Estimates
When a client approaches you to do business, you evaluate an approximate figure that you plan to charge them for that particular job and communicate this via a document called the estimate. This amount specified may well be renegotiated over the course of the job and is not the final amount you’re charging, merely an estimated sum. Here’s a quick guide to creating a new estimate.
IN THIS PAGE…
Creating a New Estimate
Here’s a quick guide to creating a new estimate.
Navigate to the Sales tab and click the + icon next to the Estimates tab or click on the + New button present on the top right corner of the Estimates page.
You will be navigated to a new estimate form for capturing the details involved in creating an estimate.
Customer Details
In this section, let’s look at the information you’ll be providing in an estimate
The Customer Name field should be filled with the name of the person to whom you wish to send the estimate. Pick the customer from the list you have created already or add a new customer by selecting the New Customer option.
Estimate# is a unique identification for the estimates created. You can choose to auto-generate the number or manually provide one by clicking on the Settings icon next to this field.
Enter a reference number as a reference to this estimate. This is not mandatory.
Specify the Estimate Date and Expiry Date from the respective fields.
Select the Price List you wish to apply to the estimate from the price list options you have created.
In the Sales Person tab, type to add a sales person or choose an already created sales person name.
In the Project Name tab, type to add an already existing project for that customer.
The Item Rates Are tab allows you can choose your line items’ rates to be ‘Tax Exclusive’ or ‘Tax Inclusive.’ To enable this tab, head to Settings > Preferences > General and check the option ‘Enable the option to mark your sales transaction as either Tax Exclusive or Tax Inclusive’
Insight: This feature will appear in the estimate only if it has been enabled under preferences.
Item Details
In this section, we will be walking you through the procedure of adding the item details in your estimate.
You can select or type in an item from the list of items shown in the drop down. Select the Add New Item option to add a new item right here.
Once the item is selected, the Rate field is automatically populated. The Rate field can be modified here if required.
Fill in the Quantity of the items and enter a Discount amount if you wish to provide one.
Apply a Tax rate to the item from the tax drop down. To create a new tax, select the + New Tax option from the drop down.
Adjustments & shipping Charges are additional charges which can be added to your estimate. You can enable/disable this option from under Settings > Preferences > General.
Customer Notes, Terms & Conditions, Templates
This section will walk you through configuring payment options, editing terms & conditions and assigning templates to your estimates.
Add Customer Notes related to the estimate which will be displayed on it when sent to the customer.
Enter the Terms & Conditions that you wish to be displayed on the estimate. This can also be customized by navigating to Settings > Preferences > Estimates and Terms & Conditions.
Attach files relevant to your estimate by clicking on the Upload File option in the Attach Reference File section. Max file size is 5MB.
The estimate Template is generally set by default. Click on the Change option to select a different template for your estimate.
Now click on Save as Draft to save the estimate as a draft. You can review it at your leisure before sending it to the customer.
Or, Click on Save and Send to send the created estimate to the customer straight away.
Sending Estimates to your Customers
Send your Estimates by email or snail mail to your customer’s address. Here’s how you do it.
Send the estimate to your customers by Email option by clicking on the email icon present on the action bar.
In the email window, fill in the required details such as Send To, CC, Subject and edit the content if you wish to make changes.
Check the Attach Estimate PDF boxes if you wish to attach them in the mail and click on Send to send the estimate to your customer.
Snail Mail
The snail mail or postal mail option indicates that a hard copy of the estimate will be sent by post to the mailing address of the customer.
Click on Send Snail Mail from the More drop down in the action bar to send a snail mail.
Credits are required in order to send an estimate via snail mail or postal mail. Credits act as equivalents of postage stamps and can only be purchased in sets of 5. You need to buy credits to send the snail mail.
For USA you need 1 Credit and for others countries you require 2 Credits. Minimum of 5 Credits needs to be purchased.
Editing your Estimate
If you need to make changes on the quote you have provided to your cusstomer, use the edit option.
- Navigate to the action bar present on top of the estimate window.
- Edit your estimates by clicking on the Edit icon placed on top of the estimate window.
- Click Save after editing the estimate
Customizing Estimates
A template in Zoho Invoice is a format which determines how the estimate information is displayed. There are many specially designed templates that are available in Zoho Invoice. You can customize the templates according to your desire.
To customize a template directly from the Estimates module:
- Select the estimate that you want to edit.
- Hover your mouse cursor over the estimate and click the Customize dropdown found in the top-right corner of the estimate.
- Select Change Template to select another template from the existing gallery of templates.
- Select Edit Template and click Continue to customize the template. The changes you make to the template will be reflected in all the estimates that uses this template. Learn more about editing templates.
- Select Update Logo & Address, upload the logo and enter your address. Click Save in the pop-up to quickly update them in the estimate.
- Select Manage Custom Fields if you want to add or edit the custom fields. Learn more about Custom Fields.
- Select Terms & Conditions.
- Enter the customer notes and the terms and conditions.
- Check the Use this in future option to use this in all the estimates created in the future. Leave it unchecked if you want it to be displayed only in this estimate.
- Click Save to update these changes in the estimate.
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