History: estimate

This first step is a preliminary to see if what the client wants is possible in terms of cost and deadline. In a web-agency context it's usually difficult to quote a website without all the specification gathering process. But you don't want to spend a lot of time for this while the client hasn't agreed to anything.

A first meeting should be organized with the client, account manager and project manager. Through a quick review of the specifications gathering and budget template documents, you can estimate the work and give the client a price range and a deadline. It can be done with a simple email. Then the client can more or less morally agree to this.