How to Build a SaaS Quote Guide in Google Sheets Fast

If you run a SaaS business, your quote template is where curiosity turns into committed revenue. The problem is that most teams still treat quoting as artisanal work: a rep opens an old spreadsheet, hacks a few cells, and hopes nothing breaks. Let’s walk through how to systemize this first in Google Sheets, then layer on automation tools, and finally let an AI agent handle the drudge work at scale.### 1. Traditional, manual ways to build SaaS quotes**1.1 Start from a clean Google Sheets template**1. Go to Google Sheets and create a new spreadsheet (see Google’s guide to creating files: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/9143382).2. Create separate sections on one sheet: Company Info, Customer Info, Pricing Table, Totals, and Terms.3. In the pricing table, add columns like: Item, Description, Quantity, Unit Price, Billing Frequency, Discount, Line Total.4. Use formulas to avoid manual math, for example: - Line Total: `=B2*C2*(1-D2)` (adjust columns for your layout). - Subtotal: `=SUM(F2:F50)`.5. Freeze header rows so reps don’t accidentally overwrite them (View → Freeze in Google Sheets).**1.2 Lock the structure so reps only edit inputs**1. Turn your key formula cells into protected ranges so they’re not broken by editing. - See Google’s protection docs: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/1218656.2. Highlight only the input cells (like Quantity, Discount, Customer Name) with a different background color.3. Add data validation for plan names or terms so people must choose from dropdowns instead of inventing new options. - Use Data → Data validation (help: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/186103).**1.3 Turn the sheet into a reusable template**1. When your base quote layout is ready, make it a template: - File → Make a copy for each new quote, or - Use a “Master” tab and duplicate that tab per deal.2. Rename each duplicate tab with the opportunity name or deal ID.3. Store all quotes in a shared Drive folder with clear naming rules so sales, finance, and success can find them (Drive sharing help: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/7166529).**1.4 Manual personalization for each client**1. Add a short value summary at the top of the quote – not just features, but outcomes (e.g., “Reduce reporting time by 60%”).2. Customize the pricing table to include only relevant modules and remove noisy add‑ons.3. Insert basic deal terms (contract length, payment terms, renewal logic) into a Terms section at the bottom.4. Export a PDF directly from Sheets (File → Download → PDF) and email it to the prospect.**Pros of manual methods**- Full control over every quote.- No new tools to buy or learn.**Cons**- Time‑consuming and error‑prone.- Inconsistent formatting and discounts between reps.- Hard to report on quotes across the team.### 2. No‑code automation around your Google Sheets quoteOnce the spreadsheet is stable, you can wrap some lightweight automation around it without writing code.**2.1 Use Google Sheets as a database for quote line items**1. Create a separate tab called Catalog with all your products, SKUs, tiers, and standard pricing.2. Use `VLOOKUP` or `XLOOKUP` to pull pricing into the quote tab when a rep selects a SKU. - See Google’s function docs: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/3093480.3. This reduces manual typing and keeps pricing consistent when finance updates the catalog.**2.2 Auto‑populate customer data from a form**1. Build a simple Google Form with fields like Company Name, Contact Email, User Count, and Plan Interest. - Help: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6281888.2. Link the form responses to your quote spreadsheet so each submission lands on a Responses tab.3. Use `INDEX`/`MATCH` or a simple `VLOOKUP` to pull the latest response from the form into your quote template tab.4. Now an SDR can fill a quick form during a call, and the quote skeleton is ready in Sheets.**2.3 Connect Sheets to email for semi‑automatic sending**1. Use Google Apps Script or a mail‑merge add‑on to send quote emails directly from Sheets. - Intro to Apps Script: https://developers.google.com/apps-script/guides/sheets.2. Set up a “Send Quote” column with a checkbox.3. When the box is checked, your script can: - Generate a PDF export of that tab. - Attach it to a templated email. - Send it via Gmail to the customer.4. This cuts out the export‑save‑attach dance reps do dozens of times a week.**2.4 Basic workflow automation with third‑party tools**1. Connect your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.) to Google Sheets using a no‑code integration platform.2. Trigger: Deal reaches a certain stage (e.g., Proposal).3. Action: Create a new row in a “Quote Requests” tab with key deal data.4. A simple Apps Script watches that tab and duplicates your master quote template, fills in the basics, and updates a status column.**Pros of no‑code methods**- Big time savings with fairly simple setup.- Still understandable for ops teams; logic lives in Sheets and simple scripts.**Cons**- Still fragile if you change tab names or columns.- Logic is scattered across formulas, scripts, and tools; harder to audit.### 3. Scaling quotes with an AI agent (Simular) on topWhen quoting starts to feel like factory work – dozens or hundreds per week – it’s time to let an AI computer agent actually use the computer for you.With Simular Pro, you can spin up an agent that behaves like a junior sales ops teammate living inside your Mac. It can open your browser, log into the CRM, navigate to Google Sheets, duplicate templates, and even email the final PDF. Here are a few concrete patterns.**3.1 Agent‑driven quote creation from CRM deals****Workflow:**1. A webhook from your CRM fires when a deal hits “Quote Requested”.2. Simular receives that webhook and launches a quote‑creation run.3. The agent opens the CRM in the browser, reads opportunity details, and copies relevant usage, seats, and region.4. It then opens your Google Sheets quote template, duplicates the master tab, and renames it with the deal name.5. Using your pricing rules (stored in a Catalog tab), it fills quantities, tiers, and discounts.6. Finally, it exports the tab to PDF and drafts an email in your email client for the AE to review and send.**Pros**- End‑to‑end automation across desktop, browser, and cloud without new APIs.- Every action is visible and editable in Simular’s transparent execution trace.**Cons**- Requires initial setup and testing of the workflow.- Needs a Mac (for Simular Pro) online for execution.**3.2 Agent as a quote QA and compliance reviewer****Workflow:**1. Reps continue to build quotes in Sheets, manually or with light automation.2. Before sending, they tag the quote status as “Review”.3. Simular scans the shared Drive folder, opens any sheet with that status, and checks: - Discount limits per role. - Required legal clauses for certain regions. - Contract length aligned with internal rules.4. If something is off, the agent comments directly in cells or pings the owner via email or chat.**Pros**- Protects margin and compliance without slowing reps.- Uses the same screen actions a human would, so no need for brittle custom validators.**Cons**- Still needs clear business rules encoded in the sheet or in the agent’s instructions.**3.3 Continuous quote reporting and pipeline insights****Workflow:**1. Simular periodically opens Google Sheets and your CRM.2. It reconciles created quotes with deal stages, updating status columns, ARR totals, and win/loss notes.3. It then builds a summary sheet or slide deck for leadership – entirely by clicking, typing, and dragging like an analyst would.This is where Simular’s production‑grade reliability matters: the same workflow that works on one quote can be run thousands of times, step‑by‑step, without becoming a maintenance nightmare.By starting with a structured Google Sheets template, layering on no‑code automation, and finally delegating the browser and desktop work to an AI agent, you turn quoting from a distraction into a quiet machine that runs in the background while your team focuses on strategy and closing.