Preview and sending
Review the link exactly as your client will see it and deliver it on the channel where you already talk.
What it is
Sending a quote activates its public link: a page with your brand where the client reviews, comments, signs, and pays. It isn’t an attached PDF; it’s the same document your team keeps seeing in Cord, and any new version arrives at the same link.
Requirements
- Permission: Quotes.
- Plan: all. Free has a cap of 5 sends per month.
- Client email: optional. Without an email, the quote is still marked as sent and you share the link.
- Online payment: optional. For the client to pay from the link you need an active payment rail (see Payment methods).
The “Review and send” summary
On the right of the editor (at the end, on a phone) the summary tells you how much it is and what comes next:
- Document tag: Draft or, on a new version, Version N.
- Save status: on a draft that’s already saved, “Saving…” and then “Saved at …” (see “Autosave and local copy” below).
- Count: lines and units, for example “3 lines · 46 units”.
- Subtotal, Discount given (if you lowered prices), one row per tax rate, and withholding if your catalog has any.
- The Prices include VAT switch (with your country’s tax name).
- Total, and below it the terms on one line, for example “Net 30 · valid for 30 days”.
- The main button (Create and send, Save and send, or Send new version), Save draft or Save changes, and Preview.
Review before sending
Preview in the editor
Click Preview in the summary. What your client will see opens: a sheet with your logo (or your initial), your business name and tax ID, the document type and its number (or “Draft”), the date, the client and their email, the validity, the item table with the list price struck through where there’s a discount, subtotal, taxes, withholding, the total with its currency, and your note.
It’s an approximate view and saves nothing: “Approximate view. The final PDF uses your template, branding and tax details.”
Preview of the link
To see the real link exactly as your client will open it:
- Save the draft, open it from Quotes and, in the actions panel, click Preview.
- The link opens in a new tab with the notice “Preview — this is what your client sees. Your visit is not counted as a view.” While you’re signed in to the organization that owns the quote, your visit doesn’t mark it as Viewed or trigger notifications.
- Check the total, the lines, the struck-through prices where you negotiated, the payment plan if you asked for a deposit, and the notes. What the client sees is explained in What your client sees.
Send the quote
There are three paths and all three do the same thing: they change the status to Sent, activate the link and, if the client has an email, send them an email with the link and log the email in the activity.
| From | Button |
|---|---|
| The editor of a new quote | Create and send (sending creates V1 and the public link) |
| The editor of a draft | Save and send |
| The detail of a draft | Send to client |
Before sending, the editor checks that there’s a client (“Choose a client to be able to send.”) and that every line has a description, a quantity greater than zero, and a price; if something is missing, it takes you to the line marked in red.
You can also drag the card from Draft to Sent on the board (see Home and views); it performs exactly the same send.
Internal approval. If your organization uses internal approvals and the quote exceeds your caps on Create and send or Save and send, it stays a draft Pending approval until a manager approves it. The editor tells you: “Approval requested for COT-0149. Waiting for an approver’s sign-off.”
Autosave and local copy
- A draft that’s already saved saves itself a few seconds after your last change, as long as all its lines are complete. The summary shows “Saving…” and “Saved at …”; if it fails, it says “Not saved: check your connection.”
- A new quote isn’t created on its own, because every quote counts against your plan’s limit. While you build it, your browser keeps a local copy of the client, terms, lines, and note. If you close the tab without saving, the next time you open New quote Cord asks “You have unsaved changes from last time” and lets you Restore or Discard. The copy lives only in that browser and expires after 7 days.
- Leaving with unsaved changes makes the browser ask for confirmation before closing the page.
Keyboard shortcuts
On desktop:
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘ Enter (Ctrl Enter on Windows) | The main action: create and send, save and send, or send the version. |
| ⌘ S (Ctrl S) | Saves the draft. Not available on a new version. |
| / | Jumps to the catalog search when you’re not typing in a field. ⌘ K still opens the app’s general search. |
| Alt + Up / Down arrow | Moves the line you’re on. |
On a phone
The editor stacks into one column: AI, client, lines, terms, note, and the summary at the end. A bar pinned to the bottom shows the Total and the main button; it steps aside once the summary is in view. On a phone there are no keyboard shortcuts and no dragging to reorder lines.
New version
From the detail of a Sent, Viewed, or Expired quote, Modify and resend (with
the next version number, for example “Modify and resend (V2)”) opens the same editor in
new-version mode (the old /app/cotizaciones/[id]/editar route only redirects there).
A new version changes lines and prices; the client, currency, and terms stay as they
were sent, and the AI block doesn’t appear. When you send it, the validity restarts
from that day with the same length the quote was sent with (if it was 30 days, it
expires in 30 days), so an Expired quote goes back to Sent with a new date. The summary is tagged Version N and the
main button is Send new version: your client sees the new version at the same link
and the previous one stays in the history.
Share the link
Once sent, the detail’s actions panel gives you more ways to deliver it:
- Copy link: to paste it into your email, Slack, or the chat where you talk with your client.
- WhatsApp: opens WhatsApp with a ready message: “Hi! Here’s your quote COT-0149 for … You can review and approve it here:” followed by the link. If you have templates in Settings › Templates, you choose which one to send first.
- PDF: opens the printable version to download or print it.
- Open link: opens the public view to review it.
The link doesn’t change when you create a new version with Modify and resend: the client keeps using the same one.
Paying from the link
Once the client approves, the quote becomes a payment point, as long as your account has an active online rail:
- Credit or debit card with Cord Payments, inside the same link.
SPEI transfer (Mexico, MXN only): Cord generates a dedicated CLABE for that charge and marks the quote as paid when the deposit arrives. In other currencies, SPEI isn’t offered.- Bank transfer with a reference (Spain, Germany, and France in EUR; United Kingdom in GBP; United States in USD), if the document has a linked client: your client transfers to an account of their own with that charge’s reference and Cord reconciles it on its own. It’s a new feature: see Bank transfer with a reference.
Mercado Pago in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, if you connected your account. Where you also have Cord Payments, Cord Payments is the primary rail.
If you enabled bank transfer details, the link also shows them with the note “After transferring, send your receipt to the seller to confirm payment.” You record that payment yourself with Record payment.
Money straight to your account. Card and transfer funds go to your connected account, not to a Cord account. Today Cord charges a platform fee only on MXN charges; in other currencies it charges no fee of its own (see Fees and advantages).
Behavior and edge cases
- No client email: the quote moves to Sent and no email goes out. Share the link.
- Resending doesn’t use sends. Modify and resend creates a new version and sends the email again, but doesn’t count against Free’s monthly cap.
- The email carries your brand. From Starter you can customize the sender, reply-to address, introduction, and signature in Settings › Notifications › Email.
- A test quote is marked on the link with the ribbon “Test quote — no commercial or fiscal validity”.
Limits by plan
| Free | Starter | Pro | Scale | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sends per month | 5 | No cap | No cap | No cap | No cap |
| Custom email | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
When you hit Free’s cap, Send to client tells you that you reached your plan’s monthly limit and suggests upgrading.
Common problems
The client didn’t get the email. Check that their profile has an email and look for the email entry in the activity. If it isn’t there, share the link manually.
I don’t see the pay button on the link. Payment shows after approval and only if you have an active rail. With a credit term (Net 7 to Net 90) it’s enabled on the due date (see Credit terms and Advanced options).
My new quote didn’t save itself. Autosave is for drafts that already exist. Click Save draft (or ⌘ S) the first time; until then, the local copy lets you restore it in that browser.
The summary says “Not saved: check your connection.” Autosave didn’t reach the server. Check your network and click Save changes.
My own visit marked the quote as viewed. It shouldn’t: open the link while signed in to the same organization. From another browser without a session, Cord can’t tell you apart from the client.