The Estimates module allows you to create brand new Estimates and email them to your customers for review. Your customers can also Approve/Decline the Estimates in the  Customer Portal, and you can then create a Ticket or Invoice from the Estimate once that happens.

The Estimates module works similarly to the Invoices, and they have a template that you can modify in the PDF/Email Templates section of the Admin menu. You can create an Estimate from the Customer Profile, or via the Estimates tab.

Overview

Estimates Tab:

• Filter by User: A drop-down that will allow you to select a specific User Account to use to filter the Estimates. You can select multiple Users, and by default, none are selected which causes all Users to be displayed.      
• Advanced Search: Search by multiple statuses, customer, or a customized date range.

• New Estimate: Allows creation of a new Estimate.     
• Show Declined: Shows a list of Declined Estimates which will display a red checkmark in the "Status" column.
• Status Column: Green Checkmark is 'Approved', and Grey Checkmark is 'Invoice Made'.

New Estimate:

• Convert to Invoice: Creates an Invoice with the correct line items from the Estimate. This will mark the estimate as Approved.
• Process: Drop-down menu that displays the Accept, Decline, and Mark as Draft options.
  • Mark as Draft: Hides the Estimate from the Customer Portal so the Customer cannot Accept/Decline/View it.    
• New Ticket: Creates a Ticket from the Estimate.    
• Actions: Drop-down that displays the Email, Add Attachment, Clone, and Delete options.
• Estimate Name: You can give the Estimate a name to identify it from other Estimates for a customer or just in general. This name can be added to the Estimate Template using the tag {{estimate_name}} so that you can provide it to customers should you choose. The Estimate Name can also be optionally enabled in the Customer Portal under Admin > Customer Preferences > Additional Preferences > Show Estimate Name in Customer Portal.

Estimate Message

The Estimate Message text field allows you to add a custom message to the Estimate you are sending your customer! There is a tag that you will want to include in the Estimate Template: {{estimate_message}}

Estimates Quick View

The Estimates Quick View adds a magnifying glass icon next to the Estimate in the system that you can click on to get an overview of the contents of the Estimate:

The Quick View will list the line items of the Estimate as well as the totals, and you can click on the line items to navigate to the Inventory Product page. If the backorder feature is enabled you will see the "Pending:" option under "QTY" like in the Estimate itself.

The Estimate status will be displayed at the top for easy viewing, and the action buttons just below that will allow you to Convert the Estimate to an Invoice, or Approve/Decline it right from the Quick View.

Product Upsells

Product Upsells allow you to quickly see other products or product categories related to the item that was added to an estimate. Upsells provide you opportunities to sell similar items to your customers or can remind your technicians to add additional items to an estimate that may be forgotten.

Product upsells are defined in the actual product. See Create a Product or Service for details.

Linked Ticket Charges

Linked Ticket Charges allows you to carry over the line items from an estimate to the linked ticket or to a new ticket if it hasn't already been created. To add the charges, head to an estimate and select Actions > Add Charges to Linked Ticket:

This will bring all the line items over from the current estimate to the linked ticket:

The charges will show up under the 'Add/View Charges' section on the ticket: