You create proposals via Proposals > My Proposals > New Proposal, alternatively via Project > Proposals > New Proposal or directly from a template via Proposals > Templates.
Enter proposal details
Creating a proposal happens in two steps: first the commercial master data, then the individual items. The master data is split across two tabs General and Format.
General tab
In the General tab, you capture the commercial key data of the proposal. Mandatory fields are customer, responsible person, and processor; all other fields can be added during processing.
The most important fields:
Customer and contact: recipient of the proposal; the contact is taken over into the salutation and the mail template.
Department: determines which number range and letter paper are used (see Basic Settings).
Project and ticket: optional — link the proposal to an existing project or ticket; at status transferred to project, the proposal is assigned to this project.
Title: appears as the headline on the proposal document and in the mail subject.
Probability of order being placed (%): for sales forecasts and reporting; default 50%.
Valid until: pre-set from the default validity; can be adjusted manually.
Currency: defaults to the tenant currency; for foreign proposals, a different currency can be chosen.
Responsible and processor: the internally responsible persons.
Categories and keywords: for filters and sales analyses (see Master Data).
Implementation period: optional from – to; usable as a placeholder in text modules and letter paper.
Format tab
In the Format tab, you define how the proposal is presented to the customer. The fields are pre-set from the basic settings, but can be overridden here per proposal.
Net proposal: amounts shown without VAT (standard for B2B). Disable for gross proposals (B2C).
Subtotal per first-level group: activates a sum line at the end of each main group — useful for extensive proposals with multiple service blocks.
Detailed calculation: shows quantity, unit, and unit price per item. Without this option, only the total amount per item is shown.
Article number in its own column: only for articles; useful for orderability towards the customer.
Proposal language: German, English, or French — controls the texts from mail templates and standard display texts.
Use letter paper of another department: for cross-department proposals or corporate co-branding.
Calculate offer items
In the second step, you add items to the proposal. ZEP knows six item types with different input fields and calculation logic. Switch the type via the Item type SelectBox at the top of the item dialog.
Article
Selects a predefined article from the article master data. Description, unit, unit price, and VAT are pre-set automatically; quantity is entered manually. Suitable for recurring standard services or physical products from the catalog. Calculation: quantity × unit price.
Expenditure item
Captures hourly or daily rates. First select the billing type (hourly or daily rate); the unit of the quantity is set automatically. Expenditure items can contain up to three line items:
Line 1 – main effort: quantity × hourly/daily rate
Line 2 – receipts or mileage: flat amount for reimbursable expenses or travel costs
Line 3 – meal allowance (VMA): flat amount for daily allowances on off-site assignments
Each line can be activated or deactivated per item via a checkbox. Suitable for project work with transparent breakdown into working time and ancillary costs.
Fixed price item
Fixed-price item with two sub-types:
Hours/days basis: calculated with hours or days × rate, but shown as a fixed price. Useful for fixed-price projects with internal effort calculation.
Free unit: any unit as free text (e.g., „Month", „Package", „License"). Suitable for subscriptions, flat packages, or license fees.
As with the expenditure item, lines 2 (receipts) and 3 (VMA) are additionally available.
Surcharge or discount in percent
Pure percentage item without quantity. Enter a positive value for a surcharge (e.g., 10% express surcharge) or a negative value for a discount (e.g., -5% volume discount). The surcharge acts cumulatively on the sum of all preceding top-level items — that is, on all items placed in the proposal before this surcharge item.
Grouping
Structures the proposal into hierarchical blocks, similar to a table of contents. Groupings appear as numbered headings (1, 1.1, 1.2, 2, …) and contain the items placed under them. Use the arrow icons to move groupings together with sub-items up/down or to change the level. When Subtotal per first-level group is active in the Format tab, a sum line appears at the end of each main group.
Free fixed price item (HOAI-generated)
Generated exclusively by the HOAI fee calculator automatically (see article Proposal under HOAI). Structurally identical to the fixed price item with a free unit, but with pre-filled fee amounts per service phase.
Alternative and inactive items
Every item can additionally be marked as alternative or inactive:
Alternative item: the amount appears in parentheses in the proposal and is not included in the total. Useful for offering the customer an alternative variant (e.g., premium instead of standard) or showing optional add-on services with calculation.
Inactive item: the item is completely hidden in print and does not flow into the total. Useful for temporarily not offering an already prepared item, without deleting it — e.g., for negotiation reductions.
Additionally, each item has the option Show only total amount in proposal: the calculation (quantity, unit, unit price) is hidden, only the total of the item appears — useful for flat-rate packages whose internal breakdown the customer should not see.
Sort and group items
You change the order of items by drag & drop or via the arrow icons on the right edge of each item. Groupings can additionally be moved one hierarchy level to the left or right (indent / outdent), which automatically updates the numbering.
Text Modules and page breaks
Each proposal contains two types of texts that are independent of the items:
Top text: appears before the items — typical for greeting, project description, service scope overview.
Bottom text: appears after the items — typical for payment terms, validity note, closing.
Both text types can be used multiple times in a proposal (e.g., several top texts for structuring). For each text block, a page break before or after the text can be enforced — useful when terms or T&Cs should appear on a separate page.
Within the texts, the placeholders from the letter paper configuration are available — among others:
Placeholder | Content |
{{ANGEBOT_NR}} | Proposal number |
{{ANGEBOT_VERSION}} | Version number |
{{ANGEBOT_TITEL}} | Proposal title |
{{ANGEBOT_DATUM}} | Creation date |
{{ANGEBOT_GUELTIG_BIS}} | Validity end date |
{{ANGEBOT_UMSETZUNGSZEITRAUM}} | Period from – to (if captured) |
{{ANGEBOT_LIEFERADRESSE}} | Delivery address, multi-line |
{{ANGEBOT_EMPFAENGER_ANREDE}} | Recipient salutation (e.g., „Dear Sir or Madam") |
{{ANGEBOT_ERSTELLER}} | Full name of creator |
{{ANGEBOT_ERSTELLER_ANREDE}} | Creator salutation |
{{ANGEBOT_ERSTELLER_VORNAME}} | First name |
{{ANGEBOT_ERSTELLER_NACHNAME}} | Last name |
{{ANGEBOT_ERSTELLER_TELEFON}} | Phone number |
{{ANGEBOT_ERSTELLER_EMAIL}} | Email address |
The complete placeholder list can be found in the article Create and upload letter papers.
Create proposal document
Via the action Create proposal document, you generate a document from the prepared proposal in the configured file format. In the creation popup, the following configuration options are available:
Proposal number: pre-set according to the number range scheme; via link „Next free no." settable to the next counter value.
Customer contact: recipient of the salutation; pre-set from the proposal master data.
Proposal address: editable text field — for one-time deviations from the customer master data address, without changing it.
File format: default from basic settings; can be overridden per proposal (PDF, PDF/A, ODT, DOC).
Letter paper: by default the letter paper of the department; if needed, a different letter paper can be selected.
VAT calculation and rounding: total-amount rounding adjustable per proposal — relevant for cent-precise calculations.
Note: Once the proposal document is created, the status changes to Document created. Subsequent changes to the items require a new version — activate the option Version number in proposal number in the basic settings.
Versions and Change History
Every proposal document created is automatically stored as a version on the proposal. You find all versions in the Versions tab of the proposal. Each version contains the generated PDF (or ODT/DOC), the creation date, and the creator — older versions remain downloadable at any time.
If a proposal that has already been sent is edited (for example after a Rework step or a new calculation), ZEP automatically creates a new version on the next document creation. The version number can optionally become part of the proposal number — activate the option Version number in proposal number in the Basic Settings.
Additionally, ZEP records all status changes of a proposal in the History tab: when which status was reached, by which person the transition was triggered, and in which version. This makes the entire workflow of a proposal traceable from the first draft to billing.
Send the proposal
After creating the document, you can send the proposal by email or by letter. In the sending dialog, you choose:
for email sending: mail template (DE/EN/FR), sender, recipient, subject, and attachments
for letter sending: letter paper, print format, dispatch log
In addition to the generated proposal PDF, you can attach further documents — for example T&Cs, technical data sheets, or reference examples. The attachments can either be uploaded once per proposal or stored permanently on a proposal template (see article Proposal templates).
In addition to electronic sending, you can use the action Create printable PDF document to generate a printable PDF. ZEP optionally merges the proposal document with further attachments (e.g., T&Cs, delivery note template) into a single PDF that you can print and hand over in person or send by post.
Tip: With the Test send button in the mail template preview, you can send the mail to your own address to check layout and placeholder resolution before the actual send.
Workflow statuses and transitions
During creation, the proposal goes through several statuses. Which person may trigger which transition is defined in the workflow permissions.
Status overview (all 13 statuses):
New → In process: items are being elaborated.
Done: the proposal is content-complete.
In review → Checked: with an active review obligation, the proposal passes a four-eyes principle.
Document created: the PDF is generated from the letter paper template.
Offer sent as email or Offer sent as letter: the proposal has been sent to the customer.
Commissioned: the customer accepted the proposal.
Confirmed: the order confirmation has been documented.
transferred to project: a project was created from the proposal. With the Project Planning module active, the planned days are converted into planned hours of the project.
Billed: the proposal has been invoiced.
Rejected: the customer rejected the proposal. It can be reactivated later.
Which role may trigger which status transition is configured centrally in the workflow permissions per status (see article Master Data – Proposals).
Note: Administrators can trigger the Revise action from any end status — the proposal jumps back to status In process and is fully editable again. Useful for subsequent change requests or corrections.
My Proposals as Personal Pipeline
Under Proposals > My Proposals, you see all proposals where you are involved as responsible person, processor, key account manager, or project manager with budget responsibility. Use filters to narrow down the view:
Department, period (default: last 3 months), status, responsible, processor
category, keywords, search term (via number, title, and note)
only valid or only expired proposals
Proposals whose validity date lies in the past are marked red in the Valid until column — a quick visual marker for follow-up need.
Via the action icons in the list, you can directly copy a proposal (as a starting point for a new proposal) or save as template (for recurring constellations — see article Proposal templates).
Visibility logic in My Proposals
The „My Proposals" list is not a pure my-responsibility view but a prioritized group assignment: For each proposal, exactly one group is determined as responsible for the pending action — only members of that group see the proposal in their list.
ZEP iterates in the following order and stops at the first match:
Priority | Group | Condition |
1 | Processor | Proposal has a processor with the action permission |
2 | Responsible | Proposal has a responsible with action permission |
3 | Additionally assigned employees | Proposal has individually authorized employees |
4 | Project manager with budget responsibility | Proposal has a project with PM who is authorized |
5 | Key account manager | Proposal has a customer with CAM who is authorized |
6 | Department managers | Proposal is assigned to a department with DM |
7 | User with additional rights | Additional right is set and action is permitted |
8 | Project controller | Person has the role and action is permitted |
9 | Controller | Person has the role and action is permitted |
10 | Administrators | Person has the role (Administrators are always permitted) |
Consequence: Even if three roles are authorized on the proposal, only the members of the highest-priority matching group see it. This keeps the personal pipeline view focused and avoids duplicate processing.