Manage Proposal Status

Managing Proposals Status

Summary: Track and update proposal status throughout the sales cycle to maintain clear visibility into your pipeline.

Overview

Proposal status tracking helps you understand where each opportunity stands in your sales process. From draft to accepted (or declined), managing status keeps your pipeline organized and helps prioritize follow-ups. This guide explains how to update proposal status, what each status means, and best practices for status management.

Prerequisites

Active growlio account with proposals
Member-level permissions or higher
Understanding of your sales process stages
Existing proposals to manage

How to Manage Proposal Status

Step 1: Access Proposals List

Navigate to Business > Proposals to view all your proposals with their current status displayed. You'll see proposals organized by status or in chronological order.

Step 2: Understand Status Options

Familiarize yourself with available proposal statuses: Draft (being created), Sent (delivered to client), Viewed (client opened it), Accepted (client approved), Declined (client rejected), and Expired (past deadline).

Tip: Some statuses update automatically (like Viewed when clients open proposals) while others require manual updates.

Step 3: Filter by Status

Use status filters at the top of the proposals page to view specific categories. Click "Sent" to see all pending proposals or "Accepted" to view won deals.

Step 4: Open Proposal Details

Click on any proposal to open its detail view. Here you can see complete status history, client interactions, and available status change options.

Step 5: Update Status Manually

Find the status dropdown in the proposal header or actions menu. Click it to see available status options based on current state.

Tip: You can only transition to logical next statuses. For example, Draft can move to Sent, but not directly to Accepted.

Step 6: Change to Accepted Status

When a client accepts your proposal, update status to "Accepted". This typically triggers client conversion and project initiation workflows.

Step 7: Mark as Declined with Notes

If a client rejects the proposal, change status to "Declined" and add notes explaining why. This helps improve future proposals.

Tip: Always document decline reasons for learning and improvement.

Step 8: Use Status for Reporting

Generate reports filtered by status to analyze proposal performance: acceptance rates, average time in each status, and bottlenecks in your process.

Tips & Best Practices

Update status immediately when client decisions occur
Add detailed notes when changing to Declined status
Review Viewed proposals daily for follow-up opportunities
Set reminders for Sent proposals to follow up after 2-3 days
Archive old Declined proposals quarterly to keep list clean
Use Expired status to identify proposals needing renewal offers
Track time in each status to optimize your sales cycle
Document common decline reasons to address objections proactively
Celebrate Accepted proposals and convert to projects immediately
Create status-based workflows to automate next steps
Monitor proposals stuck in Viewed status for too long
Use status filters to prioritize daily work

Troubleshooting

Issue: Can't change proposal status

Solution: Verify you have Member-level permissions or higher. Ensure the status transition is valid (check if moving from current status to desired status is allowed). Refresh browser if the option isn't appearing.

Issue: Status automatically changed unexpectedly

Solution: Some statuses auto-update: Sent→Viewed when clients open, any status→Expired when deadline passes. Check activity log to see what triggered the change.

Issue: Proposal stuck in wrong status

Solution: Manually update to the correct status using the dropdown. Add notes explaining the correction. Verify client notifications are accurate after fixing status.

Issue: Accepted proposals not triggering workflows

Solution: Check that automation rules are configured properly. Verify proposal is fully completed (services, pricing, terms). Manually trigger next steps if automation fails.

Issue: Can't find declined proposals

Solution: Check if you're viewing a filtered list excluding Declined status. Click "All Proposals" or specifically filter for Declined. Search by client name if you know which proposal you're looking for.