Proposals
Send customers personalized pricing offers that steer orders toward your most efficient dispatch days. Proposals lock a price for 7 days and let customers book with one click.
How It Works
Proposals connect your dispatch efficiency to customer pricing. Here is how the pieces fit together:
Date-Based Pricing: Some delivery dates cost you less to serve than others. Proposals offer customers a discount on those efficient days, saving both of you money.
Price Lock: When you send a proposal, the price is locked for 7 days. The customer sees a clear offer — "Book Tuesday delivery, $275" — with a link to accept.
One-Click Booking: The customer receives an SMS with a booking link. They tap it, confirm their details, and the order is placed. No phone calls, no back-and-forth.
Track Everything: See which proposals are viewed, which convert to orders, and which expire. Follow up on promising leads.
Creating a Proposal
Navigate to Proposals in the sidebar and click New Proposal to start building an offer for a customer.
- Fill in the customer's name, phone number, and optionally their email address.
- Enter the delivery address. Autocomplete is available to speed things up.
- Select the container size and material type (if applicable for your storefront configuration).
- Choose a delivery date from the pricing calendar:
- Green dates offer the best pricing
- Yellow dates have standard pricing
- Red dates have higher pricing
- Add optional notes to the customer to personalize the offer.
- Click Send Proposal. The customer receives an SMS with a booking link immediately.
Green Dates Save You Money
Green dates save you money on routes. When the customer picks a green date, your trucks run more efficiently. The discount pays for itself through lower operating costs.
Tracking Proposals
The Proposals page shows all proposals with their current status. Use the status tabs to filter and focus on the proposals that need your attention.
Status Flow
Every proposal moves through a clear lifecycle from the moment you send it:
Proposal sent, waiting for customer to view
Customer opened the booking link
Customer selected a date but has not confirmed
Customer accepted — order created
7-day window passed without acceptance
What Each Row Shows
Each proposal row displays the key information at a glance so you can quickly assess where things stand:
- Customer — name and contact info
- Container size — the size offered in the proposal
- Proposed date — the delivery date you selected
- Locked price — the price guaranteed for 7 days
- Sent date — when the proposal was sent
- Status — current position in the lifecycle
Following Up
Not every proposal converts on the first try. Klau helps you follow up on proposals that need a nudge.
Actions Available on Sent and Viewed Proposals
Send Reminder
Compose an optional personal note and resend via SMS. A brief, friendly reminder can turn a viewed proposal into a booking.
Update Offer
Change the locked price or add a customer note. The proposal is resent with the updated terms so the customer always sees your latest offer.
Expire Proposal
Manually expire a proposal if the opportunity has passed. This keeps your proposal list clean and focused on active opportunities.
Viewed but Not Converted
Proposals that a customer opened but did not convert are your warmest leads. The viewedAt timestamp lets you identify these and follow up while the customer is still considering.
When Proposals Convert
When a customer accepts a proposal, it becomes a storefront order and enters the standard order lifecycle.
- The order follows the standard lifecycle: Confirmed → Scheduled → Active → Completed.
- The locked price from the proposal becomes the order price. No surprises for the customer.
- You can view the resulting order directly from the proposal row using the View Order action.
Best Practices
These tips come from haulers who have used proposals to fill efficient route days consistently.
- Timing matters. Send proposals Monday morning for the upcoming week. Customers are planning their projects and are most receptive to offers early in the week.
- Personal notes work. A brief note like "We have availability Tuesday — would that work?" converts better than generic offers. Take the extra 10 seconds.
- Follow up once. If they viewed but did not convert, one reminder is appropriate. Two is pushy. Respect your customer's time.
- Track your conversion rate. If fewer than 20% of proposals convert, consider adjusting your pricing or targeting. The Proposals page gives you the data to iterate.
- Use with the CRM. The Waste CRM's re-engagement agent identifies dormant customers who are good proposal targets. Check your CRM follow-ups for suggestions on who to reach out to.
What's Next?
You now know how to create, track, and follow up on proposals. Here are related guides to help you get the most out of demand-shaped pricing.
Storefront Operations
Manage your online ordering portal, service offerings, and customer-facing pricing configuration.
Waste CRM
Use the CRM's re-engagement agent and customer health scores to identify the best candidates for proposals.
Orders Management
Track orders from submission through completion. Understand the full lifecycle that proposals feed into.
Intelligence
Dive into demand shaping analytics, capacity heatmaps, and chain forecasts to understand the impact of your proposals.
Proposals That Convert
Every proposal you send is a chance to fill an efficient route day. The right price, the right day, delivered as a clear offer the customer can accept in one tap.