How long does AI quoting software take to set up?
Less than the fear suggests, if the software sits in front of your ERP instead of replacing it. Quoting.ai Supply setup is two steps: connect the inbox that already receives your RFQs (Gmail, Outlook, or WhatsApp) and upload your inventory file. Then you book a kickoff call, included, where a human gets your desk live and sets the rollout mode. It is not zero-touch, on purpose. ERP write-back runs on a separate track: live today for DDI Inform and Spruce, in development for Epicor, NetSuite, and SAP. On other systems you start in ERP-light mode and add write-back when your ERP is supported.
What are the two setup steps?
Step one is connecting the inbox where RFQs already land: Gmail, Outlook, or WhatsApp. Nothing changes about how your customers send requests. If requests currently scatter across salespeople's personal inboxes and phones, this is the natural moment to stand up a catch-all address like quotes@yourco.com, so every RFQ enters one auditable queue.
Step two is uploading your inventory. The item file, descriptions, SKUs, units of measure, is what every request gets matched against, so matching starts from your own data, not a generic catalog. There is no data migration and nothing to rip out: your ERP stays the system of record.
That is the whole self-serve portion. What follows is a kickoff call, and it is there on purpose.
Why is there a kickoff call if setup is two steps?
Because no one should hand a quoting desk to software on faith. On the call, a human from Quoting.ai gets your desk live: confirms the inbox and item file are flowing, walks through your first drafted quotes, and sets the rollout mode. Every desk starts in Assist, where the AI drafts and your people approve every line before anything leaves.
The call is included, not a paid implementation package. Estimators we work with have tried tools that made them slower, so trust here is earned in one direction: the Human Edit Rate is measured from the first quote, and you move to Guarded or Autopilot only when your own numbers say the drafts deserve it.
What does ERP integration add, and when is ERP-light the honest start?
Write-back turns an approved quote into a real quote or order inside your ERP, no retyping, and pulls customer price levels straight from the system of record. It is live today for DDI Inform and Spruce. Epicor, NetSuite, and SAP are in development, and custom systems are handled on request.
ERP integration runs on its own track, separate from the two-step start, because it touches your ERP and the person who administers it. If your system is not supported yet, the honest start is ERP-light mode: quote from your uploaded item file and the price levels you provide, and export clean documents your team sends or enters. You keep the intake, matching, and approval gains now, and add write-back when your ERP goes live.
Will setup disrupt the quoting desk?
No part of the current workflow gets torn out. Customers keep sending RFQs to the same addresses, the ERP stays the system of record, and in Assist mode a human approves every quote before it goes anywhere. The desk quotes straight through setup.
The real schedule risk is the status quo. Distributors we talk to describe one inside salesperson doing about 100 quotes a day and working three hours past close. Waiting for a quiet week to start is how that stays the schedule.
Related questions
Is setup fully self-serve?
No, and that is deliberate. The two steps are self-serve; going live includes a kickoff call with a human at no extra cost. A desk that quotes all day deserves a person on the line, not a tooltip tour.
Do we need IT to get started?
Not for the two steps. Connecting an inbox and uploading an inventory export are things an ops lead can do without a project plan. ERP write-back is the part that involves whoever administers your ERP, and it is scoped with you on its own track.
Can we start quoting before the ERP integration is ready?
Yes. ERP-light mode quotes from your uploaded item file and the price levels you provide, and exports clean documents for your team. Write-back is live for DDI Inform and Spruce today, with Epicor, NetSuite, and SAP in development.
See it on your own work
Distributors: two steps and a kickoff call. Estimators: upload a plan on a live trade. Either way, the product proves it or it does not.