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Dev Blog 001; Starting A New Project - SwiftCPQ

Christopher Talke Buscaino

I was hit with the unexpected news that the company I work for is struggling, so the next few weeks are uncertain.

So, instead of winding down and enjoying the break, during the worst time for something like this to happen, I figured I’d use this as a push to finally build an idea I had for a Configure, Price & Quote (CPQ) app — a personal project I’ve started (and abandoned) about 10 times now.

I’ve been out of the sales game for about 4 years now, barring the odd ad-hoc consulting work, and wanted to get a sense of what people love and hate about the tools out there. When I was doing this type of work day in and day out, the paid products just felt antiquated, and from my extensive Googling, not much has changed.

So, with that in mind, I’m rolling up my sleeves and finally working on what I'm calling SwiftCPQ - a project that, for me, is long overdue from being shipped.

What is SwiftCPQ?

At its core, SwiftCPQ is a tool designed to make the quoting process faster and more efficient. It’s built for ICT Consultants, and Software Development shops, but could be used by almost any industry, the concept is simple — create proposals quickly, customize them easily, and have a tool that adapts to the way you work.

The Vision

There are a few key things that drive this project:

  • ⚡ Speed & Simplicity: Most of the existing tools rely heavily on server-side rendering. Think full page refresh when you're saving a quote. For a tool like this, it was always my biggest gripe, the user experience needs to be lightning-fast so you feel like you're getting stuff done, and the tool is staying out of your way. So I’m building it as a client-first web app to make everything feels quick and responsive.

  • 🔧 Progressive Configuration: I want users to build quotes fast. No setup bottlenecks. Just run docker compose up, open the server, start making quotes, and get a sale. In my experience, most tools force you to configure products and workflows upfront, which kills momentum. My preferred approach is always do shit first, configure as you go.

  • 🔁 Reusability & Templating: When you create quotes regularly, patterns emerge—scope of work templates, cover letters, products, and so on. I’m building everything with reusability in mind: duplication, templates, and allowing importing from previous proposals.

  • 🖼️ Custom Outputs: I'm all for the default outputs a platform gives you when it comes to web templates or PDF templates, but it shits me to no end when there is no extendibility or customisation features for the final output. After all its a sales tool, you should be able to customise this, and I plan to use tools like jsreport.net so if you want to deviate away from the default template. You can roll your own.

  • 🔌 Integrations: Being a programmer, the first thing I look for in any app is an API or Integrations section. While I plan to build direct integrations with some CRMs and PSAs, I also want to ensure there’s a solid REST API, including CSV, JSON Exports that users can leverage to connect with other platforms, or whatever else they dream up.

Where I'm Starting

For a MVP, I’m focusing on three core features/user stories:

  1. A way to quickly create proposals with a basic product catalog.
  2. A reusable product catalog and proposal template feature.
  3. A flexible templating engine to generate PDFs.

Once I've gotten there, I know I've got some foundations to work with, and I'll keep building out.

I’d love to hear from you. Tell me, what’s missing in the tools you’ve used? What made you think, “I wish there was something better for generating quotes or proposals?”

I’m committed to building this tool for my own needs. That said, I don’t want to get tunnel vision and only focus on what I think is important. I’d love to hear about the challenges others face with their current tools and what features or improvements could actually make a difference for you.