Poly9 AI · Free tool

Quote cycle time calculator

A custom-product quote that takes two hours today, at twenty quotes a week, is 173 hours a month before anyone counts the second person. Enter your own numbers and see what comes back when a configured, priced quote takes minutes. The arithmetic is on the page.

Quote cycle time is the minutes between a buyer’s question ("walnut, 84 inches, fifty pieces, how much") and the number in their inbox. Multiply it by the quotes you send and the people who touch each one. This calculator turns your six numbers into hours a month and shows the formula, so you can check it and share it.

Your numbers

Drag a slider or type in the box. Arrow keys nudge a slider by one step.

All people combined. Count the quotes that go out, not the ones asked for.
Sales rep, estimator, owner. The average per quote.
min
From the buyer’s question to the number in their inbox: lookup, the Excel rebuild, approvals, waiting.
min
Our working assumption is 4 minutes for a quote produced from loaded rules: ask, check the lines, send. Change it if your scenario differs.
USD
Salary, benefits and overhead per hour, for the people involved. Used only for the money line.
%
Your quote-to-order rate. Shown for context only; the tool does not promise a higher one.

The arithmetic: hours saved a month = quotes a month (weekly count × 4.33) × minutes saved per quote × people involved ÷ 60. Money = hours × your hourly cost. The target can never exceed today’s minutes, so the result is never negative. Illustrative, not a guarantee.

Hours back every week
77
335 hours a month, across 2 people

87 quotes a month at 120 minutes with 2 people is 346 hours of quoting. At 4 minutes per configured, priced quote, 335 hours come back each month.

$13ka month at $40/hour
$161ka year
116 minsaved per quote
22orders a month at 25% close, today

Read it honestly: the money line uses your own hourly cost; what you do with the hours is yours to decide. The 4-minute target assumes the quote comes from loaded rules. Lines without a rule show price on request and take longer. The close rate is context only.

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Show the summary as text

Why the cycle is slow today

Every custom quote is a small project. The buyer asks for walnut instead of oak, a king instead of a queen, COM grade 3 instead of the house fabric. Someone looks up the rule, rebuilds the spreadsheet, checks with production and emails back.

Then the buyer changes one line and the cycle starts again. By the time the number lands, the buyer has three other quotes in the inbox.

Poly9 AI answers the question, configures the product from your catalog, renders it, prices it from your approved rules and sends the quote. A missing rule returns price on request, never an estimate. The buyer changes a line in the same chat.

What changes and what does not

Minutes per quote: hours to minutes

When the rules are loaded, a quote is ask, check the lines, send. Four minutes is our working assumption, not a customer metric, and the slider lets you set your own. Lines without a rule show price on request and you fill them in.

Close rate: not changed by the tool

The calculator shows your close rate for context only. A faster quote reaches the buyer while they still remember asking; whether that wins more orders depends on your product and your market.

Prices: certified or price on request

Every price Poly9 shows comes from a rule you loaded: a markup, a linear-foot formula, a grade matrix, a cost recipe. No rule, no number. The quote line says price on request.

Typical setup: start with the highest-volume products and the most common option matrices (finishes, sizes, COM grades). Early quotes carry more price-on-request lines; as rules land, fewer do.

Questions about the calculator

Are the results a promise of savings?
No. The tool multiplies your own inputs and shows the formula. Real results depend on how complete your rules are, how many quotes carry price-on-request lines, and what your team does with the hours. Treat it as a way to size the problem, not as a forecast.
Which input matters most?
Minutes per quote today. The further your baseline sits from a four-minute quote, the larger the hours line. If your quotes already take under ten minutes, the case shifts from time to consistency: every rep sending the same certified number, and buyers configuring without waiting.
How does price on request affect the speed?
A quote with a price-on-request line still goes out at once, configured and rendered, with every known price on it. You fill in the missing line by hand, so that quote takes longer than the target. As you load more rules, fewer lines wait for you.
Can an exporter use this before a fair?
Yes. Enter the quotes you expect during the fair week instead of a normal week. Fair weeks carry more requests and tighter deadlines, so the hours line is larger. The same collection link that carries the digital booth carries the quote requests.
Does it work the same for cabinetry, textiles and furniture?
Yes. The mechanism is the same in every industry: answer, configure from rules, price, send. Industries differ in rule complexity and in how often price on request appears, which shows up in the minutes-per-quote number you enter, not in the formula.
Can I keep the result?
Yes. Copy the summary from the result panel and paste it into an email or a planning note. It carries your inputs, the hours line, the money line and the formula, so anyone reading it can check the arithmetic without opening the page.

See the four minutes with your catalog.

Add your products, write the first rule, send a certified quote from the chat. 250 sales actions free for 30 days, no card, and the account stays yours.

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