Negotiation and counteroffers
The client proposes, accepts only part, or rejects from the same link. You reply with a new version without changing the link.
What it is
In Cord, negotiation happens on the document, not in an email thread. While the quote is Sent or Viewed, the client has four ways to respond: write a message, send a counteroffer, approve only some lines, or reject with a reason. Your answer is another version of the same quote, which arrives at the same link.
Requirements
- Status: Sent or Viewed. An approved, rejected, or expired quote no longer accepts counteroffers or a signature.
- Portal option: counteroffers and messages require Comments and counteroffers to be on in Settings › Brand appearance › Client portal. Partial approval and rejection are always available.
- Permission: Quotes to reply to messages and to Modify and resend; Approvals to Mark approved or Mark rejected.
- Plan: all.
Counteroffer
- In the link’s CONVERSATION section, the client enters an amount in the proposal field (in the quote’s currency) and, optionally, a message.
- They click Counteroffer.
- The proposal appears in the conversation with a distinct style, showing the proposed amount followed by the message.
A counteroffer doesn’t change the quote’s status or amounts: it’s a message with an amount. To accept it, adjust the prices and resend (see below). If you don’t accept it, reply in the conversation.
Partial approval
Before signing, the client can uncheck the lines they don’t want with Include this line in your approval. The link shows how many lines they’ll approve and the new total, calculated with the same engine Cord uses when saving.
When a partial approval is signed:
- The quote moves to Approved with the total recalculated from the included lines only: subtotal, per-line taxes, and withholding.
- The other lines are marked Not included on the link and on the detail, which shows “Partial approval — the client only signed the included lines”.
- The activity logs who signed, how many lines they approved out of the total, and the approved amount against the original.
- If you asked for a deposit, it’s calculated on the approved total.
- The invoice includes only the approved lines.
At least one line must stay included: with every line unchecked, the approve button is disabled.
Rejection with a reason
- From review, the client clicks Reject.
- They write a Reason (optional — helps the seller improve).
- They click Confirm rejection.
The quote moves to Rejected. The activity logs the client’s reason (or that they rejected it from the link without a reason), and the client sees “We notified [your business]”. A rejection can’t be undone: to propose again, duplicate the quote.
How you reply: Modify and resend
While the quote is Sent, Viewed, or Expired, the detail shows Modify and resend (V2); the number is the version you’re about to create.
- Click Modify and resend (V2). The quote editor opens as New version of COT-0149, with the current lines and the Version 2 tag in the summary.
- Change products, quantities, prices, each line’s tax, or Prices include VAT. The client, currency, and terms can’t be changed here: “A new version changes lines and prices. Client, currency and terms stay as they were sent.”
- Click Send new version (or ⌘ Enter). If your organization uses internal approvals, the version is checked against the caps before it goes out.
When you resend, Cord:
- saves the new version and adds it to the detail’s Version history, with its date and total;
- keeps the same link;
- emails the client again if they have an email on file;
- moves the quote back to Sent and restarts its validity from today;
- emits the quote-modified event with the previous total, so your automations can tell an unchanged resend from one with a discount.
Every new version restarts the validity from the day you send it, with the same length the quote was sent with (if it was 30 days, it expires in 30 days). That’s how an Expired quote comes back: it returns to Sent with a new date. For a different length, client, currency, or terms, use Duplicate quote.
If you change the proposal while the client reads it
The link is connected in real time. If the client has it open when you resend:
- Changed lines update without reloading, with a highlight and the previous amount for a few seconds (“was …”).
- The proposal was updated appears with the See changes button.
- The approve button is locked until the client clicks See changes, which takes them to the lines.
On top of that, every signature carries the document revision the client had on screen. If it doesn’t match the current one, Cord rejects the signature, takes the client back to review with the notice on, and never saves an approval on a version that no longer exists.
Cord detects changes through the document revision, which advances with any write to the quote (lines, charges, messages, and events). That’s why the notice can also appear after someone writes in the conversation. Clicking See changes is enough to approve again.
What Cord notifies you about and what it doesn’t
| Client action | Changes the status | Email, Slack, or Teams alert | Webhook and workflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Message in the conversation | No | No | Yes: “A message is posted on a quote” |
| Comment on a line | No | No | Yes: “A message is posted on a quote” |
| Counteroffer | No | No | Yes: “A message is posted on a quote”, flagged as a counteroffer |
| Full or partial approval | Yes, to Approved | Yes: Quote approved (by email, on by default) | Yes: “A quote is approved” |
| Rejection | Yes, to Rejected | Yes: Quote rejected (by email, on by default) | Yes: “A quote is rejected” |
Messages and counteroffers do appear in the bell on the top bar, which lists the most recent activity. To get an alert outside Cord, create a workflow with the A message is posted on a quote trigger, for example to notify your Slack channel. Email, Slack, and Teams alerts are configured in Notifications.
Mark approved and Mark rejected from the app change the status and fire the webhook, but don’t trigger the Notifications alerts, which are for the client’s decisions.
Limits by plan
Negotiation is on every plan. On Pro or higher, the quote detail receives the client’s messages live; on Free and Starter, reload the detail to see them.
Common problems
The client doesn’t see the counteroffer field. Comments and counteroffers is off, or the quote is no longer Sent or Viewed.
Cord rejects the counteroffer. The quote was already approved, rejected, or expired.
The client can’t approve after I resent. They need to click See changes first; if the button is still disabled, check that at least one line is included.
I don’t see Modify and resend. The quote is a draft (use Continue editing), it’s already approved or paid, or your role doesn’t have the Quotes permission.