Why dealers quote in Excel in the first place
Spreadsheets are flexible, everyone has one, and a good one built by someone who knows the products is genuinely useful. For a small dealer selling one brand with a short options list, it may be all you need. There is no shame in it.
The trouble starts when the business grows around it: more brands, more salespeople, euro price lists, used stock, deposits and customers who expect a professional document and an easy way to say yes.
Where spreadsheet quoting costs you
The costs are real but quiet, which is why they last so long.
- Stale prices. Copies of the price list live on laptops and in inboxes. Someone quotes from last year's.
- Broken maths. One overwritten formula and VAT, freight or the discount is wrong on every quote built from that copy.
- Visible cost. If the sheet works out the price, the sheet usually contains the cost, and the sales team can see it.
- No guardrails. Nothing stops a discount below your floor; you find out at month end.
- Retyping. The price is worked out in Excel, then typed into Word, then into an email. Each step is a chance to get it wrong.
- No pipeline. Sent quotes live in sent items. Nobody knows what is out or what needs chasing.
- No signal, no sheet. On a farm or site with no data, the shared drive isn't there.
DigDealer vs Excel, line by line
Price list: in Excel, a copy per person. In DigDealer, one catalogue everyone shares, updated once.
Options: in Excel, the salesperson has to know what fits. In DigDealer, only options that fit the model are offered.
Cost and margin: in Excel, often visible to everyone. In DigDealer, hidden from sales, with minimum markups and approvals.
Euro lists: in Excel, a conversion per quote. In DigDealer, converted at your rate with landed costs.
The document: in Excel, a Word template retyped. In DigDealer, a branded PDF generated from the quote.
Saying yes: in Excel, print, sign, scan. In DigDealer, accept and sign online or in person.
Follow-up: in Excel, memory. In DigDealer, a pipeline with reminders.
When to keep the spreadsheet
If you sell one brand, have one salesperson, rarely discount and send a handful of quotes a month, a well-kept spreadsheet may be enough. DigDealer earns its keep when there are several people quoting, several brands or currencies, real money in discount decisions or quotes being built away from the office.
Moving off the spreadsheet
You don't rebuild anything yourself. Send us your price lists, option sheets and a recent quote; we build the catalogue and pricing rules, you check them, and one or two salespeople start using it. Your spreadsheet often turns out to be the best specification we get, so the work that went into it isn't wasted. The checklist of what a machinery quotation should include is a useful place to start either way.
What replaces the spreadsheet
- Machine configuratorBuild a quote from your own catalogue. Options, attachments and prices that actually fit the machine.
- Margin and discount controlMinimum markups, discount ceilings and approvals that reach the manager's phone in seconds.
- Branded quotation PDFsProfessional, branded machinery quotations with lead times, trade-ins and deposits, emailed in one step.
- Quote pipeline and customersEvery quote, customer and deposit in one place, with reminders so follow-ups don't slip.
Who makes the switch
DigDealer vs Excel quotes: common questions
Can we import our existing spreadsheet?
Yes. Your price lists and spreadsheets are the starting point for the catalogue DigDealer's team builds during onboarding.
Can we still export to Excel?
Yes. Owners can export customers, quotes and quote lines to CSV, which opens in Excel.
Is DigDealer worth it for a small dealer?
It depends on how many people quote, how many brands you sell and how much discounting matters. One extra deal kept at the right margin usually covers it, but a single-brand, single-salesperson dealer may be fine with a spreadsheet.
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