Set up packages, payments and services in proposals

You can create itemized proposals and engagement letters that clearly outline what your clients will be charged for. Services in proposals can be used either as a price list or as part of invoicing. Here, find out how to set up the Services step in proposals, including adding several packages and invoices.

Înainte de a începe

Setting up services, payments and packages in proposals is possible either when you are working on the proposals template or preparing a proposal for your client, so please make sure you are on the Services step of the proposal/template creation.

This process includes:

Notă

If you want to add tiered packages, there’s an additional step 0: you need to add package first, then proceed with the steps below for each of them separately.

1. Decide if you want to present for them a price list only or if you want to include invoices in your proposal.

2. List your services along with prices.

3. If the invoice needs to be included, decide how the client will pay and whether payment is required as a condition for signing the proposal.

Let’s explain it step by step.

Add packages

Once you’ve chosen the Tiered packages option on the Services step of the proposal/template creation, you will need to add packages. Each package is a set of services that clients can choose from. Click Set up package.

Here, you will be able to add all info about a package:

Package details

a) Package name: For example, Basic, Gold, Ultimate, etc.

b) Description: A short summary about the package. You can include information about when this package would be the right choice and in what situations it may be useful.

Payment setup

Here, you can choose if you want to collect payment from the client within a proposal or not.

See Send a price-list only proposal and Include invoices in proposals for more info.

Client-facing presentation

c) Selling points:: add up to 20 selling points to showcase your services. You can copy them from the services added or click Add row to add them manually.

d) Highlight package: turn on the toggle to draw attention to the offer you would like to sell more often. You can also add a label.

On the right, you can see a preview of how the package will be presented to the client.

Once you’ve added two or more packages, you can reorder them by dragging and dropping.

Notă

Adding only one package works like a fixed-price proposal.

Send a price-list only proposal

No matter if you set up a package or a fixed-price proposal, you can choose a price-list only option. This is useful if you don’t want to collect payment from the client at this point.

Select List services only, then fill in the following information:

a) Line items: Itemize the services performed and any discounts applied.

• Line item: Click Line item and create a new service or select an existing one. You can add as many line items as you wish.

• Discount: Click Discount to set up the lowered price for the service .

b) Settings: Set up which columns  will be displayed in the line items.

c) Summary:

• Subtotal: Aceasta este suma sumelor pentru serviciile prestate înainte de impozitare.

• Tax rate: Once Tax checkbox is selected for the service, tax rate will be automatically added to the summary based on the default tax rate .

• Tax total: sum of the taxes for the services provided.

• Total: sum of the subtotal and tax total.

Sfat

Once your proposal is signed, you will be able to create an invoice based on the services listed in the proposal

Include invoices in proposals

No matter if you set up a package or a fixed-price proposal, you can include invoices in your proposal. Depending on the selected payment authorization, you can either collect payment from the client right when proposal is signed or just issue an invoice that could be paid later.

To include invoices, select List services and request payment, then fill in the following information:

Autorizarea plății

a) Select whether you want the payments to be authorized and then proceed automatically or not:

• Auto-pay: Good choice if you want to ensure immediate payment, ask for a deposit and eliminate the need for follow-up billing. Clients accept the terms and authorize payment once. Subsequent payments happen automatically. This option is available for Stripe only.
• Manual payment: Good choice if you plan to include invoice for the later payment. Clients will have to pay each invoice manually. This option is available for Stripe and CPACharge.

Factura

Here, choose the invoice type and issue settings:

b) Invoice type: Select whether you want a one-time or recurring invoice to be created for this proposal. Don’t forget that all recurring invoices need to be signed. That means after your clients sign the proposal, they must then sign a recurring invoice .

c) Invoice template: Select one of your one-time or recurring invoice templates from the drop-down menu.

d) Team member: Select a team member responsible for the client.

e) Issue invoice: Select when the invoice will be issued, whether on proposal acceptance or a specific date. The behavior of the invoice depends on whether it is recurring or one-time, and on the chosen issue setting:

for Recurring invoices

• On acceptance: The first invoice uses the proposal signing date as the Posted at date; future invoices follow the set recurrence schedule.
• Specific date: The first invoice uses the specified date; subsequent invoices follow the recurrence schedule.

for One-time invoices

• On acceptance: Created immediately after the proposal is signed.
• Specific date: Created on the specified date; if the date has already passed, the invoice is created immediately.

f)  Description: Add a description outlining what’s included in the invoice (optional).

You can add several invoices if needed by clicking Add one more invoice.

Posturi și rezumat

These are the same as for the proposal with the price list .

Notă pentru client

Add a message to clients and personalize it using shortcodes . It can be either a note with the payment details or just a message.

This note will be displayed in the client portal and the PDF invoice.

Once you’ve finished setting up the Services step, you can continue your proposal preparation. Learn more in the dedicated article .

Common use cases for setting up proposals

Here are some examples of how to set up services in proposals for different scenarios:

• Subscription-based services: Use a recurring invoice with Auto-pay authorization. Clients authorize payment once when signing the proposal, and subsequent invoices are paid automatically. This works well for monthly bookkeeping, payroll processing, or ongoing compliance services.

• Deposit required upfront: Use a one-time invoice with Auto-pay authorization. Payment is collected immediately when the client signs the proposal. This ensures you receive the deposit before starting work on tax returns, audits, or advisory projects.

• Returning client with discount: Use a one-time invoice with a discount line item and Manual payment authorization. This lets you offer loyalty pricing while giving clients flexibility to pay the invoice on their own timeline.

• General service agreement: Use the List services only option without including an invoice. This is ideal for engagement letters with new leads where you want to outline scope and pricing but will invoice later based on actual work performed.

• Multi-payment project: Add multiple one-time invoices with different issue dates. For example, set one invoice to be issued on proposal acceptance and another to be issued when work reaches a milestone. This works well for large projects like business valuations or financial statement preparation.

• Pay-as-you-go consulting: Use a one-time invoice with Manual payment authorization. Clients can review the proposed hourly rates or service fees, sign the agreement, and pay invoices as work is completed throughout the engagement.

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