How do I respond when a customer asks for a discount?

Find out what the concern is, then offer something in exchange for a lower price — a larger deposit, faster payment or a bigger order — or a smaller option at a lower price.

How do I revise a quotation without losing the original?

Select Revise on the quotation. The new version takes a -R1 number and the original is kept as Superseded. See Revise a quotation.

Can I revise a quotation after the customer accepted it?

Yes, until an invoice from it is issued. After that, change what is billed with a credit note or a new quotation.

What is a healthy profit margin?

It depends on your trade and costs. Work out your own floor from what each job costs you, and record Unit cost on your lines so you can see it on every quotation.

How do I stop salespeople giving away too much discount?

Turn on approval for quotations with Margin below your floor, so a second person checks them before they go out. See Document approval.

Should I offer several options in one quotation or separate ones?

Separate quotations on the same opportunity keep each option's total clear; accept the one the customer chooses and reject the rest.

Negotiate and revise

Copy for AI

“Can you do better on the price?” is a good sign: the customer wants to buy and is asking on what terms. This article covers how to answer without giving your margin away, how to offer choices instead of a discount, and how to keep each version of the quotation on record in easySales.

Good practice

Know your floor before the conversation. Work out what the job costs you and the lowest margin you will accept. Without that number you will either refuse too quickly or agree to a price that loses money.

Ask what the concern is. “Too expensive” can mean over budget, more than a competitor quoted, or not sure it is worth it. Each needs a different answer: a smaller scope, a comparison of what is included, or more about the result.

Trade, do not just give. If you lower the price, get something in return: a larger deposit, faster payment, a bigger order, a longer contract, a later delivery date or a referral. A discount given for nothing teaches the customer to ask again next time.

Offer options rather than a cut. A basic, standard and premium version lets the customer choose a lower price by choosing less, instead of you charging less for the same work.

Change the quotation in writing. Every agreed change goes into a revised quotation, not a phone call or a chat message. Both sides then see exactly what was agreed when the invoice comes.

Know when to walk away. A deal below your floor costs you more than losing it. Say so politely and leave the door open.

Do it in easySales

See your margin as you quote. Enter Unit cost on each line. The quotation adds up the Cost, which never prints, so you can see the margin before and after a discount. See Line items.
Revise rather than retype. On an Open quotation, select Revise in the ··· menu and enter the Reason for the revision. A draft revision opens; change it and select Finalise. It takes the same number with -R1, -R2 and so on, and the old version becomes Superseded, kept read-only for reference. See Revise a quotation.
Offer options as separate quotations. Use Copy in the ··· menu to make a second version — the standard and the premium — linked to the same opportunity. When the customer accepts one, easySales offers to reject the others. See Close a quotation.
Protect your floor with approval. Under System settings → Approval, a quotation can need a second person’s approval when its margin falls below a percentage you set (Margin below) or its amount reaches a limit (Amount at least). See Document approval.
Show a discount clearly. Use a line discount or the Discount row of the totals, so the PDF prints the full price, the discount and the net — see Give a discount.
Note what was traded. Record the conversation as a communication on the quotation: what the customer asked for, what you gave and what you got in return.

Examples

A discount for a bigger deposit. Harbour Café’s quotation QN-10000125 is SGD 2,080.00 before GST, with costs of SGD 1,160.00: a margin of SGD 920.00, or 44.2%. The café asks for SGD 200.00 off. Mei Tan knows her floor is 35%. She offers SGD 100.00 off if the café pays a 50% deposit on acceptance instead of 30%.

The café agrees. Mei selects Revise, enters the reason “SGD 100 off for 50% deposit”, types 100 as an amount in the Discount row of the totals, and changes the deposit in the terms. QN-10000125-R1 totals SGD 1,980.00 before GST; the margin is SGD 820.00, or 41.4%, still above her floor. The original stays on record as Superseded.

Templates you can use

Answering a request for a discount

Hi [Name], thank you for coming back to me. I want to make this work for you. I can take SGD 100.00 off the total if the deposit is 50% on acceptance rather than 30%, which lets us order the oak straight away. Would that work for you?

Offering options

Hi [Name], to bring the cost closer to your budget, I have attached two options. Option A keeps the oak counter with standard lighting, at SGD 1,800.00 before GST. Option B is the original design at SGD 2,080.00. Both include installation.

Saying no politely

Hi [Name], I understand the budget is tight. At that price we would not be able to do the work to the standard you expect, so I would rather not cut corners. If the scope changes, I will gladly look at it again.

Common questions

How do I respond when a customer asks for a discount? Find out what the concern is, then offer something in exchange for a lower price — a larger deposit, faster payment or a bigger order — or a smaller option at a lower price.
How do I revise a quotation without losing the original? Select Revise on the quotation. The new version takes a -R1 number and the original is kept as Superseded. See Revise a quotation.
Can I revise a quotation after the customer accepted it? Yes, until an invoice from it is issued. After that, change what is billed with a credit note or a new quotation.
What is a healthy profit margin? It depends on your trade and costs. Work out your own floor from what each job costs you, and record Unit cost on your lines so you can see it on every quotation.
How do I stop salespeople giving away too much discount? Turn on approval for quotations with Margin below your floor, so a second person checks them before they go out. See Document approval.
Should I offer several options in one quotation or separate ones? Separate quotations on the same opportunity keep each option’s total clear; accept the one the customer chooses and reject the rest.