Overview
Estimates are a great way to send quotes to your clients for projects or jobs. This feature allows you to set clear expectations before the invoice stage and lets you seamlessly use the estimate to later invoice your client.
Things to Note
Unlike Invoices, Estimates do not create transactions.
Payments cannot be made on Estimates.
The Notes section in Estimates supports up to 2,000 characters.
Create an Estimate
As soon as you have billable items, you can start creating your estimates.
Hover over the left panel, click Sales & Billing, and select Estimates.
Click the + Create button.
Select Create estimate.
Use the Business drop-down and select the business for which you’re creating this estimate.
Use the Client & Project drop-down, and select the client and project for which you’re creating this estimate.
Continue reading to the next section to complete the estimate.
Note: Quicken Simplifi automatically sets the issue date to today and assigns an estimate number, but you can change either one at any time.
Add Items and Save an Estimate
Once you have chosen the business, client, project, issue date, due date, and estimate number, you can now start adding items like products and services.
Click the + Add Item button.
Click on the new entry drop-down menu.
Select the product or service you want to add.
To include billable expense attachments—like a receipt— in your estimate, turn on the Include all expense attachments toggle.
If you are applying a discount, choose from percentage (%) or fixed amount ($).
Click Save when done.
Important: Saved estimates will be grouped under Drafts.
To remove items from an Estimate:
You can delete any of the items listed by clicking the trash can icon at the end of the row.
Send an Estimate Via Email
After you create and save the estimate, you can email it to multiple people. Just separate each email address with a comma.
Hover over the left panel and click Sales & Billing, and select Estimates.
Click on the DRAFTS tab at the top.
Locate the estimate you want to send, then click the three-dot menu on its far right.
Click Send and then Send via email.
Enter or confirm the details.
Email Address (to email it to multiple people, separate each email address with a comma).
Subject.
Email Message.
Click Send when done.
If you are sending the estimate another way, select Mark as Sent (No Email).
To resend estimates:
Estimates marked as Sent will be grouped under Paid or Unpaid. To resend them, follow these instructions:
Select the correct group tab: UNPAID or PAID.
Locate the estimate you want to resend and click it.
Click the blue Send to… button at the upper right.
Enter or confirm the details.
Click Send when done.
Estimate Statuses
When you send your client an Estimate, they have the option to view it, as well as accept or decline it. Once accepted or declined, Quicken Business & Personal will be updated to reflect this. You can also manually change the status of your Estimate by following the steps below.
Hover over the left panel and click Sales & Billing.
Select Estimates.
Locate the estimate you wish to update the status for.
Click the three-dot menu on its far right.
Click Update Status, and then select the new status.
Next Steps
After creating and sending an estimate, you can continue to manage it throughout its lifecycle. Quicken Business & Personal allows you to:
Edit estimate details.
Update due dates.
Duplicate estimates for recurring work.
Delete estimates when needed.
Generate invoices from an existing estimate.
To learn more, see Managing Existing Estimates in Quicken Business & Personal.
If you're looking for steps specific to the mobile app, please see our article Create and Send Estimates in the Quicken Business and Personal Mobile App.
If you have any questions or need help using estimates in Quicken Simplifi, reach out to our support team. Or start a live chat by clicking on the blue messenger icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.