Using Profit Margins on Proposals

By turning Profit Margins on for proposals, users can see exactly how much money they’re profiting on each item. This feature is available for all proposal-users. This article explains how to turn it on and how to use it.

In the Proposal Settings page of the proposal builder, the bottom of the screen has an option called "Use Profit Margin." Checking this box will turn on profit margin for this proposal.

Once selected, two new columns - Unit Cost and Margin - will appear in the Fee Summary screen. 

These columns appear for Materials & Services and Line Items.

As we add items to the proposal we can see these columns in action.

The material we added here has a Unit Cost of $10, and a Unit Price of $30. The difference - $20 - is reflected in the Margin column. We can see the profit margin represented in percentage terms (66.7%) in the parenthesis as well. 

Profit Margin will adjust as any changes are made to the Unit Cost, Quantity, and Unit Price, and if any Price Factors or Markups are applied. 

For example, if we change the same material's Quantity of 3, the Unit Cost to $15, and add a Price Factor of Double Price, the Profit Margin grows to 75%.

Users can also view Profit Margin on groups. The Profit Margin here will be the average of the individual Profit margins within the group. After creating a group, Profit Margin will display in the same column it does for Materials & Services and Line Items.

Lastly, Total Cost and Gross Margin across the entire proposal will display at the bottom of the screen. 

Once the proposal is saved, Profit Margin will appear on the proposal details. However, the copy that is sent to the customer will have this figure hidden.