The first step is to specify the following preferences for accepting quotes (also known as “pending orders”) within the orders section under preferences:
The “singular and plural label” fields control how pending orders are displayed to your customers. (For example: “Quote” or “Quotes”).
Assuming you do not wish to collect payment for these pending orders, you may leave the “placement rank” field blank. If you do wish to collect payment information for pending orders, specify the minimum customer rank that can place pending orders by checking a checkbox on the final invoice screen during checkout.
If you would like to allow your customers to edit their existing pending orders, check “Allow Edit”.
If you would like to allow your customers to convert their pending orders into active orders, check “Allow Activate”.
If a pending order cannot be activated (for any reason, including Product Status, Inventory, expired or declined credit card, etc.), the system will retry activation at the appropriate “Retry Interval” specified. (For example: 3 days). If the problem continues, the “Maximum Retries” field controls how many times the activation continues to be retried before the pending order if automatically cancelled.
If the credit card associated with the pending order is expired or declined for any reason, the “Allow Saved Credit Cards” option allows a customer’s saved credit cards to be utilized, which can minimize the chances of unsuccessful activation due to a credit card issue.
The final step is to create a Custom Payment Method called “Request for Quote” within Settings/Billing Options. Be sure to specify the minimum customer type rank (Customers/Types) required to place pending orders and check the “Pending Orders Only” checkbox. You may disregard this step if you are collecting payment for pending orders.
Now your customers can place pending orders in your online store.
TIP: If you do not want old pending orders to accumulate in your order list, you may consider specifying an “Auto Cancel Interval” (within Orders/Preferences) which controls the amount of time in which a pending order is automatically cancelled.