Junk removal
Written estimates
Building an estimate from your price book, sending it, what the customer can do with it, and the step after approval that does not happen by itself.
This is part of the Junk removal workflow
Renting dumpsters? Start with the booking workflow.A written estimate is the formal version of the quote workflow. The customer gets a document with line items and a total, they approve it from a link, and the lead is marked won. It is what you send when the load-size range is not enough -- a big cleanout, a commercial job, anything where the customer needs something to show someone else.
The path an estimate takes
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | You are still building it. Nothing has been sent. |
| Sent | The email has gone out. You can resend without creating a new one. |
| Viewed | The customer opened it. Useful before you chase. |
| Approved | The customer accepted. The linked lead is marked converted. |
| Revised | You changed it after sending. The original is closed and a new draft carries the line items forward. |
| Expired | You closed it out, or it passed its valid-until date. |
Building one
- 1Open the lead and start an estimate from it, so the customer and their details come across.
- 2Add line items from your price book. The Default price is what lands on the line -- see Range pricing.
- 3Adjust quantities and prices for this particular job. The price book is a starting point, not a rule.
- 4Set a valid until date if the price should not stand forever.
- 5Save as a draft, then send when you are ready.
You can send to an address the lead did not give you
Sending uses the lead's email, falling back to the customer record. If neither has one you can type an address at send time, and you can CC yourself or an office address on the same send.
What the customer can do
The email carries the estimate and a link. From that link the customer can read the line items and approve it themselves -- no login, no account. Approval marks the estimate approved and the lead converted, and notifies you by email. There is a PDF of the same document if they need to forward it.
Approval does not create the job. You do.
This catches everyone once. An approved estimate updates the estimate and the lead, and stops there -- nothing appears on your schedule. Open the approved estimate and use Convert to job, which pre-fills a new job from the line items and the customer. Until you do that, an approved estimate is a won deal with no work order behind it.
Revising and expiring
You cannot edit an estimate once it is sent, deliberately -- the customer is holding a copy of it. Revise closes the original and opens a new draft with the same line items, so there is a record of what changed. Expire closes one out that is no longer live, which keeps your list honest without deleting the history.
Common mistakes
"The customer approved the estimate but the job is not on my schedule."
Approval does not create a job. Open the estimate and click Convert to job. The line items and customer come across.
"I need to change a price on an estimate I already sent."
Use Revise. It closes the original and gives you a fresh draft with the same lines, so the customer's copy and yours never silently disagree.
"My estimate line prices are not what my price book says."
The line takes the price book Default, not the Low or the High, and you can override it per job. If Default is wrong everywhere, fix the price book.
"Can the customer pay from the estimate?"
No. An estimate is approved, not paid. Payment happens against the job or an invoice once the work is scheduled or done.