> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.florists.digital/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Building a Quotation

> Organise your quote into Recipe Groups, add items, and set pricing.

**A quotation is the detailed pricing breakdown for your event.** It lists every arrangement your client is getting, organised into clear sections, with costs calculated from real ingredient prices. This is where you turn a conversation about "soft pinks and lots of greenery" into an accurate, professional quote.

<Info>
  **This page covers features gated by Manager-tier permissions.** Managers and Admins have these by default; your administrator can adjust who has them in [Settings > Team](/settings/team).
</Info>

## Recipe Groups

You build a quotation from sections, added from the **Add Sections** panel. The section you'll use most is a **Recipe Group** — a block of arrangements that belong together. Give each one a clear name like "Bridal Party", "Ceremony", "Reception", or "Venue Flowers", whatever suits the event. You can add up to 20 Recipe Groups in a quotation.

Each Recipe Group has a name and a few controls for ordering, budget tracking, and what the client sees. You can also **hide a Recipe Group** from the client's view entirely, which is handy for internal notes, behind-the-scenes items, or anything you don't want on their proposal.

<Info>
  When you hide a Recipe Group, it won't appear in the client's proposal and its costs are excluded from the totals they see.
</Info>

## Adding items to a Recipe Group

Each item inside a Recipe Group represents a single arrangement — a bridal bouquet, a table centre, a ceremony arch, and so on.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose a Recipe Group">
    Select the Recipe Group you want to add the item to, or create a new one if needed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name and describe the item">
    Give the item a clear name (e.g., "Bridal Bouquet") and an optional description for extra detail.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the quantity">
    Enter how many of this arrangement the client needs. For example, 12 table centres or 2 pedestals.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Build the recipe">
    Add the flowers, foliage, and sundries that make up the arrangement. Digital Florists uses these ingredients to calculate the cost.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How pricing works

Each item gives you two ways to price it: auto totals or locked totals. You'll see the toggle on the item's pricing row.

### Auto totals (the default)

With auto totals, Digital Florists calculates the price from the recipe. It takes the cost of all the ingredients, applies the item's markup, and adds any labour. The numbers update as you add or change ingredients.

**The markup multiplier** is set per item. If your ingredients cost £10 and the markup is 3.5×, the price becomes £35 before VAT. New items pick up your default markup from quotation settings, but you can override it on any item.

### Locked totals (manual pricing)

Sometimes you know exactly what you want to charge, regardless of what the ingredients cost. Tick **Locked totals** on an item to type in your own figure. Digital Florists won't overwrite it, even if you add or change ingredients later.

This matters when working with [templates](/events/quotation-templates). If your template has set prices, lock them before saving. Otherwise, when you or your team start adding ingredients to build recipes, the price recalculates and overwrites your quoted figure.

<Tip>
  Use quotation templates for common event types (like a "Small Wedding" or "Corporate Dinner") to save time. Load the template, tweak the flowers and quantities, and your quote is ready in minutes. See [Quotation Templates](/events/quotation-templates) for how to build a master template.
</Tip>

### VAT and your totals

The price you set on each item is the figure before VAT. If the item has a tax rate, Digital Florists works out the VAT and adds it to give the total your client pays. If an item has no tax rate, its total is simply the price you set.

There's a **Pricing Display** control in **Display Settings** with two options:

* **Tax Exclusive** — you enter and see unit prices before VAT, and the VAT is shown added on top.
* **Tax Inclusive** — you enter and see unit prices with the VAT already included.

Whichever you choose, the **Quotation Summary** always shows three figures for each section and for the whole quote: **Net (ex VAT)**, **Tax**, and **Gross (inc VAT)**. The **Payable total (inc VAT)** at the bottom is the amount your client pays.

<Note>
  Whether VAT applies, and at what rate, depends on your own VAT registration and how you've set up your tax rates. Digital Florists uses the tax rate on each item to do the sums; it doesn't decide your VAT position for you.
</Note>

## Reordering items and Recipe Groups

You can drag and drop to rearrange both Recipe Groups and the items within them. Put the most important sections at the top, or arrange things in the order the client will experience them on the day — ceremony first, reception second, and so on.

## Ingredient totals across the whole event

When you want to know what to buy for the whole event, open the **Options** menu in the quotation header and choose **Quotation Menu**. This adds up every ingredient across all your Recipe Groups and items in one place, so you can see total quantities and costs without going recipe by recipe.

The Quotation Menu has three tabs:

* **Recipes** — a list of every recipe in the quotation.
* **Ingredients** — every ingredient rolled up across the whole event, with **Total Qty** and **Total Cost** columns.
* **Category Breakdown** — the same totals grouped by ingredient category.

On the **Ingredients** tab you can tick the ingredients you want and click **Create Task** to send them to a new task, pre-filled with the names and quantities. Use it as a buying or make-up checklist for the team. There's also a **Print** button in the header to print the whole menu.

<Note>
  The Quotation Menu only includes ingredient categories that are set to show in the menu, so your totals stay focused on the flowers and sundries you actually order.
</Note>

## Saving your work

Digital Florists autosaves your quotation as you build it, and there's a **Save changes** button in the header for when you want to save manually. The header shows whether your changes are saved, saving, or pending.

<Warning>
  If you turn **Locked totals** off on an item, the price recalculates from the recipe. Make sure you're happy to lose your manual figure before unticking it.
</Warning>

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I show the client section totals only, without individual item prices?">
    Yes. Each Recipe Group has an itemised pricing toggle. Turn it off and the client will see only the section total, not the price of each arrangement within it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What does the budget percentage do?">
    Turn on **Enable budget tracking** in a Recipe Group's settings and set a percentage. Digital Florists shows the Recipe Group's budget figure in the header and flags it visually when the total moves outside that target. Use it as a guide to keep each section in proportion as you build the quote.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I have to build a recipe for every item?">
    No. You can add items without a recipe and set the price manually. Recipes give you accurate costing and protect your margins, so use them wherever you can.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I add a written section, like an introduction or next steps?">
    Yes. Add an item, open its settings, and change **Display mode** from **Pricing table** to **Text / narrative**. The item then shows a single **Content** box where you can write whatever you like, with no prices, ingredients, or quantities. It's handy for a welcome note at the top of the quote or a "what happens next" message at the end.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Should I add custom items like labour or ribbon as ingredients?">
    Yes. When you add something as a custom product, it lands without a category. Add it as an **ingredient** with the right category instead (e.g. "Labour" or "Sundries") and you can reuse it across items, plus break down your costs by category at the end.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I reuse items across different events?">
    Yes. Save your quotation as a template and load it into future events. You can also copy individual items between Recipe Groups or events.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Recipes" icon="utensils" href="/events/recipes">
    Build ingredient lists and configure labour for your arrangements.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Adjustments" icon="sliders" href="/events/adjustments">
    Add discounts and surcharges, and configure seating.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Templates" icon="copy" href="/events/quotation-templates">
    Save and reuse quotation layouts for common event types.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Proposals" icon="file-lines" href="/events/proposals">
    Turn your quotation into a proposal and send it to the client.
  </Card>
</Columns>