Configure, Price and Quote (CPQ) with Confidence
Accelerate sales by enabling your teams to deliver accurate quotes quickly and efficiently even for complex product configurations.
What is CPQ?
CPQ (Configure, Price and Quote) refers to a software tool or capability that empowers sales teams, partners and even customers to create quotes for products and services bundles. CPQ capability is especially useful when dealing with a large catalog or complex products with several components.
Vtiger CPQ is an add-on for the Vtiger One CRM and offers more advanced capabilities compared to the built-in Quote module.
How Does CPQ Work?
To understand what Configure Price Quote(CPQ) is and its real value, it is important to see how it works in a live sales environment.
The CPQ process starts inside the CRM when a sales representative creates or updates a sales order. Products or services are selected from a centralized product catalog that is governed by configuration rules.
With comparison static catalogs, CPQ guides users through valid configuration paths. If a product requires specific components or service tiers, CPQ automatically enforces these dependencies. Incompatible selections are blocked, ensuring that only sellable and supportable configurations are quoted.
Once the configuration step is complete, CPQ applies pricing logic. This includes base pricing, volume based pricing, customer specific pricing agreements, contract terms, regional taxes, currency conversions, and promotional discounts. Because all pricing rules are centrally managed, every quote reflects the most up-to-date and approved pricing structure.
After pricing is calculated, CPQ generates a quote using predefined templates. If discounts or special conditions exceed allowed thresholds, approval workflows are triggered automatically. Managers and finance teams can review, approve, or request changes directly within the system.
With CRM CPQ integration, the quote remains linked to the opportunity, account, and contact. This ensures complete visibility, accurate forecasting, and reliable reporting across the sales pipeline.
Benefits of CPQ for businesses
Without a CPQ tool, generating invoices might be a challenge for businesses, even today. Often product or pricing information is maintained in spreadsheets with multiple copies and outdated information. Sales teams might be generating the invoices and documents manually with no consistency. The approval process might be offline or based on email threads that are difficult to track.
With an adhoc or manual approach it is almost impossible to generate timely invoices when large product catalogs governed by complex business and technical rules are involved. This leads to missed opportunities in addition poor visibility and control over the process.
Using a CPQ helps solve all of these problems in a fluid and integrated manner.
Checklist: Does your company need a CPQ tool?
The built-in Quote module in Vtiger might be sufficient for many businesses. CPQ is only needed if the following is true.
- Sales reps have to consider many options / SKUs when creating Quote.
- Sales reps are sending in different formats
- Sales reps are sending quotes without approvals.
- Sales reps are losing time in configuring quotes, instead of making sales calls.
- Onboarding new sales reps is taking longer because they have to learn the long list of products and complex pricing rules.
- The products have pricing and configuration dependencies that must be taken into account when generating a quote.
CPQ for Different Industries
CPQ solutions adapt to industries where offerings cannot be priced using fixed pricing or standard configurations. Different sectors apply CPQ in ways that reflect how their products, services, and contracts are structured, helping sales teams manage complexity without slowing down deal execution.
Manufacturing
CPQ enables manufacturers to configure products with multiple components, dependencies, and technical rules. It ensures compatibility between parts, accurate pricing, and smooth handover from sales to production, reducing costly errors.
Software and SaaS
In software and SaaS businesses, CPQ manages subscriptions, add-ons, renewals, and usage-based pricing. It helps sales teams quote flexible plans while maintaining consistency across billing and contracts.
Telecommunications
Telecom providers use CPQ to bundle services, define contract terms, and manage recurring pricing models. This supports faster quoting for complex service combinations.
Professional Services
CPQ helps professional services firms define service packages, milestones, and scope-based pricing. It balances standardization with customization, keeping proposals clear and aligned with delivery.
CRM and CPQ Integration: Why It Matters
Using CPQ as a standalone tool often creates gaps between quoting and sales execution. Key customer and deal details remain scattered, increasing manual effort and the risk of errors. When CPQ is integrated directly with CRM, quoting becomes a natural part of the sales workflow rather than a separate task.
With CRM and CPQ working together, sales teams benefit from:
- Direct access to customer data, deal stage, and pricing rules
- Faster quote creation without switching systems
- Reduced duplication and pricing inconsistencies
- Clear visibility from opportunity through closure
Vtiger CPQ is built into the CRM ecosystem, ensuring quotes support the full customer lifecycle and strengthen end-to-end sales execution.
With the built in CPQ functionality in a CRM you can achieve the following:
Handle Complex Product Catalogs
With the product configuration capability in CPQ, you can easily customize the product bundle to align with the requirements of the customer. Unlike a sales catalog, the tool is interactive and can be configured based on rules to suggest or display options when certain components are chosen. This enables the sales teams to quickly identify and configure product offerings that best match the customer requirements.
Deliver Accurate Pricing
The CPQ tool has access to the latest pricing information and thus is able to display the most accurate pricing. Additionally it can handle complex combinations involving discounts, offers, taxes and others dimensions which are very difficult to track and manage offline or manually.
Achieve Fast Quote Generation
In sales, customer experience is defined by the speed of response and its accuracy. With a CPQ tool, quotes can be generated accurately, with the correct pricing and an automated approvals process. It can be done in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise and with no errors.
Use Custom Templates with Consistent Branding
CPQ tool enables you to set up custom templates for quotes. Additionally using the templates ensures that there is consistency in the layout and branding in the documentation shared with customers.
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FAQs
CPQ software automates product configuration, pricing, and quote creation, reducing manual work for sales teams. It ensures that only valid product combinations are selected and automatically applies accurate pricing rules. This speeds up quote generation, minimizes errors, and shortens sales cycles. Sales reps can respond faster to prospects and close deals more efficiently without relying on multiple teams.
Top rated CPQ software includes guided product configuration, automated pricing and discount controls, approval workflows, and customizable quote templates. It should support complex pricing models and prevent invalid configurations. Seamless CRM integration is essential to keep quotes connected to deals and customer data. These features help sales teams maintain accuracy while improving speed and consistency.
Businesses should evaluate product complexity, pricing models, and sales volume when selecting CPQ software. CRM compatibility is critical to ensure smooth data flow and avoid manual processes. Ease of use, scalability, approval controls, and reporting capabilities should also be considered. The right CPQ solution should simplify sales operations while supporting future business growth.
Yes. Modern CPQ software integrates seamlessly with CRM platforms, allowing sales teams to configure products and generate quotes within the CRM. This keeps customer data, pricing, and deal information in sync. CRM integration improves pipeline visibility, forecasting accuracy, and reporting while reducing manual data entry and errors across the sales process.
CPQ software helps businesses generate quotes faster, improve pricing accuracy, and maintain better control over discounts and approvals. It reduces errors, prevents revenue leakage, and ensures consistent branding across quotes. Sales teams save time on repetitive tasks, while managers gain better visibility into deal performance and quoting activity.
Industries with complex products and pricing commonly use CPQ software. Manufacturing companies rely on it for configurable products, while SaaS businesses use it for subscriptions and add-ons. Telecommunications firms use CPQ for bundled services, and Professional Services companies apply it to package and price customized offerings efficiently.
Yes. CPQ software integrates with ERP, billing, and finance systems to ensure accurate data flow after a deal is closed. Approved quotes automatically pass product, pricing, and order details to downstream systems. This reduces manual handoffs, improves operational efficiency, and keeps sales, finance, and operations teams aligned.