Estimates — build, AI Create, send

Step by step

1. Go to Sales → Estimates and click New estimate, or use 🤖 AI Create to generate a draft from a scope description (add building type and location to sharpen it).
2. Add line items manually or from the price book / CostBook — or start from a template (New estimate → From a template). AI-generated lines show a small “AI” badge so you can review them.
3. Lines are grouped in sections. Click a section’s name or ▸ / ▾ to close or open it — a closed section still shows its line count, hours, subtotal and how many lines need a price. Open all / Close all / Close priced sit next to Markup all; what you close is remembered on this computer.
4. Each open section ends in a quick-add row: click “Add a line…”, type a description (your earlier lines, Estimate items, kits and the CostBook come up as you type), the quantity and prices, then Enter — the next row is ready. A kit adds all its lines at once. Browse opens the item dialog for that section.
5. A line’s Edit opens the item dialog: besides quantity and price it holds the item type, SKU / part #, a description for the customer (printed under the line on the proposal and in the portal), internal notes only your team sees, and files on the line (cut sheets, supplier quotes, photos — never sent to the customer).
6. No Save button needed: while the estimate is a lead, site visit or draft, Edit item and Edit details save as you type — the dialog’s header shows Saving… and then Saved with the time. Done closes it; Undo my changes puts back what was there when you opened it. Once the estimate is sent, won or lost they keep a Save button, and New revision keeps what the customer got as it is.
7. While it is a draft you can also type straight into the line table — click a description, quantity, material, hours or markup, type, and Enter or ↓ saves and goes one row down (Esc puts the old value back). Each cell saves on its own.
8. If someone else changes the same line or details while you are editing, nothing is overwritten: the dialog says so and you pick Keep mine or Discard mine. A change that could not be saved (no connection, signed out, the tab closed) stays in this browser — the estimate shows “Changes kept in this browser that were not saved” with Restore.
9. A section’s ⋯ renames it, sets its phase and markup, moves it up or down, or deletes it with its lines. + Section adds an empty one.
10. Several ways to do the job? Make each one a section (for example “Option A — Trane units”, “Option B — Carrier units”), open its ⋯ and press Offer as an option. An option leaves the base price; the proposal, the PDF and the customer link show the base total and, for each option, what it adds and the total with it (tax included). With two or more options the customer picks one when they sign, and only that one joins the contract; the Options box under the totals shows each price, and “Customer chose this” records an answer that came by phone or email. A single option is an extra package the customer may take or leave. Single optional lines (Optional add-on in the line’s Edit) still work as separate add-ons.
11. For plan-based quantities, use AI Takeoff: upload the plan PDF, set the scale, and let the takeoff engine count and measure.
12. Run ✦ Scope Gaps to have AI flag likely-missing scope before you send.
13. Set markup/margin — use bulk markup to apply one margin across every line at once. Sections show subtotals and flag any unpriced items so nothing slips through.
14. Lines no book prices: ✦ Find prices online (on the unpriced banner, or AI ▾) has AI look each part up at supply houses near the job — a typical price, a range and the listings with links. Nothing changes until you press Use; a used price also goes into your Price Book (Web prices), so the next takeoff finds it.
15. Work lines (test & balance, tests, start-up, furnished equipment to set) take your company rates: the Company rates button on the unpriced banner prices them, and Price Book → Rates & pricing → Company rates sets the numbers per trade.
16. Review the total against the status stepper, then Send the estimate by email (it attaches the PDF and a tracked portal link) for online accept/reject.
17. In every Send-by-email dialog (proposals, invoices, reminders, change orders, RFIs, RFQs, POs, submittals, statements) ✦ Write with AI drafts the subject and message from the document, and Improve / Shorter / Friendlier / More formal rework yours. Type what it should say in the box under the message (e.g. ask for the PO number, write it in Spanish); Undo puts back what was there. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
18. On a saved estimate the toolbar groups the actions: Documents ▾ (PDF / summary-only), Convert ▾ (turn it into a Project, Work Order, Service Ticket, or Service Agreement) and Invoice, plus AI ▾.

Tips

• Won estimates can seed a project, an AIA contract (Bill with AIA), or submittals — use Convert ▾ to do it in one click.
• Always eyeball AI-generated lines (marked with an “AI” badge) and quantities before sending — you own the number.

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