---
title: Handling Quote Requests | Shopware Community Hub
description: >-
Handle B2B quote requests in Shopware: Customers request an offer in the
storefront, merchants respond in the administration, and customers accept or
decline.
canonical_url: >-
https://hub.shopware.comhttps://hub.shopware.com/learn/unit/handling-quote-requests
---
# Handling Quote Requests
- Understand why B2B customers may request a quote before placing an order.
- Distinguish between the customer request, merchant response, and customer decision in Quote Management.
- Respond to quote requests under **Orders > Quotes** with adjusted prices, quantities, messages, and an expiry date.
- Verify how customers track, accept, or decline quotes in the storefront.
# Handling Quote Requests
In B2B sales, the listed price is often a starting point, not the final word. A customer ordering a large quantity may ask for a better price before they commit. In a traditional setup, this negotiation happens by phone or email, disconnected from the shop.
**Quote Management** brings this negotiation into Shopware. The customer requests an offer for a cart, you respond in the administration, and the customer accepts or declines the offer in the storefront. This learning unit shows how the two sides work together.
## Continue in Your Learning Environment
Use the learning environment from the previous learning unit to follow the quote workflow. If you have not opened it yet, open it here before you continue.
For this learning unit, use a B2B-enabled customer account where Quote Management is active. You also need a product that can be added to the cart, because quote requests start from a cart. If your learning environment does not contain demo products yet, create at least one product in the administration before you start.
## Why Quote Requests Exist in B2B
B2B customers often buy in quantities, repeat orders, or negotiate conditions for a specific project. A fixed storefront price may not be enough for that buying process.
> Quote Management lets the customer ask for an offer before an order exists. The merchant can respond with adjusted prices, quantities, comments, documents, and an expiry date.
This keeps the negotiation connected to the cart. If the customer accepts the offer, the negotiated price can carry into the order without someone recreating products, quantities, or prices manually.
A quote does not always mean a discount. It can also confirm a price, document a commercial agreement, or make a special condition traceable before the customer orders.
## The Quote Workflow
A quote is a structured negotiation around a specific cart.
The workflow has three phases:
1. **Customer request**: The customer builds a cart and requests a quote instead of placing an order.
2. **Merchant response**: You review the request in the administration and send back an offer.
3. **Customer decision**: The customer accepts, declines, or lets the offer expire.
This is different from Order Approval. A quote happens **before** an order is placed and negotiates the commercial terms. Order Approval happens when checkout is submitted and decides whether the order may become binding.
## Request a Quote in the Storefront
From the customer's perspective, quoting starts in the storefront. A logged-in B2B customer with Quote Management active adds a product to the cart and creates a quote draft instead of checking out immediately.
In the off-canvas cart, select **Create quote draft**.
Shopware creates the quote draft and opens the quote area in the storefront account.
The draft is still the customer's working state. The merchant does not process it until the customer sends the quote request. Add a message that explains what the customer wants, for example a 10% discount for a larger order, and send the request.
After sending, the storefront confirms that the quote request was submitted.
This completes the customer request phase. The next action belongs to the merchant in the administration.
## Respond to the Quote in the Administration
The merchant response happens in the administration. Open **Orders > Quotes** to see incoming quote requests.
Open the quote from the list. The quote detail page contains the customer, quote status, items, totals, and actions for processing the request.
The quote detail page gives you the full context before you respond. Check the customer, requested products, quantity, price, and current status.
This is where the quote becomes the merchant's offer. You can adjust more than the price. If needed, you can also adapt item details such as quantities before sending the quote back. This is different from normal storefront quantity limits, which control direct cart ordering. Quote editing lets the merchant shape a commercial offer before an order exists.
Use the history panel to understand what the customer asked for. In this example, the customer requested a 10% discount.
Apply the discount, then save the change.
The quote is now prepared, but the customer has not received the offer yet. Select **Send quote** to send it back to the storefront.
In the send modal, set an expiry date and send the quote. The expiry date defines how long the customer can accept this offer.
After sending, the quote status changes and the customer can review the offer in the storefront.
You can also send a follow-up comment from the quote history. This keeps the negotiation traceable in the quote instead of moving it back to email.
The response does not create an order yet. It sends the customer an offer. The customer still decides whether to accept or decline it in the storefront.
## Accept the Quote in the Storefront
After the merchant sends the quote, the customer returns to the **Quotes** area in the storefront account. They can review the history and see the merchant's response.
If the customer accepts the offer before it expires, they can continue with **Place order**.
Shopware redirects the customer to the quote checkout confirmation page at `/checkout/quote/confirm`. The customer can select payment and shipping as in a normal checkout, while the negotiated discount remains visible.
This completes the quote workflow: the customer requested an offer, the merchant responded, and the customer turned the accepted quote into an order.
## Quote Statuses and Required Expiry Dates
A quote moves through clear states as the workflow changes responsibility from customer to merchant and back to customer. These statuses help both sides understand who needs to act next.
- **Open request**: The customer has submitted the request, and the merchant needs to respond.
- **Quote sent**: The merchant has sent an offer back to the customer.
- **Accepted**: The customer accepted the offer and can continue with the negotiated price.
- **Cancelled / declined**: The quote process was stopped before an order was placed.
- **Expired**: The offer's expiry date passed before the customer accepted it.
This makes the negotiation traceable inside the shop. The customer does not need to ask whether the merchant received the request, and the merchant can see whether an offer is still waiting for a customer decision.
When you send a quote from the administration, the **Expiry date** is required. It defines how long the offer is valid. This protects both sides: the customer knows the deadline for accepting the offer, and the merchant avoids having old prices accepted after the conditions have changed.
The expiry date is not optional when sending a quote. Choose a validity period that matches the offer.
## Example: Negotiating a Bulk Order
A customer wants to buy 500 units of a product for a project and asks whether a better unit price is possible.
When you review the request, you see that the requested amount cannot be offered exactly as submitted, for example because the product is sold in packaging units or only 480 units are currently available.
Instead of rejecting the request, you shape a counteroffer: Adjust the quantity to 480 units, apply a suitable volume discount, add a short message explaining the change, and set the offer to expire in two weeks.
If the customer accepts the offer, they continue with the adjusted quantity and negotiated price. The negotiation that once happened over email is now a traceable exchange inside the shop.
## Quick Check
You sent a customer an offer, but its expiry date passed before they responded. Which status does the quote now have?
Quote sent
Accepted
Expired
## Common Pitfalls
### Pitfall 1: Setting an Unrealistic Expiry Date
The expiry date is required when sending a quote. Do not choose it randomly. Set a validity period that reflects how long the offered price, discount, or condition should realistically remain available.
### Pitfall 2: Leaving Requests in Open Request Status
A quote request sitting at **Open request** is a customer waiting for an answer. Monitor **Orders > Quotes** so requests are answered promptly.
### Pitfall 3: Confusing Quotes With Order Approval
Quotes negotiate the **price** before an order exists; approval signs off an **order** that has been placed. A customer can need one, both, or neither.
## Summary
In this learning unit, you learned:
- Why B2B customers may request a quote before placing an order.
- How Quote Management connects the customer request, merchant response, and customer decision.
- How to respond to quote requests under **Orders > Quotes** with adjusted prices, quantities, messages, and an expiry date.
- How customers track, accept, or decline quotes in the storefront **Quotes** area.
With this quote workflow, price negotiation becomes part of the shop instead of a disconnected email or phone process.
Next, you will speed up routine buying with Quick Order and Shopping Lists.