Junk removal
Written estimates
Building an estimate line by line, sending it by email and text, what the customer can do with it, and how an accepted estimate becomes a job on your schedule.
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 accept it from a link, and -- if you asked for one -- pay a deposit right there. 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 | It has gone out by email, by text, or both. 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, and a job exists or is waiting on the deposit. |
| Revised | You duplicated it after sending. The original is closed and a new draft carries the line items forward. |
| Expired | You archived it. |
Building one
- 1Open the lead and start an estimate from it, so the customer and their details come across. You can also pick a lead or customer on the form.
- 2Add line items by hand -- description, quantity, unit price. The price book is not involved; it is the chatbot's reference, not the estimate's.
- 3Set the Job Date if one is agreed. A date that clashes with your calendar is flagged in amber, never blocked.
- 4Set a Deposit (fixed amount) if you want one paid on acceptance. It only appears once Stripe is connected, and it is capped at the estimate total.
- 5Add Notes to Customer -- they appear on the estimate the customer reads. Your internal note on the lead never does; when the estimate is approved it is copied onto the job (see the internal note).
- 6Fill in the Margin Calculator if you want to see what the job nets: the Dump Fee comes from your default disposal site, and labour, fuel and other costs are yours to enter.
- 7Save as a draft, then send when you are ready.
It sends by email and text together
When the customer has both an email and a mobile number, the estimate goes out on both, and the text carries the same link. Email uses the lead's address, falling back to the customer record; if neither has one you can type an address at send time and CC yourself or the office.
What the customer can do
From the link the customer can read the line items and accept it themselves -- no login, no account. Acceptance marks the estimate approved and the lead converted, and notifies you. If the estimate carries a deposit, the same page then offers to pay it by card; accepting and paying are two separate steps, so a customer who accepts and closes the page has still accepted.
Acceptance creates the job
With no deposit, the job appears on your schedule the moment the customer accepts, and they are told they are booked. With a deposit, the job is created when the deposit is paid; until then the estimate shows Deposit pending: $X and no job exists yet. The customer gets a confirmation with your notes, what they paid and the balance, and the paid deposit is credited against the job's final invoice.
A Convert to job button still appears on an approved estimate that has no job yet -- an older one, or one waiting on a deposit you would rather not wait for -- and creates the job from the line items and the customer.
Revising and archiving
You cannot edit an estimate once it is sent, deliberately -- the customer is holding a copy of it. Duplicate closes the original as revised and opens a new draft with the same line items, so there is a record of what changed. Archive closes one out that is no longer live, which keeps your list honest without deleting the history. There is no automatic expiry: an estimate stands until you archive it.
If the customer still has the old estimate open and presses Accept after you have revised it, their acceptance is refused and they are asked to refresh -- they see the new version rather than approving the old prices. Nothing is created from the superseded one. Send them the new link so they are accepting what you meant.
A PDF of the estimate is available to you from the estimate's preview page. The customer's link is the web page; there is no PDF attached to what they receive.
Common mistakes
"The customer approved the estimate but the job is not on my schedule."
Check whether the estimate carried a deposit. With one, the job is created when the deposit is paid, and the estimate shows Deposit pending until then. Use Convert to job if you want the job now regardless.
"I need to change a price on an estimate I already sent."
Use Duplicate. It closes the original and gives you a fresh draft with the same lines, so the customer's copy and yours never silently disagree.
"The customer says Accept gave them an error about the estimate being updated."
They are holding the superseded copy -- you revised it while their page was open. That refusal is deliberate: it stops them approving prices you have replaced. Send them the link to the new estimate.
"My estimate lines did not pick up my price book prices."
They never do. Estimate lines are typed by hand; the price book is what the chatbot quotes from. See Range pricing.
"Can the customer pay from the estimate?"
A deposit, yes -- if you set one on the estimate and Stripe is connected, the accept page offers it. The balance is paid against the job or its invoice once the work is done.
"I set a valid-until date and it did not expire."
There is no expiry date on an estimate. Archive it when it is no longer live.