The operating problem
Start with an unaccepted proposal approaching its expiry. A successful handoff produces a reviewed follow-up or an explicitly closed proposal. Define the accountable owner before connecting systems. An expired price or scope must not be silently extended. A source event is a request to evaluate the current state; it is not permission to make an irreversible change.
Use your own working copy
The free workbook for this process opens in a browser and works offline after download. It includes editable checks and notes, a text export, and a print view. It is a planning resource: it does not send messages, read account data, or run actions in business systems. No vendor account is needed to use the workbook.
Map the process
1. Read the current proposal
Fetch the latest proposal version, expiry, recipient, and acceptance state from the approved sales system.
2. Check response and permission
Stop if the prospect replied, declined, opted out, or already accepted through another channel.
3. Draft a neutral reminder
Reference the current proposal securely and explain the actual expiry without manufactured urgency.
4. Request owner approval
The proposal owner checks scope, price validity, and whether a revised proposal is needed.
5. Close or reschedule
Record the approved next action. Retire reminders for superseded versions.
Information to check
These reference fields describe the process. Use invented values while planning. Keep real records in an appropriate private system; the public website does not need them.
| Reference field | Working record | Check before progressing |
|---|---|---|
| proposal_id | proposal_id | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
| proposal_version | proposal_version | Bind approval to this exact source version; changes require review. |
| expires_at | expires_at | Validate the date, timezone, and approved reporting or review period. |
| response_state | response_state | Resolve the stable source reference in the correct client, entity, and engagement. |
Acceptance checks
- Acceptance immediately suppresses the reminder.
- A new proposal version invalidates the old draft.
- A repeated source event creates only one current review task.
- A changed source version invalidates an earlier approval.
Walk through a successful example, a duplicate, a missing item, an incorrect match, and an interrupted handoff with synthetic records. Record the expected result, observed result, owner, and recovery action. Checklists record your work; checking a box does not establish that an external action happened.
Ownership and review
Name the person responsible for the process and the person who can resolve an exception. Define which decisions require qualified professional review. Use stable references, limit access to private records, and document when work must stop. Educational material does not establish legal, accounting, tax, security, or regulatory compliance.
Run a measured pilot
Choose a small, reversible sample. Measure handling time, waiting time, review, rework, and errors before changing the process. Include the effort of maintaining the new method. Expand only when the observed result meets your acceptance criteria; a longer checklist is not proof of improved performance.
Use the free workflow planner to define your next step, or compare the assumptions in the opportunity calculator.