Estimates
Quote the work, get a decision, then invoice it
Describe the work and the price before it starts, get a decision your customer can give from a link, and turn an accepted estimate into an invoice without retyping a line.
Optional moduleEstimates are an optional module. Switch it on in Settings, under Modules, and it appears in your sidebar with its own numbering.
The problem
Quotes that live in email threads get lost
A quote sent as an attachment has no status. You do not know whether it was opened, whether the customer meant to accept it, or which version they are looking at. When the job is agreed by phone, the invoice has to be built again from memory.
Step by step
How it works, in three steps
Build the estimate
Lines, notes and a validity date, with your document labelled Estimate, Quote or Proposal as you prefer.
Send it for a decision
The customer opens their own page, reads it, and accepts or declines from a signed link.
Convert the accepted estimate
One action creates a draft invoice from the same lines, ready to check and send.
Decisions
Accept or decline from a link, with a record of who did
The customer page shows the estimate as it will be invoiced. A signed acceptance link records the decision, the email it came from and the time, and a phone or paper decision can be recorded by your team with a note of how it arrived.
- Validity date with a default of 30 days, adjustable per workspace
- Withdraw, extend or revise an estimate; every revision keeps its own version
- A public quote-request form for new enquiries, with the answers landing in your inbox
From estimate to invoice
Accepted work becomes a draft invoice
Converting copies the lines, the customer and the notes into a draft invoice you review before sending. It happens once per estimate, so an accepted quote can never be billed twice by accident.
- Estimates get their own number series, separate from invoices
- Optional deposits on acceptance, paid on the same page customers pay invoices from
- A milestone schedule can be invoiced one stage at a time
In practice
A practical example
Harbor & Pine Co. asks Northline Studio for a brand refresh. Jordan sends EST-0007 for $3,400.00 with a 25 percent deposit on acceptance and thirty days to decide. The customer accepts from the link on a Tuesday, the deposit lands through Northline's own card account, and the accepted estimate becomes a draft invoice for the balance when the work is delivered.
Northline Studio is a fictional business; none of these figures are real.
Outcomes
What you get
- Customers see the scope and the price before the work starts
- Decisions are recorded with a time and an email, not remembered
- Accepted estimates become invoices without retyping
- Deposits and milestones are optional packs you add only if you need them
- Estimates keep their own numbering, so your invoice sequence stays clean
What it does not do
- It is not on by default: an owner switches the module on in Settings before it appears
- It does not turn a declined or expired estimate into anything; you revise and resend
- It does not produce contracts or terms of engagement; attach or link yours
Questions about estimates
Create your first invoice in minutes
Free to use today, with no card on file and no trial clock. Add a customer, send the first invoice, and the rest of the workspace is there when you need it.