What Is AV Quoting Software? A Complete Guide for Integrators
If you're still building AV quotes in spreadsheets, you're not alone. But there's a better way — and it's purpose-built for how AV integrators actually work.
AV quoting software, defined
AV quoting software is a specialized tool that helps audio visual integrators create accurate project quotes and professional proposals. Unlike generic spreadsheets, CRM tools, or enterprise ERP systems, AV quoting software is built around the specific workflows of the AV industry — rooms, systems, equipment, labor, and freight.
The core idea is simple: your quoting tool should understand the way AV projects are actually structured. A residential home theater quote isn't a flat list of products — it's organized by room, then by system (audio, video, control, networking), then by individual equipment and labor within each system. AV quoting software mirrors that structure so your pricing matches your project design.
What does AV quoting software actually do?
At a high level, AV quoting software handles three things that spreadsheets struggle with:
1. Structured quote building
Instead of rows and columns, you build quotes organized by room and system. Need to add a Sonos Amp to the Living Room's Distributed Audio system? That's a few clicks — not a hunt for the right row in a spreadsheet. Equipment, labor rates, and freight are all tracked at the system level, then rolled up automatically into room totals and project totals.
2. Professional proposal generation
Once your quote is built, you need to present it to the client. AV quoting software generates clean, branded PDF proposals — itemized by room and system — that you can send directly. No more copying numbers into a Word template, no more formatting headaches, no more version control nightmares.
3. Margin visibility
Every AV integrator knows that margins make or break a project. Good quoting software shows you cost, sell price, and margin on every single line item — not just at the project level. You can see that your speakers carry a 40% margin while your labor is running at 35%, and make informed decisions before the quote goes out the door.
Who is AV quoting software for?
AV quoting software is built for small to mid-sized AV integration companies — typically 2 to 50 employees. These are firms where the owner, a sales lead, or a design engineer is personally responsible for creating quotes. They don't have a dedicated systems administrator or IT team to manage complex software.
If you recognize yourself in any of these scenarios, AV quoting software is worth a look:
- You're building quotes in Excel or Google Sheets and losing track of versions
- You're copying and pasting numbers between your quote and your proposal document
- You don't know your actual margin on a project until the job is finished
- You've looked at enterprise AV software but can't justify the cost or complexity
- You want to send more professional proposals without spending hours on formatting
How is it different from a CRM or ERP?
CRM tools (Salesforce, HubSpot) track relationships and sales pipelines. ERP systems (D-Tools, NetSuite) try to do everything — quoting, procurement, project management, service contracts, inventory. Both have their place, but neither is optimized for the specific act of building an AV quote.
AV quoting software sits in the middle: more structured than a spreadsheet, simpler than an ERP. It focuses on the quoting workflow — the part of your business where you actually win or lose jobs — and does that one thing well.
What to look for in AV quoting software
If you're evaluating tools, here are the features that matter most for AV integrators:
- Room and system organization — quotes should mirror your project structure
- Line-item margin tracking — cost, sell, and margin on every item, not just totals
- Equipment catalog — searchable database of AV products from major manufacturers
- PDF proposal generation — branded, client-ready output with one click
- Simplicity — if it takes weeks to learn, it's not the right tool for a small firm
- Affordable pricing — generous free tier or low monthly cost, not enterprise pricing
Getting started
If you've been quoting in spreadsheets and you're ready to try something built for the way AV integrators actually work, QuoteAV offers a free tier that includes structured quoting, professional proposals, margin tracking, and access to an equipment catalog with 3,000+ products. No credit card required, no installation — just sign up and start quoting.