The proposal builder is where you assemble an engagement: its details, services, jobs, payment packages and the email that goes to your client. This article walks through starting a new engagement and finding your way around the builder.
Go to Engagements and click New Engagement.
In the Select Client Group dialog, search for and select the client group the engagement is for.
The proposal builder opens with a new draft.
You can also start from a client group's own Engagements tab, or duplicate an existing engagement (see the article on templates and reuse).
Nagaris pre-fills sensible defaults for a new proposal:
The engagement is named after the client group and the current financial year (for example Smith Group - FY26). Click the name to rename it at any time.
One job is created automatically for the group's first client, named with the financial year and group name, starting today and due at the end of the financial year.
The engagement is created in the background the first time your draft saves — you'll briefly see a Creating engagement… indicator.
Details — general settings, signatories and billing address. The General card holds the engagement Name, a Start Date (choose On Acceptance, Today or Custom) and a Due Date (choose 12 Months from Start, End of FY or Custom). The Signatories & CCs card sets who will sign or receive the proposal. The Billing card sets the Billing Address — invoices will use this address, and you can add a new address from the dropdown.
Services — the service lines on the proposal: what you'll do, for which entity, in which job, and at what price.
Jobs — the jobs that will hold the work, with budgets, dates, categories and staff.
Payment Packages — how the client pays: upfront, on completion, hourly, a range, or a custom schedule. A payment schedule preview sits alongside the packages.
Emails — the send screen: recipients, templates, sender details and the email itself.
Across the top of the builder:
Click the engagement name to edit it (changes save automatically).
Preview — see the proposal exactly as your client will. An Editor mode switch inside the preview lets you fine-tune what's shown (hide service lines, edit descriptions, add custom text, reorder packages).
Settings — payment methods, card processing fee, display options, follow-up reminders, terms and thank-you templates, and Xero tracking categories.
Templates — apply a saved engagement template or save this engagement as one.
Accept Engagement — record acceptance on the client's behalf (for example when they've signed on paper). You'll be asked for optional Notes describing why you're accepting on their behalf.
Preview & Send — opens the final preview with a Send Now button.
The builder auto-saves as you move between tabs — a Saving indicator appears in the header. Use Save & Close in the footer when you're done, or Close to leave. If you have unsaved changes, an Unsaved changes dialog offers Save & Leave, Discard Changes or Cancel.
If something on a tab needs attention, the tab shows a red error icon and an alert lists what to fix — for example Job is required for … or Client is required for …. Save & Close is disabled until blocking errors are fixed. Yellow warnings (such as Add at least one signer before sending this engagement) don't block saving, only sending.
Once the engagement has jobs, a footer shows live totals:
Engagement Value (ex. GST) — what the client will pay, calculated from the payment packages.
Total Budget (ex. GST) — your internal budget across all jobs.
Jobs — the number of jobs on the engagement.
All amounts in the builder are entered excluding GST — see the GST article for how tax is presented to the client.
The Settings payment toggles (credit card and direct debit) are only available when billing is enabled for your organisation. If they're greyed out, contact support to turn billing on for your firm.
Tier pricing (Gold/Silver/Bronze-style options) is available from the tier tabs in the builder header for firms that present multiple package levels on one proposal.
