Quotes & Pricing

Build structured, margin-aware quotes with groups, line items, and automatic calculations.

Quotes are the financial backbone of an engagement. Each quote is a structured pricing breakdown with sections (groups), line items, and automatic margin calculations. An engagement can have multiple quotes — for example, different options or phases.

Creating a quote

Open an engagement and navigate to the Quotes tab.
Click Create to add a new quote.
Enter a title for the quote (e.g., “Phase 1 — Discovery & Implementation”).
Optionally select a quote template to pre-populate the quote with a standard structure. Templates are managed in Settings.
Click Create to open the quote editor.

The quote editor

The quote editor has two layouts: a full spreadsheet-style view on desktop and a card-based view on mobile. Both show the same data.

Quote sections (groups)

Sections organize your quote into logical phases or workstreams. Each section has:

Name — A descriptive label (e.g., “Discovery & Requirements”)
Line items — The individual resources or materials within the section
Section totals — Automatically calculated cost, markup, and total for all items in the section

To add a section, click Add Section in the quote toolbar.

Tip

Organize sections by delivery phase for clearest client communication. Common patterns: Discovery, Design, Implementation, Testing, Training, Go-Live Support.

Line items

Each line item within a section represents a specific cost. Line items have:

Field	Description
Name	The item name (e.g., “Lead Consultant,” “Software License”)
Type	Either Resource (a person/role) or Material (a tangible cost)
Quantity	Number of units (hours for resources, count for materials)
Cost	Per-unit cost (your internal rate)
Markup	Percentage markup applied to cost
Discount	Any discount applied to the item (see Discounts below)
Total	Automatically calculated: (quantity x cost x (1 + markup)) - discount

Adding line items

Click the add button within a section.
Start typing the item name. Servantium’s autocomplete searches your organization’s Service Catalog (master item list) and suggests matching items with their default cost and markup values.
Select a suggestion to pre-fill cost and markup, or enter values manually.
Set the quantity (hours, units, etc.).
Adjust markup if the default doesn’t apply to this engagement.

Tip

The autocomplete draws from your Service Catalog — a master list of items that grows automatically as you create quotes. Every new item or updated cost in an active quote feeds back into the catalog through the Learning Catalog system.

Margin calculations

Servantium calculates margins at three levels:

Level	Calculation
Line item	`total = quantity x cost x (1 + markup%) - discount`
Section	Sum of all line item costs, markups, and totals within the section
Quote	Aggregate across all sections: total cost, total markup, and grand total

The estimate total bar at the bottom of the quote editor shows:

Total Cost — Your aggregate internal cost
Total Markup — The dollar amount of markup across all items
Grand Total — What the client pays

Quote totals are recalculated automatically by a backend trigger whenever any quote field changes, ensuring accuracy across sections.

Discount system

Servantium supports quantity-based tiered discounts that are applied automatically during quote total calculation.

Discounts are configured in Settings > Discounts with:

Field	Description
Min	Minimum quantity threshold for the discount to apply
Max	Maximum quantity threshold
Discount	The discount percentage or amount
Item	Optionally restrict the discount to a specific item

When a line item’s quantity falls within a discount tier’s range, the discount is applied automatically to the item total.

Quote templates

Quote templates save a standard quote structure that can be reused. Templates encode:

Section names and ordering
Default line items within each section
Default costs and markup percentages
Formulas that evaluate dynamically against engagement data (e.g., len(items) * 5)

Creating a template

Templates can be created in two ways:

From Settings — Go to Settings > Quote Templates and create one manually.
From an existing quote — Save any quote as a template to capture its current structure.

Using a template

When creating a new quote, select a template from the Template dropdown. The template’s sections and items are hydrated into the new quote. A backend trigger evaluates any formulas in the template against the engagement’s data to calculate dynamic values.

AI-assisted quote generation

Servantium can generate a complete quote using AI, based on your engagement’s notes and similar past engagements.

Ensure the engagement has notes and/or a template assigned.
Open a quote within the engagement.
Click the AI generate button (sparkle icon) in the quote toolbar.
Servantium’s backend AI reads the engagement’s notes, finds similar historical engagements, and consults the Service Catalog to build a detailed quote with appropriate sections, items, quantities, and pricing.
Review the generated quote and adjust as needed.

The AI generation considers:

Engagement notes — Context from client conversations
Similar engagements — Pricing and scope from past comparable work
Service Catalog — Your organization’s standard items with current costs and markups

Caution

AI-generated quotes are a starting point. Always review the output for accuracy before sharing with clients. The AI improves over time as more engagements are completed and the Service Catalog grows.

The Service Catalog (items)

The Service Catalog is a master list of all resources and materials your organization uses in quotes. It lives in Settings > Items and contains:

Field	Description
Name	Item name (e.g., “Senior Consultant”)
Type	Resource or Material
Cost	Standard per-unit cost
Markup	Default markup percentage
Status	Active or inactive

The catalog is a learning system. When you create or modify items in quotes, a backend trigger automatically updates the catalog with new items or refreshed costs and markups. Over time, the catalog becomes a comprehensive, up-to-date reflection of your organization’s pricing.