Creating an estimate

What this does

Creates a new job in the Estimate status with the customer, vehicle, and title filled in, ready for line items.

Before you start

You need estimates.create (every counter role has it). The customer should exist, or you can add them on the spot. If the customer describes symptoms rather than asking for a specific service, consider AI Estimate instead.

Steps

1. Go to Sales → Estimates and choose new.
2. Title — short and specific ("Front brakes + rotors"). It's what shows on lists and boards.
3. Customer — search by name or company. New customer? Add them here without leaving the form.
4. Vehicle — pick from the customer's vehicles. The list is empty until a customer is chosen.
5. Valid Until — optional. Prints on the customer's copy as the quote expiry.
6. Priority, Promised Date, Billing Type, Mileage In — fill what you know now; all can be changed later.
7. Description, Customer Notes, Internal Notes — description is the work to be done; customer notes print for the customer; internal notes never leave the shop.
8. Save. You land on the estimate detail page.
9. Add line items — see Adding line items. Canned jobs drop in a whole service at once.

Common problems

The vehicle list is empty. Either no customer is selected yet or the customer has no vehicles. Add the vehicle from the form.

I need to quote a customer who isn't in the system and doesn't want to give details. A customer record is required; create one with a name and phone. You can flesh it out later.