Quoting and Purchase Computers

This article will go over the process of quoting and purchasing a computer. Reference the relevant sections below to guide you through the process

This article is intended for Purchasing Managers. If you are a LocalTech, refer the customer to the correct representative.

Terminology

Customers don't always know what they actually want or need. They often will either say something to the effect of "I just need a computer that works" or they will have researched information online about computer specs and tell you they need the "latest and greatest" (i.e. most expensive) computer. We don't want to sell the customer the cheapest computer that "just works" but we also don't want to sell them an expensive, powerful computer if they don't have a use case that justifies it.

In order to know what sort of specs are reasonable, we need a baseline to which we can compare their requests. So, when making purchasing decisions, keep in mind the concept of the Default Computer.

Default Computer

University PC Care has a standard specification for our "default computer" - the computer that will be sufficient for most use cases without beeing over- or underpowered and that comes at a reasonable price. This is the baseline that we believe will best serve the majority of our customer base. This baseline is subject to change as better hardware is released - any changes will be reflected in this article for you to reference at any time.

If a customer does not give you any specific information, you should assume that is what they need.

At the time of writing this(02/06/2025), here are the default computers:

eQuotes

As a Dell Partner, we have the ability to make eQuotes. These are digital quotes that lock in the price for a device for 30 days. This can give us, and the customer, time to make a decision without being rushed.

We maintain a spreadsheet of the eQuotes we save since not everyone has access to the Dell Partner Portal. Click here to view it.

Any time you are asked to quote a computer, make it an eQuote.

Markup

Like with everything we sell, there is a markup for computers. The markup amount is variable, depending on the total cost (including tax, if any) for the computer.

For example, say a computer costs $890 + tax ($952.30 total). Because the total price falls into the $601-$1000 bracket on the markup table below, we add $250 markup to make the pre-rounded price $1202.30. Round to the nearest "significant" whole number, which for this amount would be $1200 - so we would sell this computer for $1200.

Markup Table

Typically we do not pay tax when purchasing computers, so this markup would go right on top of the price we pay. Sometimes we do have to pay for tax so we would apply this markup to the after tax price. In any event, markup applies to the final cost of the computer to us.

Gathering information

• What type (form factor) of computer do they want? (Desktop, laptop, AiO, tablet, etc)
• Preference on Windows or Mac?
• What will the computer primarily be used for?
• Does the customer have any specs in mind already for the computer?
• Does the customer have a budget already?

Selling directly to individuals

When a customer reaches out, and wants us to special order them a computer, there is a process to follow.

1. LocalTechs: reach out to a Purchasing Manager and schedule a time for them to contact the customer directly.
2. Gather the basic information detailed in the "Gathering information" section
3. After the initial call, open a Work Order in PCRT for the customer if there isn't one already. Fill out the Work Order with their information and put in the notes everything the customer requested.
4. Use this document to research a computer that meets or exceeds our "default computer" and meets the customer's requirements, if any.
5. Once you have found a suitable computer (or multiple computers so they have options), notate it in the Work Order including a link to the purchasing page, the base specs of the computer, and the cost (to us) and price (to the customer).
6. Call the customer back to provide the quote, making sure to touch on some important value-added points:
   • We purchase directly from the vendor or an authorized seller
   • We test every computer before it goes out the door
   • We run our New Computer Setup process on every computer (bloatware removal, program installation, updates, diagnostics, etc)
   • Half-off data migration if they choose to migrate data from an old computer to this one
7. When the customer authorizes the purchase, take a deposit on the Work Order for the full amount of the computer.
8. Order the computer

When purchasing a computer, charge the card associated with the store the computer is being sold at.

As an example, if this is for a customer working with the Fire Tower (Greenville) store, you should charge the Greenville stores card to order the computer.

When the computer arrives at its respective shop, the technician who acknowledges inventory will check it in and set up the new computer. They also will contact the customer when it is ready for pick up

Selling to a company

The process to order a new computer is different for businesses compared to individuals.

1. LocalTechs and Purchasing Managers: reach out to a Sales Representative and pass along the customer's information so they can start this process.
2. Sales Representatives: Gather the basic information detailed in the "Gathering information" section
3. Open an Asana task for this project by duplicating the "New Computer" template in the #TEMPLATES project and filling out the relevant information

Quoting and Purchasing

The "Find suitable computer" subtask will be assigned to you once the initial information has been gathered on the Asana task.

1. Using the information in the body and comments of the main task, find a computer that fits the customer's specifications as best as possible from one of our approved vendors.
   • If purchasing from Dell, create an eQuote now so we lock in the quoted price for 30 days
2. Notate in your assigned subtask the following information:
   • The specs of the computer, including warranty period
   • The cost of the computer (to us)
   • The price of the computer (to the customer)
   • A link to the eQuote and to the purchasing page of the computer
3. Mark your assigned subtask as completed
4. The Sales Representative will send the proposal and, eventually, the customer will sign and pay for the computer
5. The "Order Computer" subtask will be assigned to you - order the computer now, to be delivered to UPCC Corporate
   • On the "Order Computer" subtask, notate any information relevant to the purchase such as purchase order number and delivery date
6. When the computer arrives at its respective shop, the technician who acknowledges inventory will check it in and set up the new computer. They also will contact the customer when it is ready for delivery.

When finding a quote, there is rarely a perfect match. It is your job to find the next best option.

• If a customer does not give you a complete set of specifications, then assume any left out specifications match the default computer.
• If a customer gives you a budget and specifications that do not go together (example: they want a 17" screen and 1TB of storage, but they don't want to pay more then $600) then you should ignore the budget and quote based on the specifications.
• It is okay to quote the customer more than one computer to give them options to choose from, however never quote more than two options at a time. Finding computers and making quotes takes time - you'll spend more time finding multiple options but they're still only going to buy one of those options.
• A Sales Representative may request multiple quotes, make sure to adhere to the maximum number of quotes at any given time.

Where to Purchase

We have a few vendors to purchase computers from. When drafting a quote, make sure to cross reference multiple vendors to make sure we are getting the best price.

• Dell.com
  • Premier Partner Portal
  • Retail website (for Inspirons)
• TD Synnex
• Amazon (only sold/shipped by Amazon or by the manufacturer)
• B&H Photo Video
• Lenovo.com