In the realm of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions, businesses often face a pivotal decision: should they build a custom quote editor tailored to their unique processes, or invest in a pre-built solution like Quote.ly? While the allure of a bespoke system is strong, it’s essential to weigh the long-term implications of such a choice.

The Allure of Custom-Built Solutions

At first glance, building your own quote editor within Salesforce seems advantageous. It promises a tool molded precisely to your workflows, offering unparalleled customization. However, this path is fraught with challenges:

• Maintenance and Support: Who will be responsible for ongoing support? Custom solutions require continuous oversight to address bugs, updates, and user issues.

• Accuracy and Reliability: Ensuring the accuracy of pricing calculations is critical. A single error can lead to significant financial discrepancies.

• User Adoption: A tool that’s not intuitive can hinder user adoption. Designing an interface that aligns with user expectations is a complex task.

• Scalability and Updates: As Salesforce evolves, your custom solution must adapt. This requires a strategy for updates and scalability.

A Real-World Cautionary Tale

Consider a company that opted to build its own quote editor and transition to Microsoft Dynamics. The migration, undertaken without expert guidance, spanned six months and involved two full-time employees. It was another year before the custom quote editor was created and full quoting experience worked to meet the company requirements. Assuming an average salary of $87,433 per year, the labor cost alone amounted to approximately $262,299 over 18 months. The company had 50 users. This equates to 5.8 years of Quote.ly licenses for 50 users.

Despite the significant investment, the resulting quote editor fell short of expectations. It offered limited functionality and relied heavily on manual data entry, making the process cumbersome for users. In contrast, a solution like Quote.ly provides a comprehensive, automated CPQ system with an intuitive interface, streamlining the quoting process and saving valuable time and resources. Moreover, we have a dedicated team continuously evaluating and enhancing our CPQ solution, ensuring it evolves to meet your business’s growing and unique needs.

The Advantages of Choosing Quotely

Opting for a solution like Quote.ly offers numerous benefits:

• Rapid Deployment: Get up and running quickly without the delays associated with custom development.

• Expert Support: Access to a dedicated support team ensures issues are resolved promptly.

• Continuous Updates: Benefit from regular updates that keep the system aligned with Salesforce’s latest features.

• Cost Efficiency: Avoid the hidden costs of development, maintenance, and potential errors inherent in custom solutions.

• Automation: Lots of automation using AI models to eliminate data entry.

Conclusion

While building a custom quote editor may seem appealing, the hidden costs and complexities often outweigh the benefits. Investing in a proven solution like Quote.ly not only ensures a robust and reliable CPQ system but also allows your team to focus on what they do best, driving sales and serving customers.