Proposals & Line Items

Line items are the foundation of your proposal. They detail the specific services, materials, and costs that make up your quote. This guide walks you through building professional, accurate proposals.

Quick Start: Build a Proposal in 5 Steps

1. Open or create a project
2. Go to the Proposal tab
3. Click Add Line Item
4. Enter item details and pricing
5. Repeat for all items

The Proposal tab saves for you. About 2 seconds after your last change, the header shows All changes saved. Save is there if you want to save sooner.

Understanding Line Items

What Each Line Item Contains

Step-by-Step: Adding Line Items

Method 1: Manual Entry

1. Open the project
2. Go to the Proposal tab
3. Click Add Line Item
4. Enter item name
5. Set quantity and unit cost
6. Add description (optional)
7. Repeat for each item

Method 2: Pull an item from inventory

The Item Name box on each row searches your inventory as you type.

1. Add a row.
2. Start typing in the Item Name box. It reads Search inventory or type item name.
3. Pick an item from the list that drops down.
4. The unit cost, unit, taxable setting, and description fill in from that item.
5. Set the quantity.

You bind one item per row this way. To enter something that is not in inventory, type the name and keep going.

Method 3: Using Templates

1. Open the Select Template... dropdown.
2. Choose a template.
3. Review the line items it brings in, then adjust them.
4. Edits save on their own, as they do for any other change.

The dropdown appears only after your company saves at least one template. If you have never made one, the Proposal tab shows no template dropdown at all. If the proposal already has content, DrillerDB asks Replace this estimate with the template? first. Click Replace estimate to go on, or close the box to keep what you have.

Managing Line Items

Editing Items

1. Click on any line item field
2. Edit the value inline
3. Total recalculates automatically
4. The change saves on its own a moment later

Reordering Items

1. Click and hold anywhere on the row, next to the grip mark (⋮⋮).
2. Drag the row to its new position.
3. Release to drop it.
4. The customer proposal follows the same order.

The flat list view also gives each row a Move up and a Move down arrow. Use those when a drag is awkward, such as on a touch screen.

Deleting Items

Click the trash icon at the end of the row.

• Sections view: the row goes straight away, with no confirmation step. Check that you have the right row before you click.
• Flat list view: DrillerDB asks Remove this line item? Click Remove to confirm. The box warns that typed values are not recovered.

Either way, the removal saves with the rest of your changes. To bring a line back, add it again. Deleting a whole section also asks first, with Delete section.

Grouping Line Items

A line item row has no category box. To keep a long proposal readable, use the Sections view, which groups related line items under section titles. The table shows common groupings and the items that go in them:

Keeping Default Prices Current

The prices that fill in when you pick an item (Method 2) come from your inventory, so inventory is where the defaults live. There is no separate default-line-item list in Settings.

1. Open the inventory item.
2. Update its price, unit, or description.
3. Save the item.

Creating Templates

Step-by-Step: Create a Template

1. Go to Settings > Proposal Templates
2. Click New template
3. Under Template Name, name your template (e.g., "Standard Residential Well")
4. Add a Description if you want one (optional)
5. Under Line Items, add the items typical for this job type
6. Set default quantities and pricing
7. Optionally add Template terms and conditions. Proposals built from the template use them instead of your company default
8. Click Save Template

To make a template from a proposal you already built, click Save as Template on the Proposal tab and give it a name. If you started from a template, an update button on the same row replaces the saved version with the current line items.

Template Best Practices

Good templates include:

• All common line items for that job type
• Realistic default quantities
• Current pricing
• Clear item descriptions

Template naming conventions:

• Residential - Standard
• Commercial - Small
• Hi-Cap - Agricultural
• Geo-Vertical - 4 Ton

Calculating Totals

Automatic Calculations

DrillerDB automatically calculates:

Configuring Tax

1. Go to Settings > Invoicing & Tax
2. Choose Fixed Rate and enter the rate, or Automatic (Location-Based) to have DrillerDB work out the rate from the job location
3. On the proposal, tick or clear Taxable on each line
4. Tax is figured from the taxable lines automatically

Setting Deposit Requirements

Deposits are set when you send, not in Settings.

1. On the Proposal tab, click Create Proposal
2. In the Send Proposal dialog, find Down payment
3. Choose None, Optional, or Required
4. Choose Fixed (a dollar amount) or Percentage (e.g., 50%) and enter the figure

Item Descriptions

Adding Detailed Descriptions

1. Click the description toggle on the row to open its description box
2. Type in the box that reads Add a description...
3. The description appears below the item name in the proposal

What to Include

Good descriptions include:

• Materials specifications
• Work methodology
• Warranty information
• Exclusions or conditions

Example:

"6" diameter Schedule 40 PVC casing, includes threaded couplings, installed per manufacturer specifications. 10-year manufacturer warranty on materials."

Reviewing Before Sending

Proposal Checklist

Before sending, verify:

• All line items are complete
• Quantities are accurate
• Pricing is current
• Descriptions are clear
• Tax is correct
• Deposit amount is set
• Customer email is correct

Preview Feature

1. Click Create Proposal to open the Send Proposal dialog
2. Click Preview PDF
3. Check formatting and totals the way the customer will see them
4. Close the preview when satisfied

Troubleshooting

Line items not saving?

• Look at the header. Unsaved changes turns into All changes saved within a few seconds
• Save failed with a Retry button means the save did not go through. Click Retry
• "DrillerDB was updated. Reload the page to restore your changes." means a new version went live while the tab was open. Reload, and your edits come back
• Ensure quantity and price are numbers

Template not loading?

• Check the template exists under Settings > Proposal Templates
• A template with no line items saved is refused with a message, and your estimate is unchanged. Open it in Settings and add items
• If a box asks Replace this estimate with the template?, nothing has loaded yet. Click Replace estimate to load it

Totals calculating incorrectly?

• Check quantity and unit cost values
• Verify tax rate in Settings
• Look for hidden line items

Can't add more items?

• In the Sections view the button reads Add Line Item, inside each section. In the Flat list view it reads Add Custom Row
• Try refreshing the page

Related Topics

• Creating Projects - Start new projects
• Sending Proposals - Send to customers
• Billing Settings - Sales tax and payment terms