I have an excel spreadsheet with hundreds of items that I need to turn into a formal quote. Is there any way to import the items from Excel into CQ or am I going to have to cut and paste them one item at a time?

You can import a Quote into SalesCQ. You will find sample import files in the \Softral\SalesCQ\SAMDATA Folder. If you press F1 under File | Import | Quotes you can see all the fields you can import and the various import formats that are supported. You can import from Excel spreadsheets and text files.

Having said that, import are fiddley, and it might well be worthwhile having someone help you if this is going to become a regular occurrence.

Thank you Andrew! And dear god, I hope they don't make this a regular thing.

So apparently we do not have this file anymore. Is there someplace else I could see the sample format?

The is a (very large) document on our Tech Tips page that describes the layout of every importable file in Adagio. You should probably review the video on how Imports work generally:

Although I said that you might enlist some expert help if this was going to be a recurring requirement, it might be even more valuable to invest it if this is going to be a one-time event. With a copy of your database and the Excel spreadsheet you are trying to load, someone might be able to get the quote into your database more quickly than you going through all this material.