Hello!

New to this forum. Sorry if this is in the wrong folder, subfolder, etc. (but I don't think it is).

I work in the Electrical Contracting industry and was wondering if there is a program/app out there that will create documents (Word .doc's, specifically) by simply selecting a few choices from drop-down menus and miscellaneous text additions. Specifically, for proposals/bids/quotes. If I were to bid on an upcoming project, all I would have to do is open the program, select the client, select the specific contact information at that particular client's location, input the total dollar amount, the project title and location, and maybe a couple additional varying details that I could manually input regarding what the bid is based on, and from there would create a Word document (our proposal) that would be in the form of a formal business letter, complete with our official letterhead, that we could then print out, fax to that client, and file in our system. For example, you could choose the client name, location, and contact info from a drop-down menu. Then you could manually input the job title, location, dollar amount quote, specifications, etc. in location-specific "text boxes" on the page.

This might take some time to set up in the beginning, but would eventually save us a huge amount of time in the end! Right now, we go open up old documents, change all the specific info manually, and save as under the new name...every time! A huge time-consumer. We usually deal with the same large amount of clients in our area that it would seem ideal to utilize some sort of program like this. I've heard about MS Access and some others, but I'm honestly not very familiar with them.

Thank you for reading and thank you in advance for your responses! Much appreciated!

D.

Hi Aphex 12 and welcome

Not sure where you are in the world but I believe a good choice for you would be Cashbook Complete by Acclaim Cashbook Complete Accounting Software for the Small Business
It is a compact accounting program that handles quotes in an easy way - just as you describe with drop down lists of customers to select from and you can output or edit in Word. You can also keep track of Projects/Jobs.
I have attached a couple of screen shots and there are more on the site.
You can download a full version as a trial copy for free for 90 days and if it suits your needs you can buy it for $US120. It is available in US, UK, NZ and Aust versions.

I think it is simple to use and value for money. You could set up an Access database but costs could be higher if you can't do this yourself and have to contract someone to do it for you. There may be other good softs around too but this is my preference

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