Estimates
Estimates are preliminary cost proposals you send to a client before any work is committed. They are a working document — approving or cancelling an estimate does not affect your accounts or move stock.
When to use an estimate
Section titled “When to use an estimate”Use an estimate when you need the client to see an indicative cost and you are not yet ready to commit to the price or the work. When the client agrees, you typically create a Quote (a firmer proposal) or a Job from the estimate and work from there.
Status lifecycle
Section titled “Status lifecycle”| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
draft | Being prepared. Not yet visible to the client. |
pending | Internal review step — waiting for sign-off before sending. |
sent | Delivered to the client. |
approved | Client has accepted. |
cancelled | Withdrawn or declined. |
Changing an estimate’s status has no effect on your books — your sales, receivables, and VAT figures only change once the work is committed on a Job or billed on an Invoice.
Line items
Section titled “Line items”Estimate line items share the same catalog contract as Quotes, Jobs, Invoices, and Purchase Orders. A line carries:
- Item (optional catalog link), Description, Quantity, Unit Price.
- A per-line Discount (none, percentage, or fixed amount).
- A Tax Code and resulting Tax Amount.
Discount and surcharge items
Section titled “Discount and surcharge items”Catalog Discount and Surcharge items are supported on estimates. Drop one onto the document and the configured rate or amount is applied automatically. When both are present, discounts apply first and the surcharge is computed against the post-discount subtotal. See Finance → Line Items for how to set these up.
Converting an estimate
Section titled “Converting an estimate”“Create Quote from this Estimate” and similar actions prefill a new document with the estimate’s client, contact, and line items. The new document is an independent record — the source estimate is not linked to it or locked, so you can keep iterating on the estimate if needed.
Estimates never reserve or deduct stock. On-hand counts only move when a sale is recorded (POS sale or, where applicable, via the linked invoice / job flow).