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Create an estimate

Who can do this: Admin, Manager

By the end of this article, you have a draft estimate for a client, with lines drawn from your catalog or typed by hand, and your sales taxes and a discount applied. A draft stays editable until you mark it sent, which Send an estimate covers.

Before you start​

Steps​

  1. Open your estimates. On a computer or tablet, select Estimates in the sidebar. On a phone, select More at the bottom of the screen, then select Estimates.
  2. Select New Estimate. The New Estimate page opens.
  3. Under Details, open Client and choose the client.
  4. If the estimate is for a project, open Project and choose it.
  5. To add a line from your catalog, select Add from Catalog, type part of the item's name in the search box, and select the item in the list below it.
  6. To change how many of that item the estimate charges for, type the number in the line's quantity box: the box under the QTY heading on a computer, or the box after the description on a phone. The line's type, unit, cost and markup come from your catalog and are greyed out.
  7. To add a line of your own, select Add Line Item.
  8. Open the line's TYPE and choose Material, Labor, Equipment, Mileage, Fee or Allowance.
  9. Fill in the line's DESCRIPTION, QTY, UNIT, UNIT $ (the cost of one unit) and MARKUP (a percentage added to the cost). On a computer these are the headings above the lines; on a phone the boxes come in the same order under the type, without headings.
  10. Repeat steps 5 to 9 for each line.
  11. Select Save. The app saves the estimate and returns you to the estimates list.
  12. In the list, select the estimate to open it again.
  13. Under Taxes, tick each sales tax that applies to this estimate.
  14. Under Discount, choose the discount to give, or leave No discount.
  15. Select Save.

What you see​

  • After the first Save, the app shows "Estimate created", and the estimate is in the list as Draft. The estimate's number is set when you first save it; the number the New Estimate page showed before that is replaced.
  • Each line shows its total, which includes the markup, and the totals box shows the Subtotal and the Grand Total.
  • When you tick a tax or choose a discount, the totals change straight away. They show the discount, the taxable base, and each tax with the kinds of line it applies to. The taxes and the discount are kept as soon as you choose them.
  • After the second Save, the app shows "Estimate updated" and returns you to the list.

If something blocks you​

  • "Select a client" under Client after you select Save. No client is chosen. Choose the client and select Save again.
  • "Line item 1 needs a description - fill it in or remove the row." after you select Save. A line you added with Add Line Item has no description; the number is the line's place in the list. Type a description, or remove the line with its bin icon, and select Save again.
  • Project shows "Select client first" and cannot be opened. Choose the client first.
  • Taxes says "Save the estimate to apply catalog taxes." and Discount says "Save the estimate to apply a catalog discount." The estimate has not been saved yet. Select Save, then open the estimate again from the list.
  • A minus sign or a letter cannot be typed into QTY, UNIT $ or MARKUP, and these boxes take only one decimal point.
  • "Estimate is locked" after you select Save. Someone marked the estimate sent while you had it open, so it can no longer be edited and your changes were not saved. To change a sent estimate, revise it: see Record the customer's decision and revise an estimate.