Following up on a quote in EBP Bâtiment is done from the quote's own record, in the Sales tracking (Suivi commercial) or Customer follow-ups (Relances clients) module depending on the version installed. Three clicks are enough, once the letter template has been set up properly.
A quote left sitting for ten days has already lost half its chances
A customer who doesn't reply within forty-eight hours hasn't necessarily said no. They have other things on their mind: another quote to compare, a site meeting, an invoice to pay before yours. Past ten days, the order of magnitude seen in the field is that a quote with no follow-up gets signed half as often as a quote followed up within the week. No official study puts a precise figure on this ratio for your trade: it's an observed trend, not an absolute.
The price on the quote is almost never the problem. The silence after it's sent is. A tradesperson who issues fifteen quotes a month and follows up on only three is losing margin before pricing anything at all.
- The customer receives another quote, cheaper or quicker to get.
- The job changes priority, and nobody tells you.
- The email drowns in an inbox that doubles as a diary, and a forgotten quote sometimes ends up as an unpaid invoice you discover too late.
Where the follow-up feature is in EBP Bâtiment
The exact name of the module changes with the version: Classic, PRO or Bâtiment+. Check yours before you start looking, it saves ten minutes lost in the menus.
- Open the record of the quote in question, in the Quotes and invoices (Devis et factures) module.
- Find the Tracking (Suivi) or Follow-ups (Relances) tab, depending on the version: that's where the sending history is.
- The document status shows whether it has already been followed up, and when.
- A right click usually offers "Relancer ce document" (follow up on this document) or "Générer une lettre de relance" (generate a follow-up letter).
Setting up the follow-up template once and for all in EBP
The default template is neutral and a little cold. Rewriting it takes twenty minutes, once, and you never have to think about it again.
- Go to Settings (Paramètres), then Document templates (Modèles de documents).
- Duplicate the existing follow-up template rather than starting from scratch.
- Pull in three details from the quote: the date it was sent, the amount, the name of the job.
- End with an open question rather than a curt reminder: "Has the schedule for the job changed?" gets more replies than "please get back to us".
- Save this template as the default for this type of document.
Scheduling the follow-up delay in EBP: the table to copy
The right delay depends on the amount and the type of customer, not on a single rule. Here is the baseline we recommend, to adjust to your trade.
| Type of quote | 1st follow-up | 2nd follow-up | Tone to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote for a homeowner, under €1,000 | 3 days | 8 days | direct, almost casual |
| Construction job quote, €1,000 to €10,000 | 5 days | 12 days | professional, one open question |
| Quote for a recurring business customer | 7 days | 15 days | discreet, a reminder rather than a chase |
| Quote handed over in person on site | 48 hours | 5 days | a call before the email |
In EBP, this delay is set document by document, or by default in the template settings. Scheduling it once and for all saves you from thinking about it again every Monday morning.
What EBP Bâtiment doesn't do for you
Automation handles the sending. It doesn't handle what comes next.
- The software doesn't read the customer's reply, and it can't tell whether they opened the email.
- It doesn't adjust the tone of the follow-up if the customer has already called to explain a delay.
- It doesn't cancel a scheduled follow-up if you've signed in the meantime, unless someone goes and checks.
Three traps that cancel out the automatic follow-up
- Scheduling the follow-up, then forgetting to check the replies for two weeks. Automation sends, it doesn't read what comes back.
- Sending the same letter to a homeowner and to a project owner. The tone has to change, not the substance of the message.
- Following up on a quote that's already out of date, when material prices have moved in the meantime. A follow-up on a wrong figure costs more than silence.
To choose how to follow up in your situation, the decision framework helps you settle it case by case.
When a call beats an EBP follow-up
A two-hundred-euro quote gets followed up by email without a second thought. A fifteen-thousand-euro quote for a full renovation deserves a call, not one more automatic email.
- The amount is more than the customer usually spends without thinking.
- The customer has already replied once, then gone quiet.
- The job depends on a collective decision: several partners, a co-owned building.
Other software handles this same question differently, Tolteck for example, and none is universally better: the comparison between EBP and Batigest details the differences that really matter. At BenIT, we mostly see tradespeople who have sorted out the automatic part and get stuck on the call that follows: nobody has automated that one yet, and that's not about to change.
Our working method always starts from the tool you already have, EBP included, never from a migration to something else.
Frequently asked questions
Can EBP Bâtiment send a follow-up by text message?
Depending on the version, EBP generates an email or a letter, but no text message out of the box. Some recent versions allow an export to a third-party text-message tool. Check the Communication module in your settings before looking for an outside solution.
Do you need the PRO version to schedule an automatic follow-up?
The Classic version lets you follow up manually, document by document. Scheduling an automatic delay generally requires the PRO or Bâtiment+ version. If in doubt, the Help menu (Aide), then About (À propos), shows the exact version installed.
How many follow-ups should you send before giving up on a quote?
Two follow-ups are enough in most cases: one within the week, one ten days later. Beyond that, a call replaces the third written follow-up. A quote followed up three times by email with no reply has most likely already been lost.
Can you tell whether the customer opened the follow-up email?
EBP Bâtiment doesn't track email opens by default. That information requires an email tool with read receipts, or a tracked link placed in the message, to know exactly whether it was viewed and when.
Does the automatic follow-up replace a phone call?
No, it usefully postpones it. For a small quote, the email is more than enough. For a large job or a customer who stays silent after a first follow-up, the call is still what gets a clear answer fastest.
