Building a Quote

This page walks through the quote form one section at a time, top to bottom, and explains every field in plain shop terms. The price on the right updates the moment you change anything — so feel free to try options and watch what happens.

Almost everything is already filled in. When you start a quote, every field comes set to a sensible default. The only thing you have to type is the Customer name. Everything else you only touch if the job is different from the usual.

Choosing the sign type

At the very top of the form are two big cards. Pick the one that matches the job:

Card	What it means
Channel letters	Illuminated letters — front-lit or halo. The lit storefront letters.
Dimensional letters	Non-illuminated letters — cast or flat-cut. No lights inside.

The card you’re on shows a Selected tag. The rest of the form changes depending on which type you pick, because lit and non-lit signs ask for different things.

You can switch types later. Click the other card any time and the form swaps over. It keeps the sign text and the letter count you already entered, so you don’t have to retype them — just review the other settings.

The “Sign” section

This is the sign itself — what it says, how big, and how it’s built.

What does the sign say?

Type the wording, for example CAFE or LAW OFFICE. Up to 40 characters. This is just for the quote and the customer’s reference — it prints on the PDF but does not change the price.

How many letters?

The letter count, from 1 to 100. Use the − and + buttons or type a number. (On the seeded example #1001 “CAFE” this is 4.)

How tall are the letters? (inches)

The height of the letters. For channel letters you can go from 6 to 60 inches. For dimensional letters the range is 6 to 24 inches.

If you type a dimensional height outside that range, a small note appears telling you the price grid only covers 6–24 inches and the price was figured at the nearest size in range. For channel letters the height simply snaps back into the allowed range.

The rest of the “Sign” section depends on the type you chose.

These fields show only for channel letters (the lit ones):

Field	Options	What it means
How is it lit?	Front-lit · Halo / reverse-lit	Front-lit glows through the face. Halo glows behind the letter, against the wall.
Return depth	3 in · 4 in · 5 in · 6 in	How deep the letter sticks off the wall. A note reminds you 5 in is the most common coil width.
Face material	White acrylic (3/16″) · Colored acrylic	The lit front of the letter. Only appears for front-lit — halo letters have no lit face, so this field disappears when you pick Halo.
LED system	Generic 12V module · SloanLED Prism 12 · SloanLED high output	Which LEDs go inside. The two SloanLED choices are premium.
Mounting	Flush / stud · Raceway	How the letters attach. Flush/stud mounts each letter to the wall; a raceway is a backing bar the letters sit on.

Field	Options	What it means
Material	Routed PVC · Flat cut acrylic · Flat cut aluminum · Cast aluminum · Cast bronze	What the letters are made of. A note under your choice shows the thickness and base finish (for example, Routed PVC — 1/4 in, painted base finish).
Finish	Standard (included) · Painted — custom color · Polished	The surface finish. Standard (included) is the material’s normal finish at no extra charge; the other two are upgrades.
Mounting	Flush stud · Spacer / standoff · Rail	How the letters attach. If you pick Spacer / standoff, a note says it’s priced same as flush — it’s a look option, not a price change.

The “Site” section

This is about where the sign goes and how the crew gets to it. Both fields affect the install line on the quote.

Field	Options
What is the wall made of?	Drywall · Brick · Concrete block · EIFS / stucco · Stone · Metal panel · Concrete
How will the crew reach it?	Ground / ladder · Bucket truck · Lift · Crane

The wall material changes how much work the install takes (drilling brick is more work than drilling drywall). The access option covers the equipment the crew needs to reach the spot.

⚠️

If you choose Crane for access, a note appears letting you know it adds a crane fee to the quote. Crane jobs cost more to install, so the price jumps when you pick it.

The “Extras” section

Two on/off switches and one advanced setting.

Permit needed? — Flip this on when the city requires a sign permit. It adds a permit line to the quote.
Engineered drawings (PE stamp) needed? — Flip this on when the job needs stamped engineering drawings. It adds its own line to the quote.

Below the switches is a section called Advanced that’s collapsed by default. Click it to open:

Markup multiplier — A dial from 1.5 to 3.0 for nudging the whole price up or down. The default is set for you; only change it when you have a reason to (a competitive bid, a tricky customer, a rush). Higher pushes the price up, lower brings it down.

Not sure what the markup multiplier is doing to the price? See Understanding the price.

The “Customer” section

These details print on the PDF quote. Fill in what you have.

Field	Required?
Customer name	Yes — this is the one field you must fill in
Company	Optional
Email	Optional
Phone	Optional
Job address	Optional

The customer name shows a red asterisk because it’s required. You can save and keep working on everything else, but you’ll want the name before you send anything out.

”Total upright inches” at the bottom

At the very bottom of the form is a small readout: Total upright inches. It’s just the letter count times the letter height — a handy at-a-glance size number for the whole job. You can’t edit it; it updates on its own as you change the count or the height.

What’s next

The price on the right updates as you go. To learn what each line means and what the margin badge is telling you, see Understanding the price.
Ready to send it to the customer? See The PDF quote.

Make Your First Quote Understanding the Price