Generating a quote is very similar to putting an order into the admin panel. The only difference being a quote generates a link that is sent to the customer, simplifying the process for the customer and keeps them wanting to come back.
1) Log into your admin panel. From here, browse to Orders > Quotes and click the New Button.
2) From here you can attach an affiliate/adcode to the quote (Which is optional) but an important step is attaching a customer. You can do a search for the customer name and assign the customer to the quote.
3) After the customer is attached, scroll down to the Items field. Here you can do a search through the store for the item you want to give a customer a quote on, and then add the item to the order.
4) So far, easy as pi! Now save the quote in the top right. After saving, choose More Actions > Generate Quote Link:
5) After you generate the quote, the link will drop down from the top part of the page.
6) Simply copy this link, and get it to the customer. If you have a customer account attached to the quote, they'll automatically receive the link from the email template attached to quotes whenever you generate the link.
Whenever the customer clicks the link, it brings them to the one page checkout with the items already added. From here they simply pay for the order as if it was a normal checkout process. If the customer chooses to pay, an order is generated in the Order > Orders panel just like any other order.
Check out these other articles on Quotes:
How To Convert A Quote To An Order