Costing & FinanceFree worksheetPDF, Excel, Word exportJob Shop Machining

Quote Win Rate and Margin Log Worksheet

Most shops know roughly how many quotes they send but not how many they win, or at what margin. A quote log answers the question that drives pricing policy: if you win everything you quote, you are too cheap; if you win almost nothing, you may be out of the market or quoting the wrong work. This worksheet keeps the log and does the arithmetic.

Download:

Quoted margin	Won value	Won cost
27.7%	$18,400	$13,300
23.2%	$0	$0
19.5%	$31,800	$25,600
30.5%	$0	$0
24.8%	$14,900	$11,200
15.3%	$0	$0

Total quoted

$138,150

Quotes won

Total won value

$65,100

Total estimated cost

$107,800

Total won cost

$50,100

Win rate by count

50%

Win rate by dollars

47.1%

Average margin on all quotes (weighted)

22%

Margin on won work (weighted)

23%

Won margin minus quoted margin

1.0726

Enter only decided quotes in the won column, or the win rate will be understated by pending work. A positive margin gap means you tend to win the higher-margin quotes; a negative gap means you win mostly on price and lose the better-priced work. Review by customer and by process monthly. Dates and customer names are sample data; replace them.

Quote analytics from your ERP

Optional: we can show how to report win rate, margin and loss reasons directly from your ERP quote data.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use it

Add one row per quote with customer, date, process, quoted value and your estimated cost. When the customer decides, enter 1 for won and 0 for lost or expired. The worksheet computes quoted margin per row, the win rate by count and by dollars, and the weighted margin on all quotes versus the margin on the work you actually won. Export to Excel to filter by customer, estimator or month.

Count rate versus dollar rate

Win rate by count treats a 2,000 dollar order and a 200,000 dollar order equally. Win rate by dollars weights by value, so a handful of big losses shows up immediately. If your count rate is healthy but your dollar rate is poor, you are winning small jobs and losing large ones, which usually points to pricing, capacity or capability limits on bigger orders. The reverse pattern suggests the small-quote volume is eating estimator time with little return.

Using the margin gap

Compare the weighted margin on all quotes with the margin on won quotes. If you win at lower margin than you quote, price is deciding outcomes and discounts are creeping in. If won margin is higher, you are being selective or the high-margin work is sticky repeat business. A target many shops use is a stable gap close to zero with a win rate that matches capacity; the right numbers depend on your mix and backlog.

Common mistakes

Counting pending quotes as losses drags the win rate down for months. Logging estimated cost after the quote is sent invites hindsight edits. Ignoring no-bid requests hides how much demand you decline. Track the reason for each loss in your CRM or ERP quote notes: price, lead time, capability or customer went away. A rate without reasons tells you the score but not how to improve it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good quote win rate for a job shop?

It varies widely with market, customer mix and how selectively you quote. Many shops see rates between 20 and 40 percent of quotes. Judge it against your capacity and margin: a rate that fills the schedule at healthy margin is good, regardless of the headline number.

Should lost quotes be included in margin analysis?

Yes, for the comparison of quoted versus won margin. Lost quotes show where you price relative to the market. The weighted margin on all quotes is your intended pricing posture; the margin on won work is the outcome after customers push back.

How do I handle quotes that expire without an answer?

Mark them as lost or expired with a 0 once the validity period passes, and note the reason as no response. Leaving them open inflates your pending pipeline and distorts both hit rates and forecasts.

Why track estimated cost on the quote log?

Because margin is the point. Recording the estimated cost at quote time lets you later compare it with actual job cost, which feeds back into better estimating and shows which processes or customers are consistently under-quoted.

If your quotes live in an ERP or estimating tool, Netray can pull them into this view automatically and highlight loss reasons by customer and process.

Talk to an Expert Explore More Free Tools