Proposals

Write a proposal in sections, with the same menus and toolbar as Documents.

A proposal is a list of sections, each edited where it is shown and saved a moment after you stop typing. Start from one of Magpie's starters, one of your own, a past proposal, a blank proposal or a pasted JSON document.

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Sections

A section can be added at the end or after the one you are working in, moved, duplicated, or hidden from the client: a hidden section stays in the draft but is not on the client's page, in the PDF or in emails. The acceptance step, where the client signs, always comes last.

Cover: A cover shows the proposal's title, a subtitle and a picture.
Text and terms: Text holds headings, paragraphs, lists and quotes. Terms is a text section for your terms.
Pricing: A pricing section holds priced lines, or packages for the client to choose from, under an introduction you write.
Timeline: A timeline lists phases, each with dates or a number of days.
Images and video: Pictures have captions and come from Your images. A video is a YouTube, Vimeo or Loom address, or a Screen Recorder recording made by a member of your team.
Team and testimonials: Team shows people with a photo, a role and a few lines about them. Testimonials show what clients said and who said it.
Questions and answers: This section lists questions the client may have, with their answers.
Files: The client can download the files, such as a brochure, up to 25 MB each.

Text, fields and placeholders

Text uses the toolbar and Format menu Documents has: normal text, three heading sizes and quotes, bold, italic and underline, bulleted and numbered lists, and links. Text pasted from a word processor keeps that formatting, and pasted Markdown becomes it.

Fields: Insert field adds a field such as the client's first name or company, the proposal's number or valid-until date, or your business name. Fields are filled in on the client's page, in the PDF and in emails.
Placeholders: Text and example prices a starter expects you to replace are marked. The bar under the proposal counts them, Next placeholder moves to each, and a proposal cannot be sent while any remain.
Comments: Comments on a section are for your team. They are never on the client's page, in the PDF, in emails or in an export.
Two people editing: Changes to different sections are both kept. A change to a section someone else changed after you opened it is not saved; their version is shown, with a message saying so.

Look, language and preview

Edit details sets a proposal's accent colour, heading font, body font and logo, or takes the colour and fonts from a Brand Kit. The business name, address and tax number come from Invoicing settings, and new proposals start with the look in Proposals settings.

The client page's language sets the buttons, totals and emails the client sees in English, French, Spanish or German; what you write is shown as written. Preview opens the client's page as a signer sees it, with working choices, and records nothing.

Starters, saved sections and the price list

Starters, saved sections and the price list belong to Personal or the team. Using one copies it into the proposal, so a later change to it does not change a proposal already made.

Magpie's starters: Magpie's starters are complete proposals for work such as website design, branding, consulting, software development, photography or cleaning, with a short Quote for trades and quick jobs and a blank starter. Each has sections, sample text and example prices to replace.
Your starters: Save as starter keeps a proposal's sections, prices, payment schedule, follow-ups and what happens when the work starts, without the client, recipients or activity. Copy to your starters makes one of Magpie's starters yours to change.
Locked sections: A team admin can lock a section of a team starter, such as its terms. In proposals made from that starter, only team admins can change, hide or delete it.
Saved sections: Keep any section under a name and add it to another proposal from the list of sections. A saved pricing section can be added only to a proposal in the same currency.
Price list: The price list holds prices, each with a name, a description, a unit, a currency, a tax rate and how it is billed. Add from the price list copies one into a pricing section, and Import prices adds several from a JSON document.

Start or replace a proposal with JSON

A whole proposal can be written as one JSON document: its sections and text, pricing lines and packages, discount and payment schedule. Paste JSON, in New proposal, starts a draft from it; Import JSON replaces a draft's sections, prices and payments, keeping its client, recipients and activity; New starter adds a team starter from one. Export JSON downloads a proposal in the same format, and an export imports back unchanged.

The whole document is checked before anything is saved, and a mistake is named by where it is in the document. Pictures and files are added in the editor afterwards. Copy the prompt, in the import box, copies the format with instructions for writing one.

Write your first proposal.

Create a Magpie account, open Proposals and choose New proposal to start from a starter.

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