Proposal expiration and stalled deals

Every proposal and estimate carries an expiration date, and FirstSlate uses it to do two things automatically: politely close the door on the client's link once it passes, and nudge both of you before that happens so a deal doesn't go quiet without either of you noticing.

Setting the expiration date

In the builder, find Expires On in the pricing area. New proposals default to 30 days out; you can change it to any date. Once you send the proposal, this date drives both the client-facing countdown and the automatic reminder emails below.

What your client sees when it expires

Past the expiration date, the proposal page still loads, but your client can no longer accept or sign it. Instead they see a notice that it's expired and a Request more time button. Clicking it notifies you that they'd like it reopened, it doesn't restart the clock on its own.

Reopening an expired proposal

In the Project Hub, an expired proposal shows an Expired or, if the client already asked, Client Asked to Reopen status with an Extend & re-send (or Reopen) action. This opens a panel where you set a new expiration date, defaulting to the same length as the original window, and choose whether to notify the client automatically or reactivate the link without notifying them.

Automatic reminder emails

FirstSlate runs a daily check on every sent proposal and estimate with an expiration date and sends two reminders around it:

• The day before it expires: your client gets an urgency email reminding them it's about to close, and you get an alert (email and an in-app notification) letting you know it's expiring so you can follow up or extend it yourself.
• The day after it expires: your client gets a recovery email inviting them to ask you to reopen it. You don't get a second alert here, since you were already notified the day before.

Both reminders are skipped for a proposal that's already been marked booked, and your client's copy is skipped if you've turned off automatic client reminders for your account.

The buying-signal callout

If your client watched any example media (a video or image attached to a line item) before the deadline, the day-before alert to you includes which items they watched and how many times, so your follow-up call can lead with what they're actually interested in.

Plan availability

Expiration, reopening, and the automated reminder emails work on every plan. See plans and limits.

Common questions

Does the reminder email fire more than once?

No. Each trigger, the day-before reminder and the day-after recovery, fires at most once per expiration window. Extending the deadline resets the window, so a newly extended proposal can trigger both reminders again if it stalls a second time.

What happens if I never set an expiration date?

A proposal without an expiration date never expires and never triggers the reminder emails, it stays open indefinitely until you send, recall, or otherwise change it.

Can I turn off the reminder emails to my client?

Yes, there's an account-level setting to stop automatic client reminders. Turning it off still keeps your own alerts (the day-before notice to you) active.