Proposal Calculator

Proposal Chain Calculator

How much time does your team spend on proposals? Let's find out.

Think of a real proposal. Picture a typical project — $25K–$75K, 2–3 vendors to quote, a discovery call, one round of client revisions, and a final sign-off. Walk through each step below and estimate how long it takes your team today. Just type your best guess in hours — don't overthink it.

The AI-augmented times are based on this same scope — a real project with real deliverables, not a toy example.

Your Proposal Steps

Step	Your Estimate
1Discovery meeting + documentation The call itself plus writing up notes, action items, and requirements afterward
2Client requirements & attachments Processing scope emails, filing attachments, organizing requirements for reference
3Equipment spec & calcs Researching components, comparing options, validating sizing and compatibility
4Vendor RFQs Drafting emails to vendors with part numbers, specs, and project context
5Receive & file vendor quotes Getting quotes back, saving PDFs, logging pricing and expiration dates
6Labor estimation Estimating engineering hours — programming, configuration, commissioning, project management
7Consolidate quotes into BOM Pulling pricing from vendor quotes into your cost summary, calculating totals
8Proposal drafting Writing the scope, investment tables, timeline, responsibilities, T&Cs
9Formatting & branding Tables, headers, page breaks, consistent styling, export to PDF
10Email proposal to client Writing cover email, attaching correct version, sending
11Scope change rework Client comes back with changes — re-research, rewrite, reformat, re-review This is where traditional proposals break down.
12Review meeting + revision Second call to review proposal, capture feedback, revise accordingly
13Legal / contract requirements Incorporating client legal wording, adding signature blocks, reviewing terms
14Final proposal + signatures Final export, sending for signatures, tracking sign-off
TOTAL	— hrs

1Discovery meeting + documentation

The call itself plus writing up notes, action items, and requirements afterward

2Client requirements & attachments

Processing scope emails, filing attachments, organizing requirements for reference

3Equipment spec & calcs

Researching components, comparing options, validating sizing and compatibility

4Vendor RFQs

Drafting emails to vendors with part numbers, specs, and project context

5Receive & file vendor quotes

Getting quotes back, saving PDFs, logging pricing and expiration dates

6Labor estimation

Estimating engineering hours — programming, configuration, commissioning, project management

7Consolidate quotes into BOM

Pulling pricing from vendor quotes into your cost summary, calculating totals

8Proposal drafting

Writing the scope, investment tables, timeline, responsibilities, T&Cs

9Formatting & branding

Tables, headers, page breaks, consistent styling, export to PDF

10Email proposal to client

Writing cover email, attaching correct version, sending

11Scope change rework

Client comes back with changes — re-research, rewrite, reformat, re-review

This is where traditional proposals break down.

12Review meeting + revision

Second call to review proposal, capture feedback, revise accordingly

13Legal / contract requirements

Incorporating client legal wording, adding signature blocks, reviewing terms

14Final proposal + signatures

Final export, sending for signatures, tracking sign-off

TOTAL— hrs