Estimates

Estimates let you create professional quotes and send them to clients for review before any money changes hands. A client can accept or reject the estimate directly from the email or link you share. Once accepted, the estimate converts into an invoice with a single click, eliminating the need to re-enter line items, pricing, or customer details.

What Estimates Does

Estimates handle the full quote-to-invoice lifecycle with client approval workflows and automatic conversion.

Core capabilities

Create professional quotes with line items pulled from your Products catalog or custom entries
Apply taxes, discounts (percentage or fixed amount), and adjustable quantities per line item
Send estimates via email, SMS, or shareable link with customizable templates
Track estimate status across Draft, Sent, Accepted, Declined, and Invoiced stages
Convert accepted estimates into payable invoices with one click (all line items, taxes, and customer details transfer automatically)
Link estimates to Opportunities for revenue visibility and pipeline updates

Where estimates are used

Payments > Invoices & Estimates > Estimates dashboard for centralized management
Contact profile Payments tab for quick quote creation
Workflow Builder with triggers for Estimate Created, Sent, Accepted, Declined, and Invoiced events
Mobile app for on-site quote creation and template reuse

Key Configuration Options

Business and customer information: Business details auto-populate from Settings > Business Profile. Search for existing contacts or create new ones directly from the estimate builder. Customer name, email, and address populate automatically when selected.

Estimate details: Set the estimate number (auto-generated with customizable prefix), estimate date, expiry date (creates urgency and deadline for client response), and notes for scope descriptions or additional context.

Line items: Click Add Item to select products from your catalog (name, description, price, and tax settings populate automatically) or add custom line items with manual name, description, quantity, and unit price. Adjust quantities, prices, discounts, and tax rates per line. Drag and drop to reorder items.

Terms and conditions: Add boilerplate terms at the bottom with rich text formatting. Terms persist across estimates if you set default terms in Settings > Payments > Estimate Settings.

Templates: Create reusable templates with pre-loaded line items, terms, and formatting for frequently sent quote types. This ensures consistency and speeds up creation.

Power Features

Client actions: When clients open the estimate link, they see a clean, branded view with Accept and Reject buttons. Accepting confirms the quote and changes status to Accepted. Rejecting opens a notes field where clients explain objections (rejection notes appear on your dashboard).

Conversion to invoices: Navigate to the Accepted tab, click the estimate, and select Create Invoice. The system creates a new invoice pre-populated with all line items, quantities, prices, taxes, customer details, business branding, and notes. Review, adjust the due date, and send.

Linking to opportunities: Select the Opportunity field in the estimate builder to associate the quote with a pipeline deal. Linked estimates update the opportunity value, sync status changes (accepted/declined), and display in the opportunity detail view.

Workflow automation: Use triggers like Estimate Created, Sent, Accepted, Declined, and Invoiced to automate follow-ups. Send reminder SMS 48 hours after sending, notify the sales team when high-value estimates are accepted, move pipeline stages automatically, or tag contacts with “Quote Declined” for nurture sequences.

Partial quantities: Enter fractional quantities (e.g., 2.5 hours of consulting) for services billed by the hour, materials sold by weight, or any product measured in partial units.

Mobile estimate creation: Create, send, and track quotes from the mobile app with full line item support, template reuse, and direct payment options (client pays immediately upon accepting, bypassing the separate invoice step).

Pro Tips

Set clear expiry dates (typically 14 to 30 days) to create urgency and prevent stale quotes from cluttering your pipeline.
Include detailed line items by breaking down pricing into granular items rather than lump sums. Detailed estimates build trust and reduce client questions.
Use templates for recurring services to ensure consistency and save time when quoting the same packages repeatedly.
Follow up promptly by monitoring the Sent tab daily. If a client has not responded within three to five days, reach out via phone or send a reminder through workflow automation.
Link estimates to opportunities to give your sales team full visibility into the revenue impact of every estimate and keep pipeline forecasting accurate.

Common Questions

How do I create an estimate?

Navigate to Payments > Invoices and Estimates, select the Estimates tab, and click New. Fill in customer details, add line items from your product catalog or as custom entries, set an expiry date, and click Send to deliver it to the client.

Can a client accept or reject an estimate online?

Yes. When a client opens the estimate link (delivered via email, SMS, or shared URL), they see Accept and Reject buttons. Accepting locks in the quote. Rejecting opens a notes field where they can explain their reasoning.

How do I convert an accepted estimate into an invoice?

Open the accepted estimate from the dashboard and click Create Invoice. The system generates a new invoice pre-populated with all line items, pricing, taxes, and customer details. Review the invoice, set a due date, and send it.

Can I send estimates via SMS?

Yes. When sending an estimate, select the SMS delivery option. The client receives a text message with a short link that opens the estimate in their mobile browser.

Can I link an estimate to a pipeline opportunity?

Yes. When creating or editing an estimate, use the Opportunity field to associate it with a deal. This links the estimate value to the pipeline, keeping revenue forecasting accurate and allowing status changes to sync between estimates and opportunities.