Estimates Overview

Estimates are professional financial documents that describe proposed work and provide pricing for your customers. They serve as formal proposals that customers can review, accept, or reject.

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What Are Estimates?

Estimates are professional financial documents that describe proposed work and provide pricing for your customers. They serve as formal proposals that customers can review, accept, or reject.

Key Concept: Estimates are proposals in your business—they formalize project scope, pricing, and terms before work begins. Once accepted, they serve as authorization to proceed and can be converted to active jobs.

Why Use Estimates?

Estimates provide a structured way to:

  • Formalize proposals with professional documentation
  • Define scope with detailed line items and descriptions
  • Set expectations for pricing, terms, and timelines
  • Track approvals through customer acceptance workflow
  • Convert to jobs after customer approval
  • Maintain records of all proposals and pricing history

How Estimates Work

The Estimate Lifecycle

Creation:

  1. Select/Create Customer - Estimates require a customer (required)
  2. Set Expiration Date - Defaults to 30 days, customizable
  3. Add Line Items - Describe the work with quantities and rates
  4. Configure Taxes - Apply applicable taxes to taxable items
  5. Review Total - Estimate calculates subtotal, taxes, and grand total

Submission: 6. Submit to Customer - Send via email/SMS notification 7. Customer Reviews - Customer receives link to view in HomeGuild Client app/web 8. Customer Responds - Accepts, rejects (with optional feedback), or prints for wet signature

After Acceptance: 9. Create Job - Manually convert accepted estimate to active job 10. Track Work - Job becomes the work record with estimate as reference

Flexible Entry:

  • Estimates can be created standalone or from leads
  • You can enter the pipeline at any point
  • Multiple estimates can be created for the same customer/lead
  • Estimates can be revised and resubmitted after rejection

Creating Estimates

Customer Requirement

Important: A customer is always required to create an estimate. You cannot create an estimate with contact information alone.

If you don't have a customer yet:

  • Create a customer record first with contact details
  • If coming from a lead, convert lead contact info to customer
  • Customer provides foundation for all financial documents

Expiration Dates

Default Behavior:

  • New estimates expire in 30 days from creation
  • Expiration can be customized during estimate creation
  • After expiration, customers cannot view or accept the estimate
  • Expired estimates can still be edited and resubmitted

Best Practice:

  • Adjust expiration based on project complexity and decision timeline
  • Consider seasonal factors or customer procurement processes

Planned Enhancement:

  • User setting to change default expiration period (a future update)
  • Auto-extend expiration date on resubmittal (a future update)

Creating Via UI

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Estimates section
  2. Create new estimate
  3. Select existing customer or create new customer
  4. Set expiration date (or accept default)
  5. Add line items (see Line Items section below)
  6. Review totals and submit

Creating Via Agent

Natural Language Examples:

  • "Create estimate for John Smith's kitchen remodel"
  • "Prepare estimate for window replacement"
  • "New estimate for ABC Company"

Agent Workflow:

  1. Agent confirms or prompts for customer
  2. Agent sets default expiration (30 days)
  3. Estimate created in draft status
  4. Agent guides through adding line items

Line Items

Line items define the specific goods and services included in the estimate. They are the core content of your proposal.

Adding Line Items

Two Methods:

Option 1: Use Business Item as Template

  • Select existing business item from your catalog
  • Name, description, rate, and taxes pre-populate
  • Override any field as needed (rate, quantity, description, taxes)
  • Business item just serves as starting point

Option 2: Create Ad-Hoc Line Item

  • Enter details directly without using a template
  • Provide name, quantity, and rate (minimum requirements)
  • Optionally add description
  • Configure taxes separately

UI Autocomplete:

  • Start typing in the name field
  • Dropdown shows matching business items
  • Select to autofill details
  • Edit any field after selection

Via Agent:

  • "Add 5 hours of labor at $85/hour"
  • "Add flooring materials"
  • "Include cleanup and disposal"

Line Item Fields

Required:

  • Name - What is this item?
  • Quantity - How many units?
  • Rate - Price per unit (dollars)

Optional:

  • Description - Additional details about the item
  • Taxable - Check if taxes apply
  • Taxes - Select which tax items apply

Calculated:

  • Line Total - Quantity × Rate (before taxes)
  • Tax Amount - Sum of applicable taxes on this line
  • Line Total with Tax - Final price for this line

Managing Line Items

From the UI:

  • Edit - Open line item for changes
  • Remove - Delete line item from estimate
  • Order - Items appear in order added

Important Notes:

  • Line items can be edited while estimate is in draft status
  • Once submitted or accepted, estimate is locked
  • After rejection, estimate can be edited again
  • No limit to number of line items per estimate

Planned Enhancements:

  • Drag-and-drop reordering (a future update)
  • Notes and images on line items (a future update)
  • Line item discounts (a future update)
  • Track business item usage in estimates (a future update)

Business Items vs. Ad-Hoc Items

Business Items:

  • Pre-defined in your service catalog
  • Fast data entry via dropdown
  • Consistent pricing across estimates
  • Tax configuration carried forward
  • Relationship: Template only—no ongoing link after creation

Ad-Hoc Items:

  • Created directly on the estimate
  • One-time or custom work
  • Unique pricing for this estimate
  • Manual tax configuration
  • Not saved for reuse

When Business Items Are Modified:

  • If you delete a business item later, line items remain unchanged
  • Updating a business item doesn't affect existing estimates
  • Each line item is independent after creation

Taxes and Pricing

Tax Calculation

Automatic Calculation:

  • Taxes are calculated automatically based on selected tax items
  • Each line item can have different taxes applied
  • Taxes are tracked individually per line item
  • Estimate shows tax breakdown and totals

Applying Taxes to Line Items:

  1. Check "Taxable" checkbox on line item
  2. Select applicable tax items (sales tax, local tax, etc.)
  3. Tax amount calculates automatically
  4. Line total updates to include taxes

Business Item Tax Templates:

  • If using business item, taxes pre-populate
  • Can override tax selection for this estimate
  • Useful when tax rules vary by customer location

Pricing Calculations

Estimate Totals:

Subtotal:     Sum of all line totals (quantity × rate)
+ Taxes:      Sum of all tax amounts
────────────────────────────────────────
Grand Total:  Final estimate amount

The estimate displays:

  • Subtotal (before taxes)
  • Individual tax amounts with labels
  • Grand total (final amount)

Adjustments and Discounts

Current Behavior:

  • No built-in discount mechanism at estimate level
  • Discounts can be applied by adjusting line item rates manually
  • Or add negative line items for discounts

After Acceptance:

  • Use change orders for adjustments, refunds, or discounts
  • Change orders track modifications after estimate acceptance
  • Maintain audit trail of price changes

Planned Enhancement:

  • Line item discounts (percentage or fixed amount) (a future update)

Payment Terms and Deposits

Terms:

  • Payment terms are defined in Document Settings (pro-level settings)
  • Terms display on customer-facing estimate view
  • Common examples: "Net 30", "Due on completion", "50% deposit required"

Deposits:

  • Option 1: Create multiple estimates (deposit estimate + balance estimate)
  • Option 2: Create invoice directly from job for deposit
  • Not supported: Built-in deposit field on estimates currently

Submitting Estimates

Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting, ensure:

  • Customer has valid contact information (email or phone for SMS)
  • All line items are complete and accurate
  • Totals are correct
  • Expiration date is appropriate
  • Payment terms are configured

Warning:

  • System warns if customer lacks email or phone number
  • Estimate cannot be submitted without customer contact method

Submission Process

Via UI:

  1. Click "Submit Estimate" button
  2. Confirm customer and contact method
  3. System sends notification
  4. Estimate status changes to "Submitted"
  5. Estimate is locked (no more edits)

Via Agent:

  • "Submit estimate to [customer name]"
  • "Send estimate for approval"
  • Agent confirms details and submits

What Customer Receives:

  • Notification via email or SMS
  • Link to view estimate
  • Brief message about who sent it and project name

Planned Enhancement:

  • Richer notification with estimate preview/summary
  • Resend estimate functionality (a future update)

Customer Experience

When customer receives link:

  • Opens in HomeGuild Client web app (browser)
  • Or opens in HomeGuild Client mobile app (if installed)
  • Customer can view all details:
    • Line items with descriptions
    • Quantities and rates
    • Tax breakdown
    • Grand total
    • Payment terms
    • Expiration date

Customer Actions:

  • Accept - Approve the estimate and authorize work
  • Reject - Decline with optional feedback notes
  • Print - Print for wet signature if preferred
  • Create Account - Link with pro and track project progress

After Customer Engages:

  • Customer is prompted to create HomeGuild Client account
  • Or sign into existing account
  • This creates link between customer and pro
  • Customer can track progress and view documents later

Manual Acceptance

Pro-Side Override:

  • Pro can manually accept estimate on customer's behalf
  • Useful for phone approvals or offline acceptance
  • Available from estimate detail view
  • Button: "Accept on Customer's Behalf"

When to use:

  • Customer gives verbal approval
  • Customer signs printed estimate
  • Customer approves via phone or in-person
  • Customer has technical difficulty with online acceptance

Estimate Status

Estimates move through several states during their lifecycle:

Draft:

  • Newly created estimate
  • Not yet submitted to customer
  • Can be freely edited
  • Can be deleted

Submitted:

  • Sent to customer for review
  • Customer has not yet responded
  • Locked for editing
  • Can be withdrawn

Accepted:

  • Customer approved the estimate
  • Authorization to proceed with work
  • Locked permanently
  • Ready to convert to job

Rejected:

  • Customer declined the estimate
  • Optional feedback notes from customer
  • Pro is notified immediately
  • Can be revised and resubmitted as new estimate

Expired:

  • Past expiration date
  • Customer can no longer view or accept
  • Can be edited and resubmitted
  • Expiration date should be extended on resubmittal

Withdrawn:

  • Pro cancelled submitted estimate before customer responded
  • Estimate returns to draft-like state
  • Can be revised and resubmitted

Converting to Jobs

When to Convert

After Acceptance:

  • Estimate must be accepted before conversion
  • Acceptance serves as authorization to proceed
  • Job becomes the active work record

Cannot Convert If:

  • Estimate is still in draft
  • Estimate has been rejected
  • Estimate has been withdrawn
  • No acceptance from customer

Conversion Process

Manual Conversion:

  1. Open accepted estimate
  2. Click "Create Job" button
  3. System creates new job with:
    • Same customer
    • Linked lead (if estimate came from lead)
    • Reference to estimate
    • Estimate viewable from job
  4. Job is now ready for scheduling and execution

What Carries Over:

  • Customer relationship
  • Lead relationship (if applicable)
  • Estimate record (as reference)
  • All estimates for lead remain viewable from job

What Doesn't Carry Over:

  • Line items (not copied to job)
  • Estimate serves as scope reference, not active task list
  • Job uses its own task/checklist system

Planned Enhancement:

  • Optional automatic job creation setting (a future update)

Multiple Estimates per Lead/Customer

Relationships:

  • Customer can have many estimates
  • Lead can have many estimates
  • Each estimate can be accepted or rejected independently
  • Job can reference multiple estimates

Use Cases:

  • Offer multiple pricing tiers
  • Phase 1 vs Phase 2 proposals
  • Alternative approaches to same problem
  • Revisions after initial rejection

Job Association:

  • Job can have multiple estimates (all linked via lead)
  • Estimate belongs to one job (after conversion)
  • Think of estimates as authorization/work orders

Multiple Estimates and Relationships

Estimate without Lead

Standalone Estimates:

  • Estimates do not require leads
  • Can be created directly for customer
  • Useful for repeat customers or simple work
  • Pipeline can be entered at any point

When to use:

  • Existing customer requests additional work
  • No need for sales pipeline tracking
  • Simple, straightforward projects
  • Customer already established

Estimate with Lead

Lead-Connected Estimates:

  • Created from lead detail view
  • Inherit lead context (notes, photos, details)
  • Multiple estimates can be created per lead
  • Accepting any estimate marks lead as "Won"

Benefits:

  • Track full sales pipeline
  • Reference lead notes and photos
  • Monitor opportunity through conversion
  • Better business intelligence

Multiple Estimates Strategy

Common Scenarios:

Pricing Tiers:

  • Basic, Standard, Premium packages
  • Let customer choose level of service

Phased Projects:

  • Phase 1 (immediate) + Phase 2 (future)
  • Separate estimates for each phase

Alternative Approaches:

  • Different methods to solve same problem
  • Present options with pros/cons

Revisions:

  • Customer rejects initial proposal
  • Create revised estimate with changes
  • Each revision is separate estimate record

Managing Estimates

Searching and Finding

Via Agent:

  • Natural language search: "Find estimates for John Smith"
  • "Show me all pending estimates"
  • "Estimates created last month"
  • "Find estimates over $5,000"
  • Agent uses flexible search across all estimate fields

Via UI:

  • Browse estimates list
  • Filter by status, customer, date range
  • Sort by date, amount, customer name
  • Quick actions from list view

Editing Estimates

When Editing is Allowed:

  • Draft status - freely editable
  • Rejected status - can be revised
  • Expired status - can be updated and resubmitted
  • Withdrawn status - can be modified

When Editing is Locked:

  • Submitted status - locked until customer responds
  • Accepted status - permanently locked

To Revise Locked Estimate:

  • Cannot modify accepted/submitted estimates directly
  • Create new estimate with revised pricing/scope
  • Original estimate remains as historical record

Deleting Estimates

Current Behavior:

  • Estimates can be deleted if in draft status
  • Associated with customer deletion rules
  • Be cautious—deletion is permanent

Best Practice:

  • Archive rather than delete when possible
  • Historical estimates valuable for reference
  • Track pricing trends over time

Duplicating Estimates

Current Status:

  • No built-in duplication feature

Planned Enhancement:

  • Duplicate/clone estimates (a future update)
  • Useful for similar projects
  • Save time with standard packages
  • Future: Save estimates as templates

Workaround:

  • Use business items for consistent line items
  • Recreate manually for now

Agent Capabilities

The Estimate Agent supports comprehensive natural language interactions:

Search and Find

Examples:

  • "Find estimates for John Smith"
  • "Show me pending estimates"
  • "Estimates created this week"
  • "Find all estimates over $10,000"
  • "Which estimates are expiring soon?"

Agent Behavior:

  • Flexible natural language understanding
  • Searches across customer names, amounts, dates, status
  • Returns relevant matches
  • Offers to provide more details

Create Operations

Examples:

  • "Create estimate for John Smith"
  • "New estimate for kitchen remodel"
  • "Prepare proposal for ABC Company"

Agent Workflow:

  • Confirms or prompts for customer
  • Sets default expiration
  • Creates estimate in draft
  • Guides through adding line items

Update Operations

Examples:

  • "Update expiration date to 60 days"
  • "Change estimate title to 'Deck Refinishing'"
  • "Modify customer notes"

Agent Behavior:

  • Operates on currently selected estimate (from context)
  • Or prompts to find estimate
  • Makes requested modifications
  • Confirms changes

Add Line Items

Examples:

  • "Add 5 hours of labor at $85/hour"
  • "Include materials for flooring"
  • "Add cleanup and disposal"
  • "Add business item 'Website Design'"

Agent Behavior:

  • Intelligent matching to business items when mentioned
  • Creates ad-hoc items when needed
  • Prompts for missing required info (quantity, rate)
  • Calculates totals automatically

Submit and Manage

Examples:

  • "Submit estimate to John Smith"
  • "Send estimate for approval"
  • "Withdraw this estimate"

Agent Actions:

  • Validates customer contact info
  • Confirms submission details
  • Sends notification
  • Updates estimate status
  • Notifies pro of status changes

Reports and Analysis

Dashboard Integration:

  • "What estimates do I have pending?"
  • "Show me estimate activity this month"
  • "Total value of open estimates"
  • "How many estimates were accepted this quarter?"

Agent Provides:

  • Summary of estimate pipeline
  • Key metrics and totals
  • Status breakdown
  • Insights into business activity

Best Practices

Naming and Organization

Estimate Titles:

  • Use descriptive, specific titles
  • Include customer name and project type
  • Examples: "Smith Kitchen Remodel", "ABC Corp Website Redesign"
  • Helps with searching and reference later

Line Item Descriptions:

  • Be specific and clear
  • Include details that matter to customer
  • Example: "Labor - 8 hours @ $85/hr for deck refinishing and sealing"
  • Avoid jargon unless customer is technical

Pricing Strategy

Transparency:

  • Break down work into clear line items
  • Show what customer is paying for
  • Avoid single "lump sum" line items
  • Builds trust and reduces questions

Business Items:

  • Create business items for common services
  • Maintain consistent pricing
  • Update business items when rates change
  • Use as templates, override when needed

Competitive Pricing:

  • Research market rates
  • Consider your costs and time
  • Account for materials, overhead, profit
  • Be prepared to justify pricing

Communication

Professional Presentation:

  • Review estimate before submitting
  • Check for typos and errors
  • Ensure totals are accurate
  • Double-check expiration date

Response Management:

  • Monitor pending estimates
  • Follow up if customer doesn't respond
  • Be ready to answer questions
  • Offer to discuss or revise if needed

Rejection Handling:

  • Review customer feedback notes
  • Understand objections
  • Revise and resubmit if appropriate
  • Learn from rejection patterns

Expiration Management

Set Realistic Timelines:

  • Consider customer decision process
  • Longer for complex/expensive projects
  • Shorter for urgent or simple work
  • Account for seasonality

Before Expiration:

  • Follow up with customer
  • Offer to extend if needed
  • Ask if questions or concerns

After Expiration:

  • Review and update pricing if needed
  • Extend expiration date
  • Resubmit with fresh timeline

Common Questions

Q: Can I create an estimate without a customer? A: No. Estimates always require a customer. If you only have contact information, create a customer record first. Customers are the foundation for all financial documents.

Q: Can I edit an estimate after I've submitted it? A: No. Once submitted, estimates are locked until the customer responds. If you need to make changes, withdraw the estimate, make edits, and resubmit. After rejection, you can edit and resubmit.

Q: What happens if a customer doesn't respond before expiration? A: The estimate expires and the customer can no longer view or accept it online. You can edit the estimate, extend the expiration date, and resubmit it. Consider following up with the customer to understand any concerns.

Q: Can I create multiple estimates for the same customer? A: Yes. Customers can have unlimited estimates. This is useful for different projects, pricing tiers, phased work, or revisions after rejection. Each estimate is independent.

Q: How do line items relate to business items? A: Business items serve as templates for line items. When you select a business item, it auto-fills the name, description, rate, and taxes. But the line item is independent after creation—changes to the business item don't affect existing line items, and deleting a business item doesn't impact estimates.

Q: Can the customer print the estimate? A: Yes. When viewing the estimate online, customers have the option to print it. This is useful if they prefer to sign a printed copy and return it to you manually. You can then manually accept the estimate in the system.

Q: What if the customer gives verbal approval? A: Use the "Accept on Customer's Behalf" button on the estimate detail view. This is appropriate for phone approvals, in-person acceptance, or when the customer signs a printed version.

Q: Can I add photos or attachments to estimates? A: Not directly on the estimate. Photos should be attached to the associated lead or job. Estimates are financial documents focused on pricing and line items. If you need to reference photos during proposal, add them to the lead record.

Q: How do I handle discounts? A: Currently, you can manually adjust line item rates or add a negative line item for discounts. Line-item discount functionality is planned (a future update). After estimate acceptance, use change orders for adjustments.

Q: Can I require a deposit? A: Payment terms (including deposit requirements) are set in Document Settings and display on the estimate. For collecting deposits, you can either create separate estimates (deposit + balance) or create an invoice from the job after estimate acceptance.

Q: What happens to estimates when I create a job? A: Estimates remain as reference documents. The customer, lead relationship, and all estimates are viewable from the job record. Line items are not copied—the job has its own task management system.

Q: Can I resend an estimate if the customer lost the link? A: Not yet. Currently, you would need to withdraw and resubmit the estimate. Resend functionality is planned (a future update).

Q: How do I track changes to estimates over time? A: Estimate status changes are tracked, but detailed audit history is limited. Comprehensive audit trail functionality is planned for multi-user environments (a future update).

Q: Can estimates be created from the dashboard? A: Yes. You can use the estimate agent from the dashboard using natural language commands like "create estimate for John Smith." The agent guides you through the process.

Q: Do I need to use leads to create estimates? A: No. Leads are optional. You can create estimates directly for customers without using the leads pipeline. Leads are useful for tracking sales process, but you can enter the workflow at any point.

Q: Can the estimate agent help me search for estimates? A: Yes. The estimate agent supports comprehensive natural language search. Ask things like "find estimates for John Smith" or "show me pending estimates over $5,000" and the agent will search across all estimate data.

Q: What notifications do I receive about estimates? A: You're notified when customers accept or reject estimates. However, notification coverage is currently sparse and being improved (a future update). Future enhancements will include notifications for estimate views, approaching expirations, and more.

Q: Can I track which business items are most profitable? A: Not currently, but business item usage tracking is planned (a future update). This will show how often each business item is used and the revenue generated.

Q: What's the difference between an estimate and an invoice? A: Estimates are proposals created before work begins—they request approval for scope and pricing. Invoices are requests for payment created after work is completed or during work (for deposits/progress billing). Estimates convert to jobs; invoices are generated from jobs.

Tips for Success

Speed Up Estimate Creation

Use Business Items:

  • Create business items for all common services
  • Include detailed descriptions
  • Set accurate default rates
  • Configure tax settings

Agent Shortcuts:

  • Use natural language for fast entry
  • "Add 5 hours labor, 3 bags concrete, cleanup"
  • Agent adds multiple items at once

Templates (Future):

  • Save estimates as templates
  • Duplicate estimates for similar work
  • Build standard packages

Improve Acceptance Rates

Professional Presentation:

  • Clear, detailed line items
  • Transparent pricing breakdown
  • Reasonable expiration timeline
  • Professional terminology

Communication:

  • Explain value, not just cost
  • Be responsive to questions
  • Follow up promptly
  • Show willingness to discuss

Pricing Strategy:

  • Competitive but fair
  • Account for all costs
  • Don't undervalue your work
  • Offer options when appropriate

Track Your Pipeline

Use Estimates with Leads:

  • Better visibility into sales process
  • Track from opportunity to close
  • Identify bottlenecks
  • Improve conversion rates

Monitor Key Metrics:

  • Number of pending estimates
  • Average acceptance time
  • Rejection reasons
  • Total pipeline value

Learn and Improve:

  • Review rejection feedback
  • Identify pricing issues
  • Refine proposal approach
  • Adjust business practices

Leads:

  • Entry point for sales pipeline
  • Track opportunities before estimates
  • Multiple estimates per lead
  • See: Leads Overview

Customers:

  • Required for all estimates
  • Foundation for financial documents
  • Track all customer interactions
  • See: Customers Overview

Business Items:

Jobs:

  • Estimates convert to jobs after acceptance
  • Active work tracking
  • Reference estimate as scope
  • See: Jobs Overview

Tax Items:

  • Configure applicable taxes
  • Apply to taxable line items
  • Automatic tax calculation
  • See: Tax Items Overview

Summary

Estimates are professional proposals that formalize your pricing and scope before work begins:

  • Create estimates for customers with detailed line items
  • Configure quantities, rates, and taxes for accurate pricing
  • Submit to customers for online review and approval
  • Track status from submitted through accepted/rejected
  • Convert accepted estimates to jobs for work execution
  • Reference estimates throughout project lifecycle

Use the Estimate Agent for fast, natural language interactions, or work through the UI for detailed control. Either way, estimates provide the professional documentation your business needs.

Still have questions?

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