By Brian Ferber, COO at Vendori

Quotation management looks simple until it becomes the thing slowing deals down.

For most SaaS, tech, and AI companies, quoting starts in a spreadsheet or word document and quietly turns into a daily source of friction. Pricing evolves. Discounts need approval. Terms vary by customer. Finance wants consistency. Sales wants speed.

When the quoting process can’t keep up, deals stall at the exact moment momentum matters most.

This guide is for Sales Ops and RevOps leaders who want to master quotation management without adding unnecessary complexity.

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is written for:

• Sales Ops and RevOps leaders at SaaS, tech, and AI companies

• Teams managing quotes across multiple products, pricing models, or regions

• Organizations moving off spreadsheets or reassessing a legacy CPQ system

Basically, if quoting feels harder than it should, this is for you.

What Is Quotation Management?

Quotation management is the process of creating, reviewing, approving, and delivering sales quotes in a way that is accurate, consistent, and scalable.

For Sales Ops and RevOps teams, quotation management governs how:

• Products and services are configured

• Pricing and discounts are applied

• Terms and billing structures are managed

• Approvals are routed and tracked

• Quotes are delivered to customers

Strong quotation management ensures every quote reflects your pricing strategy and internal policies while moving efficiently through the sales process.

Why Quoting Breaks Down as Companies Scale

Quoting rarely breaks because teams are careless. It breaks because businesses grow.

As SaaS and AI companies scale, deals naturally become more complex:

• More products and bundles

• Custom pricing and discounting

• Flexible billing schedules

• Customer-specific terms

Without a structured approach, teams rely on workarounds:

• Spreadsheets for pricing calculations

• Documents or slide decks for quote presentation

• Email or Slack threads for approvals

• Manual Finance review at the very end

This leads to predictable friction: multiple versions of the same quote, unclear approval paths, errors caught too late, and deals that stall during final review.

The core issue isn’t effort. It’s visibility.

The Hidden Cost of Poor Quotation Management

When quotation management isn’t working, the impact shows up everywhere.

Sales teams hesitate because they’re unsure what will be approved.
Operations teams spend time fixing issues instead of enabling deals.
Finance teams are pulled into reactive reviews late in the process.

If you’ve ever approved a quote at 5:48 p.m. only to realize something was off after it was sent, you’ve felt this firsthand.

These aren’t edge cases. They’re signals that the process itself needs to change.

Over time, poor quoting workflows lead to longer sales cycles, inconsistent pricing, lower confidence across teams, and less trust in the process overall.

What Modern Quotation Management Should Look Like

Modern quotation management isn’t about adding friction. It’s about giving teams control and velocity through clarity.

The best systems let teams see the quote as it’s being built, not after it’s finished. Pricing, terms, and approvals update in real time as decisions are made.

When that visibility exists:

• Issues are prevented instead of corrected

• Approvals move faster

• Sales reps quote with confidence

• Handoffs between Sales, RevOps, and Finance feel clean

If your current process feels harder than it should, this is exactly where modern tools start to make a difference.

Quoting shouldn’t feel like a black box. It should feel predictable and transparent.

For Teams Still Using Spreadsheets

If your team is managing quotes with spreadsheets, documents, or slide decks, you’re not behind. You’re just at a natural transition point.

Manual tools work when pricing is simple, approvals are minimal, and deals follow a consistent pattern.

They stop working when pricing becomes flexible, discounts require oversight, and multiple stakeholders get involved.

At that stage, managing quotes becomes less about math and more about consistency, speed, and control.

The goal isn’t to over-engineer the process. It’s to remove chaos.

For Teams Using Legacy CPQ Systems

Teams with existing CPQ platforms often face the opposite challenge.

Instead of too little structure, they have too much.

Common issues include:

• Rigid workflows that don’t reflect how deals actually happen

• Long turnaround times for simple pricing changes

• Dependence on technical resources to update rules

• Limited visibility until the quote is nearly complete

In these environments, quoting becomes a bottleneck rather than an accelerator.

Modern revenue teams want flexibility without sacrificing governance.

If you’re actively evaluating CPQ platforms or trying to compare options without wasting months in demos, having a structured framework makes a big difference.

👉 Download Vendori’s CPQ RFP Toolkit and Vendor Scorecard to evaluate quotation management solutions side by side and ask the right questions upfront.

How Vendori Approaches Quotation Management Differently

Most CPQ platforms treat quoting as the final step in a long configuration process.

Vendori treats the quote as the starting point.

Rather than hiding the quote until every decision is complete, Vendori gives teams real-time visibility into pricing, terms, and approvals as the quote is being built. That means fewer surprises, faster approvals, and more confident sales teams.

Vendori was built for sales and revenue teams who want control without complexity.

Because Vendori is no-code, Sales Ops and RevOps leaders can adjust pricing rules, approvals, and workflows without relying on engineering or consultants. As your business evolves, your quoting process evolves with it.

The result is speed without sacrificing accuracy or control.

What to Look for in a Quotation Management Solution

When evaluating tools or rethinking your approach, focus on capabilities that support real-world workflows:

• Real-time visibility into pricing and approvals

• Configurable rules that prevent errors early

• Flexible pricing models that adapt as your business grows

• Clear approval paths without manual intervention

• Clean, customer-ready quote outputs

The right system should simplify quoting, not slow it down.

Why Quotation Management Matters More Than Ever

As SaaS and AI companies scale, quotation management becomes a reflection of operational maturity.

Strong processes help teams close deals faster, maintain pricing consistency, improve forecast confidence, and reduce friction between Sales, Ops, and Finance.

They also create a better buying experience, built on clear, accurate, and timely quotes.

If you’re trying to quantify the impact of faster approvals and cleaner quoting, Vendori’s CPQ ROI Calculator can help estimate time savings, efficiency gains, and operational impact.

Quotation Management FAQs

What is quotation management in SaaS companies?

Quotation management is the process SaaS companies use to create accurate, policy-compliant quotes while maintaining visibility across Sales, RevOps, and Finance.

Why do SaaS teams struggle with quotation management?

Most teams outgrow spreadsheets or legacy CPQ systems that weren’t designed for modern pricing models, flexible billing, and fast-moving sales cycles.

Is quotation management the same as CPQ?

CPQ is a tool. Quotation management is the process. Strong quotation management ensures quotes are fast, accurate, visible, and easy to approve.

When should a company invest in quotation management software?

When quotes require approvals, flexible pricing, or multiple stakeholders, manual tools stop scaling effectively.

In Summary

Quotation management is no longer just an operational task. For SaaS and AI companies, it’s a growth lever.

When quotes are visible early, pricing rules are clear, and approvals move quickly, revenue teams move faster with fewer mistakes.

See What Modern Quotation Management Looks Like

If your team is rethinking how quotes are built, approved, and delivered, Vendori can help you see what modern quotation management looks like in practice.

Explore how real-time quote visibility, no-code pricing rules, and streamlined approvals can simplify your quoting process without replacing everything overnight.

👉 Explore Vendori’s approach to quotation management

About the Author

Brian Ferber is the Chief Operating Officer at Vendori, where he works closely with Sales, RevOps, and Finance leaders at SaaS, tech, and AI companies to streamline quoting, pricing, and approval workflows. He brings a practical, operator-first perspective to solving complex revenue operations challenges.