Managing rejected quotes: should you archive them and how?
Introduction
You send quotes regularly. Some turn into invoices, others remain unanswered or are explicitly rejected. The temptation is strong to forget them and move on. Yet, a rejected quote contains valuable information for your commercial activity.
Archiving rejected quotes is not just an administrative obligation. It is a management tool that helps you understand why certain offers do not succeed, identify the right moments to follow up with a prospect and build a realistic sales pipeline. A client who refuses today may accept in six months if their needs or situation evolve.
In Switzerland, the retention of commercial documents follows precise rules. Quotes, even rejected ones, are part of your commercial history and must be archived correctly. But beyond legal compliance, the intelligent exploitation of these rejections allows you to refine your commercial approach, adjust your pricing and better target your efforts.
This article explains why and how to effectively archive your rejected quotes, what information to retain and how to transform them into future opportunities.
📌 Summary (TL;DR)
Archiving rejected quotes meets a legal obligation of 10 years' retention in Switzerland, but mainly serves to analyse your commercial failures and identify follow-up opportunities. A structured digital filing system allows you to quickly find information, understand reasons for rejection and follow up at the right time.
Integrate these quotes into your daily workflow to build a realistic sales pipeline and continuously improve your commercial approach.
📚 Table of contents
Why archive rejected quotes?
A rejected quote is not a closed matter. It contains valuable information about your prospects, their needs and your commercial positioning.
Archiving quotes allows you to maintain complete traceability of your commercial efforts. You thus keep a detailed history of each client interaction, useful for understanding the evolution of your commercial relationships.
These documents also reveal the reasons for your commercial failures: unsuitable pricing, excessive delays, poorly targeted offer. This analysis helps you adjust your strategy and improve your future quotes.
Finally, a prospect who refuses today may return tomorrow. Keeping their complete client history facilitates a relevant follow-up at the right time.
Legal obligations in Switzerland
In Switzerland, no legal obligation requires the retention of rejected quotes. The Swiss Code of Obligations only requires keeping accounting documents and invoices for 10 years.
A quote remains a commercial offer without accounting value as long as it is not accepted. Once rejected, it never becomes an invoice and does not enter your accounts.
However, experts recommend keeping rejected quotes for at least 3 years. This period covers usual limitation periods and allows for effective commercial follow-up.
Keep them therefore as good commercial practice, not by legal obligation. This distinction is important for prioritising your archiving efforts.
How to organise the archiving of rejected quotes
An effective quote archiving system rests on three pillars: simplicity, consistency and accessibility. Without a clear method, your rejected quotes get lost in your files.
Start by defining a standard process that you will apply systematically. Each rejected quote must follow the same path, from rejection to final archiving.
The objective is twofold: quickly find an old quote if necessary, and exploit this data to improve your commercial performance. A good archiving system serves both administrative management and commercial strategy.
Effective filing system
Filing by client remains the most practical method for SMEs and freelancers. You group all quotes from the same prospect, accepted or rejected, in a single folder.
Add tags or categories to refine your search: reason for rejection (price, deadline, competitor), quote amount, business sector. These metadata facilitate future analysis.
A complementary chronological filing helps identify quiet periods and plan your follow-ups. Always note the rejection date, not just the quote creation date.
Remain consistent in your nomenclature: choose a naming format and apply it everywhere. For example: "2024-03_Quote_ClientName_Rejected".
Digital vs paper archiving
Digital archiving surpasses paper on all fronts for modern businesses. You save space, find your documents in seconds and secure your data with automatic backups.
Paper poses practical problems: lost documents, deterioration over time, tedious searching. For a freelancer or SME, it is wasted time.
A solution like BePaid centralises all your quotes in a single space. You easily mark a quote as rejected, add notes on the reason and find the complete client history with one click.
If you receive paper documents, digitise them immediately. Keep originals only if a handwritten signature has legal value.
Essential information to retain
For each rejected quote, retain at minimum these elements: creation date, rejection date, complete prospect contact details, total amount and offer details.
The reason for rejection is crucial, even if it remains approximate. Note what you know: "price too high", "unsuitable deadline", "chose a competitor", "project postponed". This information guides your future follow-ups.
Also keep the commercial context: how the prospect contacted you, their expressed needs, important exchanges. These details humanise your sales pipeline and personalise your future approaches.
Finally, define a potential follow-up date. Even indicative, it structures your commercial follow-up and prevents opportunities from falling into oblivion.
Commercially exploiting rejected quotes
Your rejected quotes represent an untapped commercial goldmine. These prospects have already shown interest in your services and know your offer.
The acquisition cost of an existing prospect is much lower than that of a new contact. You have already invested time in the relationship, so make it profitable.
The intelligent exploitation of this data transforms your failures into opportunities. Analyse, learn and follow up at the right time to improve your overall conversion rate.
Analysing reasons for rejection
Identify patterns in your rejections. If 70% mention price, your pricing positioning is problematic. If deadlines come up often, rethink your planning.
This analysis also reveals market segments where you are less competitive. Perhaps your quotes for large companies systematically fail, but SMEs accept easily.
Compare your accepted and rejected quotes: what differences do you notice in amounts, proposed services, timing? These insights refine your commercial strategy.
Document your learnings and adjust your next offers. A conversion rate that goes from 20% to 30% radically changes your turnover.
Following up at the right time
Timing makes all the difference. Generally wait 3 to 6 months before following up with a prospect who rejected your quote. This delay allows the situation to evolve without appearing insistent.
Follow up with a legitimate reason: new offer, evolution of your services, pricing changes, quiet period where you have more availability. Avoid meaningless follow-ups.
Personalise your approach by relying on the archived client history. Mention the context of the first contact and show that you have retained their specific needs.
To structure your commercial follow-ups, draw inspiration from the principles explained in our guide on managing reminders.
Building a solid sales pipeline
Your sales pipeline is not limited to active opportunities. Rejected quotes constitute a reservoir of qualified prospects to reactivate.
Segment them according to their potential: hot prospects (project simply postponed), warm (rejection for price but real need) and cold (no immediate need). Prioritise your efforts on high-potential segments.
Integrate these prospects into your marketing campaigns: newsletters, new offers, events. Remain present in their minds without being intrusive.
A well-constructed pipeline includes several sales cycles. Some prospects take 12 or 18 months before converting. Your patience and follow-up make the difference.
Integrating rejected quotes into your daily management
Archiving rejected quotes must not become an administrative chore. Integrate it naturally into your daily commercial routine.
A simple process, applied systematically, is better than a complex system that you will abandon after a few weeks. Aim for simplicity and regularity.
The objective is that each rejected quote is treated in the same way, without mental effort. Automate what can be, standardise the rest.
Simple and effective workflow
Follow this four-step process as soon as a prospect rejects your quote:
- Mark the status: Change the quote from "pending" to "rejected" in your system
- Note the reason: Add a quick note on the reason for rejection if you know it
- Plan the follow-up: Define an indicative follow-up date (generally 3-6 months)
- Archive: The quote automatically joins your archives with all its metadata
BePaid simplifies this workflow with centralised tracking of all your quotes. You quickly visualise rejected quotes, access the complete history of each client and plan your commercial follow-ups. Everything remains accessible in a few clicks, without unnecessary paperwork.
Rejected quotes represent much more than a simple commercial failure. Correctly archived and analysed, they become a valuable source of information for improving your commercial strategy and optimising your sales processes.
In Switzerland, even if no strict legal obligation requires their retention, archiving your rejected quotes for 3 to 5 years remains a recommended practice. This approach protects you in case of dispute, facilitates your commercial follow-up and allows you to identify recurring reasons for rejection to adjust your approach.
The essential lies in implementing a simple and consistent system: chronological or client-based filing, secure digital archiving, and integration into your daily workflow. Regularly analyse trends, follow up at the right time and transform these missed opportunities into future sales.
With BePaid, centralise the management of your quotes and invoices in the same place. Easily track the status of each document, archive automatically and keep a clear overview of your commercial activity.
