If you’re here, you’re probably sick of proposal chaos—version control nightmares, endless emails, and last-minute scrambles to slap together something “good enough.” You want a tool that actually helps teams build solid proposals, not something that just ticks a box for your boss. This review is for B2B sales, marketing, and proposal teams who’ve already tried the obvious stuff (Google Docs, SharePoint, random PDFs flying around) and are wondering if Xait’s collaborative proposal platform can really make the process suck less.
I spent several weeks testing Xait in real-world scenarios, not demo environments. Here’s what I found—warts and all.
Who Should Even Consider Xait?
Let’s get this out of the way: Xait isn’t for solo consultants, tiny agencies, or anyone just looking to dress up a simple quote. Xait’s sweet spot is larger B2B teams—think enterprise sales, engineering firms, or any group writing big, complex proposals with lots of cooks in the kitchen. If you need strict control over who edits what, want a central “source of truth,” and care about versioning, then Xait is worth a hard look.
If your team is five people or fewer, or you just want a prettier Word doc, save your money.
First Impressions: Setup and Onboarding
Getting started is... fine. Xait’s onboarding isn’t flashy or hand-holdy, but it’s thorough. The UI looks a bit old-school—think “serious business tool,” not “shiny SaaS toy”—but everything’s where you’d expect.
Setup steps: - User invites and permissions are straightforward, but take time to get right. - Importing existing docs (Word, etc.) works, but don’t expect perfect formatting. - Templates are flexible, but require a bit of upfront investment to match your brand and typical proposal structure.
Pro tip: Don’t just dump in your old proposal library. Clean up your templates and content first, or you’ll just drag the old mess into a new tool.
Core Features: Where Xait Shines (and Where It Doesn’t)
1. Real Collaboration (Not Just Co-Editing)
Unlike Google Docs, Xait lets you assign sections to specific people with clear deadlines. You can lock down who touches what, so your subject matter expert doesn’t accidentally rewrite the pricing table.
What works: - Clear task assignment and status tracking for each section. - Real-time “who’s doing what” dashboard—no more “is this done yet?” emails. - Role-based permissions down to the page or section.
What’s just okay: - In-document comments are there, but feel a bit clunky compared to Google Docs or Notion. - No live cursors (you won’t see everyone’s typing at once), but honestly, that’s not a dealbreaker for most proposals.
2. Version Control and Audit Trails
This is where Xait earns its keep for regulated industries or big teams.
Highlights: - Every change is logged—who did what, and when. - Rolling back is easy if someone nukes a section by mistake. - You can compare versions side-by-side, which is great for catching sneaky last-minute edits.
Annoyances: - The UI for comparing versions is functional, not pretty. You’ll get what you need, but don’t expect a slick experience.
3. Document Automation and Templates
You can build reusable templates with pre-set structures, branded headers/footers, and boilerplate content. Insert dynamic fields for quick personalization.
Good stuff: - Makes proposal creation much faster after the initial template work. - Reduces copy-paste errors and off-brand docs. - Supports complex, multi-section documents (not just one-pagers).
Limitations: - The template editor has a learning curve. Non-technical folks might get frustrated at first. - If your proposals are wildly different every time, the automation value drops off.
4. Approval Workflows
You can set up multi-step review and approval processes. For big teams or regulated industries, this is gold.
- Automatic routing to the right approvers.
- Visibility into what’s pending and what’s done.
- Audit trail for compliance.
Reality check: Setting up workflows takes time, and you’ll need buy-in from all the stakeholders. If your team ignores notifications, no software can fix that.
5. Output and Publishing
Xait can export to PDF, Word, and even some custom formats. The PDFs look professional, and you can lock down outputs so nobody can sneak in last-minute edits after approval.
But: - Customizing output styles beyond the basics may require help from Xait’s support or some trial and error. - The export process isn’t instant—big, image-heavy docs can take a while.
Integrations: What Plays Nice, What Doesn’t
Xait has APIs and claims integration with CRM tools (Salesforce, etc.), but in practice, don’t expect plug-and-play magic.
- Salesforce integration: Usable, but requires setup and maybe IT help. Don’t expect every Salesforce field to map perfectly.
- Other tools (email, Slack, etc.): Notifications work, but aren’t as customizable as you might like.
- No real-time Google Drive or Microsoft 365 integration. Xait wants to be your proposal hub, not another doc in your file system.
Bottom line: If you want a seamless, end-to-end workflow with your CRM and other sales tools, budget some time (and maybe consulting hours) to get it working.
User Experience: Day-to-Day Reality
The good news: once your team learns Xait, it’s reliable. There’s no “where did that version go?” panic, and the admin controls are solid.
The not-so-good: - The UI is functional, not inspiring. If you’re used to the slickness of modern SaaS apps, prepare for something more like Microsoft Project than Notion. - Mobile experience is limited. You won’t be approving proposals from your phone on the way to the airport. - Search and content reuse is powerful, but only if you organize your content library well from the start. Otherwise, it gets messy fast.
Pricing: Value for Money?
Xait doesn’t publish pricing. It’s “request a quote” territory, and you’ll likely pay per user or per proposal volume. This is not a budget option.
- If you’re a mid-to-large B2B team regularly sending out high-stakes proposals, it’s probably worth the spend.
- For smaller teams, or if you only send a few proposals a year, the ROI is questionable.
Pro tip: Push for a true trial with your real team—not just a demo—before you commit.
What to Ignore (and What’s Overhyped)
- AI features: Xait talks up “AI-driven content suggestions.” In practice, these are basic content library searches—don’t expect ChatGPT-level help.
- Integrations: As covered above, they exist but aren’t magical. You’ll need some setup time.
- Mobile app: Just… don’t. Use your laptop.
Final Thoughts: Is Xait Worth It?
If you’re wrangling complex proposals, with lots of people, and need real control over the process, Xait is one of the few tools built for the job. It’s not the prettiest or the cheapest, but it does bring order to proposal chaos—if you’re willing to invest in setup and drive your team to use it as intended.
Don’t overcomplicate things. Start with one or two core templates, train your team, and improve from there. Most proposal messes aren’t solved by more features—they’re solved by clear processes and keeping things simple. Xait can help, but only if you make it fit your real workflow, not the other way around.