How proposals move from an opportunity to a project

A proposal records an offer for work you are pursuing through an opportunity. It connects the commercial discussion with the project your team may later deliver.

A new proposal starts from a proposal template. The template gives the offer a starting structure; it is not a substitute for reviewing the scope, prices and document you will send.

The Proposal tab holds the client-facing stages and line items. The Project Budget tab holds a more detailed structure and estimate. These serve different audiences and can have different totals. The two parts of a Drum proposal explains that distinction.

Draft, Awaiting Approval and Approved describe preparation and internal approval. Sent, Accepted and Declined describe the offer’s progress with the client. Cancelled records an offer that is no longer proceeding.

Internal approval does not mean the client has accepted. Similarly, selecting a status or recording a sent date is distinct from delivering the proposal document to the client. Your team records the appropriate state as the conversation progresses.

The available status choices depend on your permissions. The proposal fields reference defines each status and the related fields.

Acceptance makes an opportunity proposal eligible for project conversion when the other requirements are met. Conversion is a separate action: an Accepted proposal does not automatically create a project.

The conversion preview lets you choose the budget structure or the proposal structure as the project’s starting point. This choice matters when the detailed delivery plan differs from the simpler offer presented to the client.

Conversion creates a project, links it to the proposal and marks the parent opportunity as won. The original proposal remains available as the commercial record. A previously converted proposal can also create another project.

See the proposal-to-project conversion reference for the requirements and effects.

Create and price your first proposal in Drum provides a guided example of preparing an offer.