Track a sent proposal and the client’s response
When to use this
Use this guide after a proposal has gone out and you want to know what the client experiences, how to follow their response, and what to do when they reply with something other than a straight yes.
What the client sees
Whichever channel you sent through, the client lands on the same signing page. There they can:
- read the full proposal, exactly as you sent it
- download a PDF copy
- view the pinned terms before signing
- accept and sign, decline, or request changes
The page works just as well on a phone as on a desktop, so a client reading on the move loses nothing.
Following the response
The event tracks the proposal as it moves: sent, viewed, then accepted, declined, or changes requested. When a client acts, you get an in-app notification and an email, and the event’s card on the board shows the state.
- Accepted: the client signs, the event books, and a signed terms record is kept. On an event with no live invoice, BloomBoard drafts the deposit invoice from the payment schedule for you to review and send, or sends it automatically if Collect on acceptance is on for the first milestone; if the event already has a live invoice, billing is left to you. Once the deposit invoice is sent, the client’s signing page shows a Your payments panel with each milestone, a Pay now button for anything payable, and a tick against what has been paid. See Bill and get paid on an event. BloomBoard also emails the signed PDF, with the terms PDF beside it, to the client and to you. If either address cannot take mail (it bounced, or it is not a valid address), the proposal’s Activity list shows Email couldn’t be delivered with the address, and you get a Signed copy couldn’t be emailed notification. If it is your copy, check your business email under Business → Business details; if it is the client’s, download the signed PDF from the event and send it to them another way. An acceptance you record yourself works differently; see Record an acceptance given outside BloomBoard.
- Declined: the client can leave a reason. The proposal closes out and the history keeps the record.
- Changes requested: the client’s message appears on your proposal board in an amber banner, with the full text and when it arrived. Create a revision, make the changes, and resend. The client can add follow-up messages to the same request while you work.
The Activity list on the proposal board keeps the running record: created, sent, opened, reviewed, signed, and so on, grouped by version when there is more than one. Money shows there too. Every payment recorded on the event’s invoices appears as Payment received, with the amount, invoice number, and how it was paid, and every refund you issue appears as Refund issued with the amount and reason. Use Refresh after recording a payment to see the new row.
Reminders and deadlines
Every send carries a response deadline, seeded from your account default. Set that default under Business → Proposals → Expiry: pick 14, 30, or 60 days, choose Custom to type your own number of days (up to a year), or choose Never expires. From the event you can:
- Remind the client by email. Reminders have a cooldown so a client is never accidentally spammed.
- Extend the deadline if the conversation is still alive. On a proposal that has already expired, this becomes extend and reactivate, bringing the signing page back to life. The assistant can do this too: ask it to bring back an expired proposal, and it moves the deadline after you confirm on a card. Withdrawing is only for a proposal that is still open.
If you archive the event or move it to Canceled, BloomBoard pauses its proposal reminders and makes the outstanding signing link unavailable. Restore the archived event, or move the canceled event to another column, and the same link and reminder schedule resume. Neither action withdraws or voids the proposal.
Record an acceptance given outside BloomBoard
If your client says yes by phone, in person, on paper or through their planner, record it so the proposal reads accepted. Owners and admins can do this while a sent proposal waits for an answer.
- Open the event and its proposal.
- Open the More menu and select Record acceptance.
- Enter Who accepted, the Day they accepted and, if you like, a Note about how they accepted.
- Select Record acceptance.
The proposal becomes accepted and the event books. Payments due after acceptance count from the day you entered. If the event has a payment schedule and no invoice yet, the deposit invoice is drafted, not sent, even with Collect on acceptance on, so review it and send it yourself. No signed PDF is made or emailed, because the client did not sign in BloomBoard. Your automations for a booked event, such as a welcome email, run as usual. The proposal history shows Accepted outside BloomBoard with the day, who accepted and your note.
You cannot record an acceptance after the signing deadline (extend it first), or on an older version once a newer one was sent. On the phone app, open the proposal and use Record acceptance. You can also ask the assistant, which shows a card first.
Resending and withdrawing
If you send a revised version, the old signing link shows a notice that a newer version exists, and only the new link is signable. If you need to pull a proposal back entirely, withdraw it; the signing page closes until you send again.
The archive confirmation also offers Void proposal when an outstanding version exists. This is optional, but permanent: unlike archiving, restoring the event does not bring a voided proposal back. Proposals accepted before an event is archived or canceled stay available to the client as signed records.
Once a client accepts, that version is fixed forever. You can keep working on a new revision, but the accepted document, its totals, and its terms never change underneath the client.