Create an Estimate

 

An estimate is a preliminary sales document you send to a potential client with the details of products or services and their estimated prices. This article explains how to create, save, and send or print an estimate, how to add items in bulk from a spreadsheet, how to add a delivery cost, and what happens after saving.

Access path

• Direct link: New Estimate.
• From the menu: Click Sales, then Estimates, then click New Estimate.

Steps to create an estimate

1. Open Estimates and click New Estimate.
2. In the Method field, choose Send via Email or Print (Offline). The save button at the top of the page changes based on your choice to Save & Don’t Email or Save & Don’t Print, and the save options change with it.
3. Choose the Client from the list. To add a client quickly without detailed data, click New.
4. Choose the Order Source if order sources are enabled in your account.
5. In the items table, choose the Item by searching by name or code. To add a product or service quickly, click Add New Product at the bottom of the list. To add several items at once from an Excel file, see Add items in bulk from a spreadsheet.
6. Enter the Unit Price and Quantity.
7. Add a Discount on the item if needed.
8. Choose the Taxes for each item. To edit a tax name or rate, click Tax Settings.
9. To review the estimate before saving, click Preview. To go back to the form, click Edit.
10. Click the save button. The message The estimate has been saved appears, and you go to the estimate page.

Add items in bulk from a spreadsheet

If the estimate items are in an Excel or Google Sheets file, you can copy and paste them at once instead of adding them one by one:

1. Open New Estimate.
2. In the items table, click the arrow next to the Add button.
3. Choose Paste from Sheet. A window with a table appears.
4. Copy the items from the Excel or Google Sheets file, and paste them into the table.
5. Confirm, and the items are added to the estimate items table.
6. Review the items, complete the rest of the estimate data, then save it.

Add a delivery cost to the estimate

To add a delivery cost to the estimate, use one of two methods:

• As a service item: Add a service named, for example, Delivery Fees from Products & Services if it doesn’t exist, then choose it in the items table and set the Unit Price. It appears to the client as a separate item in the estimate.
• From the adjustment: In the Discount & Adjustment tab below the items table, enter the delivery amount in the Adjustment field, and the amount is added to the estimate total.

Save options

The main save button depends on the Method; click the arrow next to it to choose another option:

Option	What happens
Save & Don’t Email	Saves the estimate without sending it (the main button when the method is Send via Email).
Save & Send Email	Saves the estimate and opens the step to send it to the client’s email.
Save & Don’t Print	Saves the estimate without printing it (the main button when the method is Print (Offline)).
Save & Print	Saves the estimate and opens printing.
Save & Add New	Saves the estimate and opens a new estimate form.
Save as Draft	A separate button next to Preview that saves the estimate as a draft to complete later.

Fields and sections

Field	Description	Required	Appears when
Method	Send via Email or Print (Offline). Sets the main save button.	No	Always
Client	The client the estimate is addressed to.	Yes	Always
Order Source	The order source the client came from. It moves automatically to the sales order or invoice on conversion.	No	When order sources are enabled
Item	The product or service. The list shows the products you’re allowed to see based on the Invoice All Products permission.	Yes (at least one item)	Always
Paste from Sheet	An option next to the Add button in the items table that adds several items at once by pasting them from an Excel or Google Sheets file.	No	When creating a new estimate only
Description	The item description as the client sees it.	No	Always
Unit Price	The unit selling price. A price lower than the product’s minimum price isn’t accepted.	Yes	Always
Quantity	The quantity of the item.	Yes	Always
Discount (on the item)	A discount by amount or percentage on the item.	No	When How to Apply Discounts in Invoice Settings is set to Discount per Item or Both Invoice Total and per Item
Taxes	The tax applied to the item. VAT is available by default at the account country’s rate.	No	Always
Discount (on the total)	A discount on the estimate total.	No	When How to Apply Discounts is set to Invoice Total Discount Only or Both Invoice Total and per Item
Adjustment	Adds an amount to the estimate total or subtracts it, such as a delivery cost. It’s in the Discount & Adjustment tab below the items table.	No	Always

Rules and restrictions

• Without the Invoice All Products permission, only the products the user added themselves appear in the items.
• A user with the permission to add estimates for their own clients only can choose only the clients assigned to them.
• You can’t create an estimate for a suspended client.
• A unit price lower than the product’s minimum price isn’t accepted.
• The number of estimates is subject to your plan’s invoice limit.
• The Paste from Sheet option is available only when creating a new estimate, and adds the items to one estimate. There’s no way to create several estimates at once; each estimate is created separately.

Error messages and solutions

Cause	Message	Solution
The user doesn’t have the permission to add estimates.	You are not allowed to access this page	Ask the account owner to add the permission to your role from Roles.
The unit price is lower than the product’s minimum price.	The product (product name) has a minimum price (minimum price)	Raise the unit price to the minimum price or higher.
The selected client is suspended.	Client is suspend	Reactivate the client or choose another client.
A required field is empty, such as no client selected or no items added.	Required appears under the empty field.	Complete the field, then save again.

What happens after saving the estimate

• The estimate gets an automatic number and appears in Estimates.
• The estimate doesn’t create journal entries, and doesn’t affect the inventory or the client’s balance.
• You can later convert the estimate to an invoice from its page using Convert to invoice, and then the invoice’s effects apply to the accounts and inventory.
• The creation is recorded in the account’s activity log.

Statuses and related settings

• Invoice All Products permission: Enabled: all products appear in the items. Disabled: only the products the user added appear.
• Estimate settings: From Estimate Configuration, you can disable the Estimates Module completely, enable Estimate Custom Statuses, and enable Apply Offers to Estimates.
• How to Apply Discounts in Invoice Settings sets whether the discount appears on the item, on the total, or both.
• Branches: If Products Shared Across isn’t set in Branch Sharing Settings in Branches Settings, only the current branch’s products appear.
• Minimum price: If the product has a minimum price, saving with a lower price is prevented.

FAQs

How do I add a delivery cost to the estimate?

Use one of two methods: add a service named, for example, Delivery Fees to the items table and set the Unit Price, or enter the delivery amount in the Adjustment field in the Discount & Adjustment tab below the items table, so it’s added to the estimate total. See Add a delivery cost to the estimate.

Can I upload an estimate or add its items at once from an Excel file?

Yes, you can add all the estimate items at once. When creating a New Estimate, click the arrow next to the Add button in the items table, choose Paste from Sheet, then copy the items from the Excel or Google Sheets file and paste them into the table. This option is available only when creating a new estimate, and adds the items to one estimate; there’s no way to create several estimates at once.

Why doesn’t the Paste from Sheet option appear?

Because you’re editing an existing estimate. The option appears only when creating a new estimate. To add many items to an existing estimate, add them one by one, or create a new estimate and paste the items into it.

I added a new user to create estimates, but no products appear for them when creating an estimate. Why?

Because the user’s role doesn’t include the Invoice All Products permission, so only the products they added themselves appear, and the new user hasn’t added any products. Open Roles, edit the user’s role, turn on the Invoice All Products permission, then save. The user may need to log in again. Changing the role applies to all users assigned to it; to apply it to one user only, create a separate role for them.

Why doesn’t the discount appear on the item?

Because How to Apply Discounts in Invoice Settings is set to Invoice Total Discount Only. Change it to Discount per Item or Both Invoice Total and per Item.

Why don’t estimates appear in the menu?

They may be disabled from Estimate Configuration, or the user doesn’t have estimate permissions.

Does an estimate affect the inventory or the accounts?

No. An estimate doesn’t record journal entries or deduct from the inventory. That happens only after it’s converted to an invoice.

How do I add a tax for each product in the estimate?

1. From Sales, choose Estimates, then click New Estimate.
2. In the items table, choose the product.
3. From the Taxes column on the same row, choose the tax you need.
4. Repeat this for each item, then save.