractor"
• "Project postponed"
• "Scope doesn't match what I expected"

Don't give up too quickly: A polite follow-up asking for feedback can help you improve your quotes. Sometimes it even revives opportunities you thought were lost.

Expired

What it means: The quote's valid-until date has passed without a decision from your client.

Badge color: Orange/amber

What you can do:

• Create a new version with updated pricing and dates
• Delete if the opportunity is no longer relevant
• Reflect on why it expired (did you forget to follow up?)

What your client sees: If they visit the portal link, they see a message explaining the quote has expired and they should contact you for a new one.

How it happens: SemaQuote automatically marks quotes as Expired the day after their valid-until date passes.

How Statuses Change

Here's a quick reference for what triggers each transition:

Notifications You'll Receive

SemaQuote keeps you informed as quotes change status:

You can customize these in Settings > Notifications.

Finding Quotes by Status

When you need to see all quotes in a particular state, filtering makes it easy.

On the Web

1. Go to Quotes
2. Click the Status filter dropdown
3. Select one or more statuses
4. Your list updates immediately

On Mobile

1. Open the Quotes tab
2. Tap the filter icon
3. Choose your status filter
4. Tap Apply

Quick Filter Shortcuts

At the top of your Quotes page, you'll see status counts for fast access:

• All: Your total quote count
• Pending: Sent + Viewed combined (quotes awaiting decisions)
• Won: Accepted quotes
• Lost: Rejected + Expired combined

The Activity Timeline

Every quote keeps a detailed activity log showing its complete history. To see it:

1. Open any quote
2. Scroll to Activity or tap the History tab
3. Review timestamped entries for:
   • When you created the quote
   • When you sent it (and how)
   • When your client viewed it
   • When it was accepted or rejected (with details)
   • Any line item changes (for drafts)
   • Resend attempts

This timeline helps you:

• Understand how engaged your client is
• Document the approval process
• Troubleshoot delivery issues
• Prepare for follow-up conversations

Revising Quotes After Sending

What if you need to change a quote that's already been sent? You can't edit it directly (that would compromise the record of what your client saw). Instead:

1. Open the existing quote
2. Click Create Revision
3. Make your changes in the new version
4. Send the updated quote

The original stays in your records, and the revision gets a new number (like Q-001234-R1). Both are linked in the system so you can see the full history.

Dashboard Metrics Based on Status

Your dashboard uses status data to show you valuable insights:

• Pending value: Total dollar amount of Sent + Viewed quotes
• Win rate: Accepted quotes divided by (Accepted + Rejected + Expired)
• Response time: Average time from Sent to Viewed
• Conversion time: Average time from Sent to Accepted

These metrics help you spot trends, identify bottlenecks, and improve your quoting process over time.

Put Status Tracking to Work

Now that you understand quote statuses, you can:

• Follow up on Viewed quotes that haven't gotten a response
• Learn from Rejected quotes to improve future proposals
• Celebrate Accepted quotes and move straight to invoicing
• Clean up old Drafts that are cluttering your list
• Adjust expiration dates if too many quotes are expiring before decisions

Ready to learn what happens after acceptance? Check out converting quotes to invoices.