The proposal builder

The builder shows the proposal exactly as the couple will see it, and you edit it by clicking on it. Titles, dates, paragraphs, photos, prices and section order are all changed on the page itself. The settings that are not on the page (who it is for, the contract, the deposit, brand colours) live in a slide-in Advanced settings panel.

You reach the builder from the Proposals list, from a client's Booking tab, or right after creating a draft. Inside a lead's Booking tab the same builder is embedded under step 01, without the toolbar described below (the Booking tab supplies its own controls).

The toolbar

Control	What it does
Back	Returns to the record the proposal belongs to: the client, else the lead, else the Proposals list.
Save dot	A small dot beside the title. Hover it and it reads "All edits saved". It turns red when a save fails. This is the only place a failed save is reported, so glance at it after a big edit.
Title, layout name, status pill	What you are editing, which design it uses, and whether it is Draft, Sent, Viewed or Accepted.
Open in browser	Opens the couple's public page in your Mac's web browser, so films play and links work. Disabled until the proposal has been saved once ("This proposal has no public link yet").
Advanced settings	Opens the side panel described below.
Review and email	Hands the proposal to the lead's Messages tab with the link pre-written, or (for a proposal with no lead) sends it directly. Reads Resend and email once the proposal has been sent. See Send a proposal.

Editing on the page

Click any text to edit it in place. A formatting bar appears with font family (your uploaded fonts are listed under Your uploads), size (A− / A+, or Cmd+− and Cmd++), Bold (Cmd+B), Italic (Cmd+I), text colour, letter spacing, line height, align left/center/right and Reset to layout defaults.

What you can edit directly on the canvas:

Element	Notes
Title and intro paragraph	The intro starts from your default proposal intro in Settings > Defaults.
Couple name, wedding date, venue	Shown on the cover. Pre-filled from the lead when there is one.
Coverage label and the stats line (years, weddings, countries)	Where the layout has them.
Wedding story and about-you paragraphs	The "Their day" and "The filmmaker" sections.
Filmmaker photos	Two photo slots for you and your team.
Photo plates and gallery slots	Hover a photo for Click to replace · drag to reposition. Empty slots show a dashed frame with an "+ add photo" hint.
Select Films	Paste a YouTube or Vimeo link; the thumbnail fills in from the link, or drop your own with Click or drop a thumbnail.
Vibe words	The short descriptive words on the cover, comma separated.
Section divider	On designs that draw dividers (Editorial Cream), choose Hairline, Double or Dots.
Line item names and descriptions	Edit them straight on the investment table.
Section order	Drag a section to reorder the spreads.
Free mode	Lets you position elements freely on the page instead of in the layout's flow.

Every change saves as you make it. The Advanced settings fields show a Saved tick next to the label after each save.

Replacing a photo

1. Click a photo. The Replace image popover opens.
2. Click Click or drop a photo, or drag a file onto the zone. JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC and GIF are accepted.
3. The image is downscaled to 2560 px on its longest side and stored with the proposal.

Files over 10 MB are refused with "File is over 10 MB. Resize and try again." Other formats are refused with "Unsupported file type". The error shows on the slot that failed and stays until you replace it.

Advanced settings

Click Advanced settings to slide the panel in. It is an accordion; click a section head to open it. The section you had open is remembered, so adding a line item reopens the panel in the same place.

Prepared for

The Couple select lists your leads and clients in two groups, with Not set yet at the top. This opens by default when nobody is attached and the head reads "Nobody yet, required to send". The hint explains why: it "drives the title, the merge tags, and where the signed contract files. A proposal can't be sent until this is set."

Layout

• Design: switch between Editorial Cream, Wild Hearts, Minimal Guide and Bold Couture. "Switching swaps the proposal's visual template. Inline edits and overrides carry across." Sample photos are only swapped if you have never touched the photo slots. See Proposal layouts.
• Section divider: swatches for Hairline, Double and Dots. "Used at every section break on this design."

Pricing

Lists the line items with quantity and price, a remove × on each (confirm "Remove this line item?") and the Total. When empty: "No line items yet. Add a package, à la carte add-on, or custom row below."

• Add a package: pick from your catalog and click Add.
• Add an à la carte item: pick and click Add.
• Add a custom line: type a name (for example "Travel") and a price, then Add. Custom lines exist on this proposal only.

Packages and items come from the Catalog.

Contract

• Apply a template: pick one of your contract templates and click Apply. "Loads the template's body into the editable terms below. You can still edit after applying."
• Contract terms (markdown): the text the couple signs. It starts from your default contract terms in Settings > Defaults. The placeholder reminds you that it "Snapshots on send so future template edits won't change what's signed."

The section head reads Default terms until you change the text, then Custom terms set.

Branding

• Primary color and Accent color: a colour picker plus a hex box. The placeholders show the layout defaults (#2C3D2E and #B89968 on Editorial Cream). Blank means the layout default.
• Cover image URL: "Used by layouts that have a cover image slot." Your default proposal cover from Settings is used until you set one.

Deposit

Deposit amount in whole dollars. Leave it blank and Hailo calculates the deposit from your Default deposit (%) in Settings > Defaults (Hailo ships with 30%). The deposit is recalculated whenever line items change until you type a flat amount.

Save as preset

Type a Preset name (for example "Full-day collection") and click Save preset. This saves the layout, photos, films, fonts, packages and contract as a starting point that appears in the Booking tab's picker for your next lead. The couple's name, date and venue stay with this proposal. Names must be unique: "You already have a preset called that. Pick another name." See Proposal presets.

Share

• Public link with Copy. "Anyone with this link can view the proposal. Becomes active once the proposal is sent."
• Embed snippet with Copy, for Showit, Squarespace or Wix pages. It resizes itself.

Before the first save the section reads "This proposal doesn't have a public link yet. Save once to generate one."

Status

Shows the current status (Draft, Sent, Viewed, Accepted).

Sections you can hide

Which sections a design has, and which can be switched off, is listed in Proposal layouts. The switches themselves are in the lead's Booking tab under step 02, Layout.

If it didn't work

Symptom or message	What to do
The save dot is red	The last edit did not reach the server. Check your connection and make the edit again.
"Pick who this proposal is for before sending it"	Open Advanced settings > Prepared for and choose the couple.
Open in browser is greyed out	Make any edit so the proposal saves once; the link generates on first save.
A cover looks black after switching to Wild Hearts	That design grades its cover hard. Replace the cover photo with a brighter frame.