Enhancing Automation in Quoter
Quoter has expanded its API capabilities by introducing new endpoints for Quote Templates and Quotes. These additions enhance integration options, streamline workflows, and improve quoting efficiency for businesses. Don’t care about the backstory? Reference documentation for v0.1.0 of the Quoter API is here: https://quotersoftware.github.io/docs/#quoter-api-reference.
If you joined us for Ignition, it’s no secret that ScalePad is building deeper integrations between its own products. The Quoter API functionality here is a foundational first step towards bringing Quoter’s capabilities into Lifecycle Manager to create quotes from Initiatives, a win for users of both products. This full functionality is not there yet, but you can see what we’re building towards.
With that caveat in mind, let’s dive into the features, use cases, and current limitations of these Quoter API endpoints.
Quote Templates Endpoint
As the name suggests, the Quote Templates endpoint enables users to retrieve a list of existing quote templates. This feature provides a standardized foundation for creating quotes, ensuring consistency across the organization.
Key Endpoint
- List Quote Templates: Fetch a list of all available quote templates.
How It Can Be Used
The List Quote Templates endpoint is ideal for identifying and applying the right template for specific quotes. MSPs offering varied products or services can leverage this to ensure all quotes align with pre-approved formats and branding.
Limitations
- Currently the API only supports retrieving quote templates.
- Creating, updating, or deleting templates must still be done via the Quoter web interface.
Quotes Endpoints
The new Quotes endpoints provide tools for programmatically creating and retrieving quotes, making it easier to integrate Quoter with external systems and automate workflows.
Key Endpoints
- List Quotes: Retrieve all existing quotes for management or reporting purposes.
- Create Quote: Automate the creation of new quotes.
Create Quote Endpoint
This is an early-stage piece that, as the name suggestions, creates draft quotes. Remember up at the outset when we mentioned this API was part of what we’re building out to create quotes from Lifecycle Manager Initiatives? Create Quotes is a key part of that first step.
Looking for other creative ideas? Look no further:
How it Can Be Used
- CRM-Driven Quoting: Does your MSP rely on a CRMs to manage client interactions and track opportunities? When a deal reaches a specific stage, the external system can send all relevant line items to Quoter to generate a draft quote. Your MSP’s account manager can focus on managing sales and client relationships, while Quoter handles quote delivery, approval, and payment.
- Custom Quoting Logic: MSPs may choose to build custom tools for calculating pricing and margins based on unique metrics like device counts, service tiers, or usage. These tools can push the calculated line items directly to Quoter for creating client-facing quotes.This allows your MSP to retain full control over custom quoting logic while leveraging Quoter’s delivery and transactional capabilities.
- Automated Service Renewal Quotes: For recurring services or licensing, MSPs can use external systems to automate the creation of renewal quotes by sending renewal details directly to Quoter, which creates a templated quote and the ability to accept and pay online.
Limitations for Quote Creation
While the Create Quote endpoint introduces powerful automation capabilities, there are some significant initial limitations to be aware of:
- Draft Only: All quotes created via the API are saved as Draft Quotes.
- Line Items: Users can include line items in the POST payload, and these will be added to the draft quote. However, the API does not currently support automatically including line items associated with the supplied Quote Template.
- File Attachments and Custom Fields: File attachments and custom fields tied to a Quote Template will not be applied to the created quote.
- Ownership: Draft Quotes are created with the owner set as the user who generated the API key in Quoter.
- Access Restrictions: Links to created quotes will only work for authenticated Quoter users with Sales Manager or higher permissions.
How These Endpoints Can Be Used
The introduction of these endpoints allows MSPs to enhance their quoting processes in several ways:
- Improved Efficiency: Automate the creation of quotes and integrate Quoter with other systems, such as CRMs or billing software, to save time and reduce manual effort.
- Standardized Outputs: Use templates to ensure quotes maintain consistency in structure, branding, and messaging.
- Enhanced Reporting: With the ability to retrieve a list of quotes, businesses can track quote statuses and generate insights for better decision-making.
Want to get started?
Keeping in mind that this is all early stage and functionality is limited, if you want to dive in, reference documentation for v0.1.0 of the Quoter API is here: https://quotersoftware.github.io/docs/#quoter-api-reference.
To get started using the API, everything you need is right in Quoter – all Quoter partners can generate API keys and jump right in.
The Road Ahead 
These new endpoints mark a significant milestone in Quoter’s API development. While there are some current limitations, they lay the foundation for more robust features in the future. MSPs can begin leveraging these tools today to enhance automation and optimize their quoting workflows. ScalePad is going to use them to bring our product suite together to improve your workflows in our software too.
And speaking of the road ahead, while the Bill Gates / Nathan Myhrvold / Peter Rinearson book The Road Ahead is 30 years old now (wasn’t 1995 just 20 years ago? Can’t be 30, can it?), we should not be distracted from the fact that just three years later, in 1998, The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer's table.
Stay tuned for updates as Quoter continues to evolve its API capabilities and unlocks even greater potential for integration and automation.