Estimate Overview

The Estimate module is where you price a job for your client, send it to them, and track what happens next. Once your client accepts, the same estimate becomes the starting point for your invoice, your schedule, your sales order and any changes that come later.

Where to find it

Go to Clients, select the client you are working with, then open the Estimate card.

What you see on the Estimate page

At the top of the page you have two buttons:

• Create Estimate — starts a new estimate
• View Trash — holds estimates you have deleted

Below that, your estimates are organised into three tabs:

The three ways to start an estimate

When you click Create Estimate, a popup asks you to choose how you want to begin:

• Start from Scratch — build the estimate line by line
• Start from Template — begin from something your team has already set up
• Upload Estimate — bring in an existing file and let the system read it

Pick one and click Proceed.

The life of an estimate

An estimate moves through a set of stages, and what you are allowed to do changes at each one.

The one rule to remember

Once your client accepts an estimate, it is locked and cannot be edited.

This is deliberate. The accepted estimate is the version your client agreed to, so it stays exactly as it was. Anything that changes after that is recorded separately as a change order, which gives you a clean record of what was agreed originally and what changed later.

What an accepted estimate unlocks

Accepting an estimate closes the door on editing, but it opens four new ones:

• Convert to Invoice — start billing for the work
• Convert to Schedule — turn your line items into a project plan
• Convert to Sales Order — raise the sales order for the job
• Create Change Order — record any change to the agreed scope or price

Options on each estimate card

Depending on the stage the estimate is in, the menu on each card gives you:

• Edit — available while the estimate is in Draft, Sent or Rejected
• Send Reminder — nudge a client who has not responded
• Share — share the estimate
• Chat — talk about this estimate with your team
• Duplicate — copy it as the starting point for a new one
• Delete — move it to Trash
• Create Change Order / Update Change Order — appears once the estimate is accepted
• View Change Orders — appears once a change order exists
• Convert to Schedule — appears once the estimate is accepted, and disappears after you use it