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Inquiries and Quotes

Handle customer inquiries and generate quotes before converting them to orders.

Inquiries and Quotes

  • How to capture and manage customer inquiries before they become orders
  • How to create and send quotes to customers
  • How to convert an inquiry into a confirmed order

What Are Inquiries?

Inquiries are potential orders from customers who are interested in your baked goods but haven't committed yet. They might be asking about pricing, availability, or custom options for a wedding cake, corporate event, or special occasion. By capturing these inquiries in BakeOnyx, you can track leads, send quotes, and follow up until they become real orders—or mark them as lost so you know where your sales are coming from.

Creating a New Inquiry

  1. From the main dashboard, click Inquiries in the left sidebar.
  2. Click the + New Inquiry button in the top right.
  3. Fill in the inquiry form with the following details:
    • Customer: Select an existing customer or create a new one
    • Event Type: Choose from Wedding, Corporate, Birthday, Anniversary, or Other
    • Event Date: The date the customer needs the baked goods
    • Description: Notes about what they want (e.g., "3-tier chocolate cake with fondant roses")
    • Budget: Their estimated budget (optional, but helpful for scoping)
  4. Click Save Inquiry.
New inquiry form showing customer, event type, event date, description, and budget fields
Tip: You can also create an inquiry directly from a customer's profile. Go to Customers, select the customer, and click + New Inquiry on their profile page.

Managing Inquiry Status

As you work with a customer, update the inquiry status to track where they are in the sales process. Each inquiry has a status field that shows:

  • New: Just created, no contact yet
  • Contacted: You've reached out to the customer
  • Quoted: You've sent them a quote
  • Converted: They've said yes—order is confirmed
  • Lost: They've decided not to move forward

To change the status, open the inquiry and click the Status dropdown, then select the new status and save.

Creating and Sending a Quote

Once you've discussed details with the customer, create a quote to show them pricing and what they'll get.

  1. Open the inquiry you want to quote.
  2. Scroll down to the Quote section and click + Create Quote.
  3. Add line items by clicking + Add Item:
    • Select or type the product name (e.g., "Chocolate Layer Cake")
    • Enter the quantity
    • Set the unit price
    • Add any notes (e.g., "Serves 20 people")
  4. Review the total price at the bottom.
  5. Click Save Quote.
  6. To send the quote to the customer, click Send Quote and choose your delivery method (email or print).
Quote view showing line items with products, quantities, unit prices, and total amount
Note: You can edit a quote as many times as you need before sending it. Once sent, a copy is saved so you have a record of what was quoted.

Converting an Inquiry to an Order

When the customer confirms they want to move forward, convert the inquiry into a real order.

  1. Open the inquiry.
  2. Click the Status dropdown and select Converted.
  3. Click Convert to Order. BakeOnyx will create a new order with all the inquiry details pre-filled (customer, event date, items from the quote, etc.).
  4. Review the order details and make any final adjustments.
  5. Click Confirm Order to finalize it.
Warning: Once an inquiry is converted to an order, you can't undo it. Make sure all details are correct before confirming.

Next Steps

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