A sales estimate is quotation for the goods sold and/or services provided and is not a finalized order. Like Sales Orders, Estimates have no effect on account balances. Once a customer accepts an estimate, you can convert it to a sales order in preparation for shipment.

Estimate status

• Open: After creating an Estimate, it is in Open status. This means it has not been finalized and changes can be made to it.
• Closed: An Estimate can be closed if it is no longer valid. Once an Estimate is closed, it cannot change status.
• Cancelled: An Estimate can also be cancelled and it can no longer change statuses once it is.

Estimate Fields

Header – Sales

• Sale Store: This is the store from which the sale is being processed from.
• Ship Store: This is the store from which the Estimate is being shipped from. You can change this store if the goods are being shipped or picked up from another location.
• Customer: Type a name, phone number, or email here to select a customer for the order. Click  for more details on the selected customer.
• Ref No: A reference number can be entered here. Often this can be to an old Estimate# or an Estimate# from another system.
• Date: This is the date the order took place with the customer.
• Require Advance Payment: Use this field to enter an advance payment that is required from the customer, you can select an absolute amount or percentage of the order. This required payment will appear for the customer when they login to their portal.
• Valid Unit Date: Select a date here to keep a track of how long this estimate will be valid for.
• Follow Up Date: Select a follow up date here, by default it is one week after the Date field. This date is used in the Sales Rep Dashboard to indicate Estimates that need following up.

Header – Shipping

• Ship Method: Choose the Estimate’s shipping method here. Select Pick Up if the customer is picking up the goods by themselves. Select Delivery (Own Truck) if your own company’s truck is being used for the delivery. And select Delivery (Third Party) if an external company is shipping the goods for you. No shipping fields will be available to edit if Pick Up is chosen.
• Shipping Type: If the goods are to be cartonized during the shipping process, choose Cartonized otherwise select Flat/Standard.
• Ship Via/Carrier: Select a carrier here for shipment. If Delivery (Own Truck) is selected, the company’s own carrier can be selected. If however Delivery (Third Party) is selected, choose another company’s carrier for shipping (FedEx, UPS, etc.).
• F.O.B: Choose the freight on board, origin or destination.
• Shipping Terms: These are the Shipping Terms options for the order.
• Ship Service: Select a Ship Service here if necessary.
• Shipping Notes: Enter any Shipping Notes here, these will be sent to the warehousing department.
• Shipping Cost: Enter the Shipping Cost here.
• Tax Code: Select the tax on the shipping.

Header – Other

• Customer Tax Code: The tax code of the customer. Changing this allows you to apply a different tax code to all items. This field should already be fetched once a customer has been selected.
• Sales Rep: This is the Sales Rep for this Estiamte. Once a customer has been selected this field will automatically be filled and will require authorization to edit.
• Project/Class: Select a project or class to associate this estimate with.

Estimate Details

• Add Item (Alt+A): Clicking this button opens a new window where you can add items to the estimate. Search for the item in the “Item Number” field, enter a Qty, and fill in any other details. Now click Add (Enter) to add the item. Repeat this process for adding additional items.

The Options button gives the 3 features below:

• Batch Discount: Use this feature to apply the same discount to multiple items on the estimate. Select all the discounted item(s) with a checkbox, then click Options -> Batch Discount. In this window you can enter an absolute or percent discount, then click OK.
• Remove Restrictions: Use this feature to remove any pricing rule restrictions (denoted by a ) in the estimate. Select all the items with a checkbox for which you want to remove restrictions for, then click Options -> Remove Restrictions, and enter your credentials. Please note that only users with the appropriate privileges will be able to remove restrictions.
• Delete Selected Row(s): Use this feature to remove multiple items from the estimate. Select all the items you would like to remove with a checkbox, then click Options -> Delete Selected Row(s).

The descriptions below refer to the column headings of the items:

• Description: An item’s description that can be edited by clicking on it.
• Unit Price: An item’s unit price that can be edited by clicking on it.
• Discount: An item’s discount that can be edited by clicking on it.
• Qty: An item’s quantity that can be edited by clicking on it.
• Notes: A note can be added here for an item, it is then printed on the packing slip for the purposes of any special delivery messages. Use this field to directly send any notes to delivery personal.
• Tax: The tax code applied to this item.
• Availability: or  indicate whether an item is available or unavailable to sell from its Ship Store, respectively.
• Amount: Unit Price * Qty – Discount
• Project/Class: Select a project/class to associate this estimate line with.
• Bill To Address: The billing address of the order. When a customer is selected, this field will automatically be populated. It can be edited by clicking .
• Exchange Rate: If the order is for a foreign customer, the exchange rate can be edited here.
• Customer Message: A message for the customer can be entered here or you can select one of the pre-written messages using .
• Memo: A memo for the estimate can be written here.

Video tutorial: