Event proposals
Event quote automation software.
From price list to signature.
Copying a proposal from the last one eats the morning, and a missing line or a wrong tax rate can send the client elsewhere. Joinways drafts it from the inquiry and your price list; you reread it, and it goes out the same day.
The essentials: a proposal the day the inquiry lands
Event quote automation software turns a venue inquiry into a sent proposal (quote) without retyping anything. Joinways reads the inquiry email or website form the moment it arrives, extracts the date, headcount, spaces and services requested, and drafts the proposal from your packages and price list: sales tax, service charges and gratuities applied line by line, totals calculated, deposit included. You review and approve before anything goes out. The proposal is sent from the event record, switches to Read when the client opens it, and a follow-up is drafted if it goes quiet. The client signs the contract online through a public link, and amendments and the invoice follow from the signed proposal. A proposal that used to take the best part of an hour goes out in minutes, the day the inquiry arrives, and the signature no longer waits on paper.
- A proposal draft generated as soon as the inquiry lands: the likely items are prefilled from your price list, and you approve before sending
- A price list with packages, tax treatment per line and discounts: every line comes out right, with sales tax, service charges and gratuities
- Built-in email sending: the proposal and every exchange stay attached to the event record
- A "Read" status the moment the client opens the proposal, a follow-up draft ready and reminder tasks if nothing moves
- E-signature through a public link, signed and time-stamped: contracts get signed in days, not weeks
- Amendments and the invoice flow straight from the proposal, with no retyping of amounts
The best part of an hour per proposal, and no idea what happens to it next
Word, Excel, your inbox: close to an hour per proposal, totals checked by hand, and once it's sent, you hear nothing. You don't know if it was read or when to follow up, and the signature drags on for weeks.
- An offsite proposal can swallow the best part of an hour between Excel and Word. At three inquiries a day, teams end up picking which ones get an answer
- Totals are calculated by hand: sales tax, service charges, discounts, weekend surcharges. One mistake and you've lost margin, or a client who starts to doubt you
- Every salesperson has "their" Word template: no two proposals look alike, and some carry outdated terms
- Zero visibility after sending: no way to know whether the proposal was opened, so follow-ups go out at random or not at all
- Paper signatures drag on: printing, scanning, email back-and-forth, weeks between the verbal yes and the signed contract
Accurate proposals in minutes, tracked through to signature
The inquiry is read on arrival and a first draft of the proposal is prepared; you complete it from your price list, and every total calculates itself. You decide what goes out, and Joinways prepares the rest.
Related product pages: Clients & companies
- A draft generated automatically from the inquiry: the likely items are placed on the proposal in seconds, and you keep the final say before anything is sent
- A price list and proposal templates: spaces, packages, add-ons, with every line arriving with its price, tax treatment and discounts
- Subtotal, sales tax, service charge and total calculated automatically, a clean PDF export, up-to-date terms on every document
- Built-in email sending and a "Read" status: you know when the client opens the proposal and follow up at the right moment, with the follow-up already drafted
- E-signature through a public link, signed and time-stamped; amendments in a few clicks, and the invoice follows without re-typing anything
What a properly equipped proposal process changes
What changes once your proposals run through Joinways.
Per proposal, not an hour
The draft is prepared automatically, and the price list and templates remove the retyping and the manual math: a complete proposal takes minutes.
Paperless signature
With e-signature through a public link, there is nothing to print or scan, and contracts come back signed within days.
Forgotten follow-ups
The "Read" status shows you the right moment and the follow-up is already drafted: no proposal waits for someone to remember it.
Figures are illustrative: they describe what a structured process is designed to make possible, not measured Joinways customer results. Actual results vary by venue.
A proposal module built for events
Private events, offsites, catering, multi-day events: the same few minutes, whatever the format.
Related product pages: Inquiries · Proposals & E-signature
Private event and offsite proposals
Pick the space, the day meeting package or the buyout package from your price list and adjust the quantities: the proposal is ready to send, taxes and service charges included, with your terms attached.
Catering proposals and per-person pricing
Menus, bar packages, staffing: items priced per person recalculate with the guest count, and each line carries its own tax treatment (room rental often exempt, food and beverage taxed).
Amendments when the event changes
The headcount moves, an add-on comes in the day before: create an amendment from the signed proposal, have it signed online, and the invoice follows. The full history stays attached to the event.
The proposal goes out the day of the inquiry, or it goes out too late
With the same offer, a proposal sent today beats a perfect one sent on Thursday. That is what the price list, the follow-up and online signature are for: shortening the time between the inquiry and the send.
A complete price list first: as long as one item is missing (an hour of staffing, an AV add-on), retyping creeps back. Aim for every proposal line coming from the price list
Follow-ups as a discipline, not an intention: a follow-up draft ready when a read proposal goes quiet, plus a reminder task at the cadence you choose, and you approve and send each one in seconds
E-signature offered by default: every paper round-trip adds days, so the signing link goes out with the proposal
What the team checks after each send
- Average time to build a proposal (target: under ten minutes with a prepared draft and a complete price list)
- Median time from sending to signature (e-signature removes the paper round-trips)
- Reply rate of followed-up proposals versus proposals never followed up (track the gap monthly)
Sending speed counts for more than polish
A proposal should not be written from scratch: the details of the inquiry are extracted on arrival, the lines come from your price list, the follow-up is set when you send, and signature happens online. You read it over, you adjust the price, you send.
A Chicago catering venue cuts proposal time to minutes
Starting point
A caterer-run venue in Chicago (two event rooms, in-house catering) sends 80 proposals a month. Each one takes 45 minutes between Excel and Word: per-guest quantities, room rental untaxed but food and beverage taxed, service charge, layout. Follow-ups go out when someone thinks of it, and signed contracts come back as scans, sometimes three weeks later.
What they put in place
A complete price list (spaces, menus, bar packages, staff) with tax treatment per line and volume discounts. A draft generated automatically on every inquiry, four proposal templates by format: cocktail reception, seated dinner, full-day offsite, wedding. Built-in email sending, the "Read" status, a follow-up draft ready when a read proposal goes quiet plus reminder tasks at the cadence the team chose, e-signature on every proposal.
Results after six months
Proposals now go out in minutes, the day of the inquiry. The team sees who has read what, and follow-ups land on the right leads at the right moment. Contracts come back signed online, with no scans to chase.
Owner
Illustrative scenario: caterer-run venue
Illustrative scenario based on typical venue outcomes, not an actual named customer.
Frequently asked questions about event proposals
Can it generate a proposal directly from an inquiry email?
Do proposals handle sales tax, service charges and gratuities?
How do I know whether the client has read my proposal?
Is the electronic signature legally valid?
How do I handle a change after signature?
Where is my proposal and client data hosted?
What's the best way to automate venue quotes?
Pricing is public: from $69 per venue per month depending on venue size, with a 30-day free trial. See pricing