Estimates
An estimate is the quote. It goes out by email, the customer approves it online, and the accepted estimate becomes an invoice, a job or a contract without retyping. Estimates are on every plan.
At a glance
- Make one: Estimates → New estimate, or Create Estimate on a job.
- Send it: Review & Send in the studio, then Send now.
- Statuses: Draft, Sent, Viewed, Accepted, Declined, Expired, Converted.
- After acceptance: Convert to Invoice, New job, Create Contract.
- Look and feel: Templates → Estimates.
Creating one
Estimates → New estimate opens the billing studio: line items in the middle, the live document on the right, a readiness rail that says what’s missing. Pick the customer and property, add lines from your catalog, and the price, unit and tax come with them.
Three fields on the estimate itself matter later. Issue Date is when it’s dated. Valid Until is when the customer can no longer approve it; it defaults from the Estimate validity window under Settings → Company → General, Defaults tab. Notes print under the lines.
Sending
Review & Send
The drawer shows the recipient and lets you edit the subject and message.
Choose the options
E-signature adds a one-click link to review and accept, with a signature. Attach PDF adds a copy to the email. Auto-reminders sends a friendly follow-up if there’s no reply after the number of days in your reminder settings. Schedule for later sends at a time you pick instead of now.
Send now
Delivered a printed copy by hand instead? Mark as Sent from the list moves it along without an email.
What the customer sees
A page with the lines, totals, notes and your terms, and two buttons: Approve Estimate and Decline. If you asked for a signature they sign on the same page. If you require a deposit, approving collects it.
You get a notification on either answer, and the estimate page shows a Status History with when it was sent, viewed, accepted or declined.
The statuses
| Status | Meaning | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Saved, not sent | Edit freely |
| Sent | Emailed | Send Follow-up, Resend |
| Viewed | Opened by the customer | Same as Sent |
| Accepted | Approved | Convert to Invoice, New job, Create Contract |
| Declined | Turned down | Duplicate to quote again |
| Expired | Past Valid Until - it expires on its own once the date passes | Re-issue sends a fresh link with a new date |
| Converted | Became an invoice | Open the invoice |
After acceptance
Convert to Invoice copies the lines and tax to a new invoice; you set the due date. New job puts the work on the calendar with the lines attached, and the invoice can come from the job when it’s done. Create Contract starts a contract from the same lines, for work that repeats across a season.
Good, better, best
One estimate can carry up to three priced tiers. In the studio, Add tier creates the next one; name it, describe it, and mark one RECOMMENDED. The customer picks a tier when approving, and the conversion to an invoice uses the tier they chose. An estimate with tiers can’t be converted until one is picked.
Deposits
Under Settings → Company → General, Defaults tab, Require a deposit sets a percentage collected up front. An estimate with a deposit creates a deposit invoice the moment it’s accepted, and the final invoice credits it. The studio rail shows Deposit request when one is on.
How it looks
Templates → Estimates holds the form styles: layout, logo, colours. Switch template in the studio applies one to a single estimate; Set as Default on the Templates page applies it to every new one. See Templates & form styles.
Tips
- Lead with the work they asked for. Drag lines to reorder; the customer reads top to bottom.
- The detail line sells. “Mow, edge, blow walks, clippings bagged” is what makes a price feel earned.
- Quote the season, contract the season. A customer who accepts the same estimate every spring is a contract waiting to happen.
Troubleshooting
Send is greyed out. The rail is red somewhere: no email on the customer, or no priced line. The rail says which.
The customer can’t approve. The estimate is past Valid Until. Re-issue it.
I converted the wrong tier. Void the invoice, re-open the estimate, and convert again picking the right one.