Introducing Instant Quote: the wedding car quoting system

Instant Quote is an automatic quoting system built by wedding car professionals for wedding car professionals. Software creator Neil McCutcheon has been in the wedding car hire and reward trade since 2012 and decided to create the only quoting system built specifically for wedding car businesses. Neil is a client covered by our wedding car insurance scheme.

How does Instant Quote work for couples?

To demonstrate how a couple obtains a quote we are using The Wedding Car Hire People. They are an agency representing many small wedding car businesses across the UK and use Instant Quote for all of their vehicles.

Upon clicking ‘Instant Quote’, I am taken to the quotation page where I fill out all of my details. A list of available vehicles that cover my postcode displays underneath. All this info is easily configured when integrating Instant Quote with your website.

After selecting my vehicle, a quote arrives in my inbox within seconds. This calculation is based on a pricing model created by you. The pricing options take into account the car, distance travelled, day of the week and time of the year. There are other pricing options such as charging per mile and for round trips. The system even allows you to setup a postcode blacklist so you do not issue quotes to non-applicable areas. You can also bundle your services into packages.

If the vehicle or the price is unsuitable, the couple can simply select another vehicle and hey presto, another email arrives instantly without having to fill out their event info again. If interested, the couple can reply to the email and get the ball rolling. Follow up emails are automatically sent if a booking is not made.

How does Instant Quote handle bookings?

All bookings are sent to a calendar in the Instant Quote control panel. There are different options to view your bookings such as by month or week. You can also link Instant Quote with your Google Calendar.

The Future Bookings tool is a nifty way to see a summarised list of all forthcoming bookings. The three icons on the right help you identify what tasks are outstanding. The pound note details if the deposit or full amount has been paid. The person details if a driver has been assigned and the phone lets you know if you’ve made a courtesy confirmation call to the booker.

This system prevents duplicate bookings because couples are only shown cars that are available for their date. This has the additional advantage of reducing the number of telephone calls requesting a quote for a car that’s already booked.

How does Instant Quote handle payments?

The system enables you to accept payments by card without the need for paying a monthly subscription for a merchant account. Furthermore, the card processing fee at 1.4% + 70p per transaction is very competitive – almost half that of PayPal.

When a payment is received it is securely transferred directly by the card processors to your bank account and the system updates the customer’s record with you. This is reflected in the customer’s ‘my booking’ page. Money is not handled by the system and it’s compliant with industry standards. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted.

The financial tool in the Instant Quote control panel also contains other vital administrative functions. This includes filing receipts, recording expenditures and analysing sales and quotation charts.

How does Instant Quote integrate with my website?

WordPress is the recommended platform for Instant Quote. They even have a dedicated plugin that makes it a lot easier to embed your mobile responsive quotation page. You can also embed a datasheet page, which is a collection of visual content and reviews.

You can embed the quotation page on your custom website as well. Neil is even willing to assist with the installation and customisation process so contact him if you would like to know more.

What else does Instant Quote do?

Instant Quote has a wide range of automated email solutions. Follow-ups, booking confirmations, payment reminders and invitations to review are all included. Default templates are provided and are easily editable.

If a free date pops up, you can easily view which quotes did not book so you can contact them to fill your booking gaps.

The system allows you to share your cars with other businesses such as agencies whilst keeping booking accounts separate.

As standard, Instant Quote keeps a recorded history of your account activity so you can easily find, edit and export data.

Your business is automatically listed in the system’s public directory.

Why do you need an instant quoting system?

Over recent years, wedding car companies have been adapting to the rise of the Internet and digital communications. Neil noticed that many wedding car professionals still used traditional emailing to quote and communicate with enquiries. This consumes more time and modern couples today expect convenience. It is arguable that a speedy quote will increase your chances of securing a booking.

There are many wedding car professionals out there who are not technologically literate. You can find other quoting software but they usually require additional configuration. This task can be very daunting. Instant Quote has been solely created for wedding cars and it’s extremely easy to setup.

How much does Instant Quote cost?

The system is priced according to usage requirements. A free plan is available which includes a set amount of vehicle assets, quotes and web hosts. Paid plans include varying levels of allowances. Every plan contains the option to add extra allowances as your business grows so you never pay more than you need to. For example, a Low Plan costs £15.00 per month. Additional vehicles can be added for an extra £3.00 or £2.00 for web hosts. Agency plans are also available.

I’d recommend you take advantage of a free trial to test the waters.

Instant Quote also allows you to list other services you may offer such as supplying photo booths or props.

You can also download the Instant Quote brochure that explains every function in more detail.