Think of it as configuring your standard bid format — set it up once and every proposal you generate will follow the same layout. Users can update these settings on a per-estimate basis.
Administrators and Owners: To update global template settings, navigate to Settings → Estimate Preferences → Proposal Template.
Users: To update template settings for a specific proposal, press the Estimate Proposal Settings button from the Estimate Builder Page.
Project Details
Company Display Name
To easily set your company name and brand logo at the top of the page, press the edit icon near your brand name. This is typically set by an owner or admin in the Settings → Company Details and will carry through to your proposal template preferences.
From there, you can drag and drop a logo file or press the import button to browse your computer for the right file. Input the appropriate company name, press Apply Changes, and you'll have consistent branding on all of your proposals.
Note: Users can change the logo and company name for individual proposals. Each new proposal will default to your global settings.
Details to Include
Choose which project-level details appear at the top of your proposal. Project name and location always show up, but you can also include:
Project owner name and email — useful if the proposal is going to a specific contact
Scope of Work (SOW) statement — pulls in the project description so the GC has context on what the bid covers
Initial submission date and/or last revised date — helpful for tracking bid history and protecting yourself if pricing gets questioned later
Terms Placement
Choose whether your terms and legal language appear before or after the estimate details. Some contractors prefer to lead with terms so they're seen upfront; others put them at the end to keep the pricing front and center.
Note: This option only shows up on individual estimate proposal settings, not the global estimate settings. If the user doesn't make a change, the proposal template will always default to the standard terms.
Line Item Display
Control how much detail shows up for each line item on the proposal. By default, Riffle shows the description and pricing. You can optionally add:
Freight cost — shows delivery charges per unit
Labor cost — breaks out installation costs per unit
Vendor name — shows who the material is coming from
Part number — useful for GCs or owners who want to verify specific products
Unit type — shows how the item is priced (each, linear foot, lump sum, etc.)
Only turn these on if your customers typically want or expect that level of detail. For most bids, keeping it clean and concise works better.
Section Subtotals
For each section of your estimate, you can choose to break out the subtotal into its components — materials, labor, and freight — or show just a single subtotal number. If none are selected, Riffle shows the section total as one line.
For tax, you can show the tax rate percentage alongside the dollar amount, show only the dollar amount, or hide taxes at the section level entirely (they'll still appear in the grand total).
Grand Total
Same options apply at the bottom of the proposal. You can itemize materials, labor, and freight in the grand total, or keep it as a single number.
For taxes, you can display the rate and dollar amount, just the dollar amount, or omit it.
Live Preview
Before saving, use the Live Preview panel to see exactly how your proposal will look. You can preview against a demo estimate or your most recent real estimate. This is the best way to check your layout before it goes out to a GC.
For the preview you to load, you need to have a bidder attached to the project, at least one section with one line item that has a set unit cost, and an effective tax rate set.
Note: From the global estimate settings page, you can preview a demo estimate or the last estimate you created. From the individual estimate settings page, you will only be able to preview that specific estimate.
Tips
Less is usually more. Unless the GC specifically asks for a fully itemized breakdown, a cleaner proposal with fewer columns is easier to review and less likely to invite pushback on individual line items.
Show part numbers when you're specifying particular products — it eliminates substitution questions.
Use the live preview every time you change a setting so you know exactly what the customer will see.
Related: How to Build an Estimate in Riffle