--- title: The Life of an Estimate in QuickBooks Online description: The Life of an Estimate in QuickBooks Online image: https://blog.tarabyte.com/hubfs/thumbnail_large-16.jpg --- [![TaraByte 239 x 120 ](https://blog.tarabyte.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TaraByte%20239%20x%20120%20.png?width=239&name=TaraByte%20239%20x%20120%20.png)](https://www.tarabyte.com/) - About ⌄ - [Our Story](https://www.tarabyte.com/about-us/) - [Services](https://www.tarabyte.com/our-services/) - Fishbowl ⌄ - [About Fishbowl Inventory](https://www.tarabyte.com/fishbowl-inventory/) - [Fishbowl Accounting Basics For QuickBooks](https://info.tarabyte.com/fishbowl-accounting-basics-for-quickbooks-desktop-quickbooks-online) - [Advance Fishbowl Chart of Accounts Guide](https://info.tarabyte.com/advance-fishbowl-chart-of-accounts-guide) - [Custom Fishbowl Reports](https://www.tarabyte.com/fishbowl-inventory/custom-fishbowl-reports/) - [Controller's Toolbox](https://tarabyte.com/fishbowl-inventory/fishbowl-accounting-controllers-toolbox/) - 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Here's how QuickBooks Online handles them.*** Sales estimates are standard procedure in many professions. You wouldn't authorize a car repair without one. Nor would you OK a remodeling job on your kitchen or a summer's worth of yard landscaping without knowing what the costs will be upfront. Estimates don't have to be formal documents. You could scribble a proposal for products or services and their prices on a paper napkin and have your customer sign it. But as we've said before, the quality of your sales documents reflects on your company's professionalism as well as its image. QuickBooks Online offers specialized tools to manage this step in the selling process. You can create detailed estimates that the site can easily convert to invoices when you get an approval. And QuickBooks Online reports help you monitor the progress of your quotes. Here's how it works. #### **A Dedicated Form** You probably already know how to create an invoice. If so, you shouldn't have any trouble generating estimates because the forms are very similar. To get started, click the **+ (plus) **sign in the upper right corner of the screen. In the **Customers **column, click **Estimates**. A form like this will open: ![](https://blog.tarabyte.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/QBO-0619-1.jpg?width=617&height=354&name=QBO-0619-1.jpg) *QuickBooks Online provides a form template for your estimates.* Open the drop-down list in the  **Customer **field and select the correct one (or  **+Add new**). *Note: If you click on **+Add new**, you're only required to enter your prospective customer's name to create an estimate; contact detail, of course, will not appear on the form. You cango back later and complete a customer record, but it's best to at least enter a physical and email address. Click **+Details **to open the complete record, then save what you provide there.* The word "Pending" should appear below the  **Customer **field. This refers to the status of your estimate. Click the down arrow to the right of it, then on the down arrow in the small window that opens to see what options you'll have later. If you want to copy someone else on the estimate, click the small  **Cc/Bcc **link to the right and provide the email address(es). Enter (or select by clicking on the calendar graphic) the  **Estimate date**. If your offer is only good for a limited period of time, enter an  **Expiration date**; otherwise, leave that field blank. Then go down to the  **Product/Service **grid and select the items for which you're providing an estimate, one on each line. Fill in the  **Qty** field and check the labeled box if the item is taxable. If you had created a product record for it already, the other fields should be completed automatically. If not, click  **+Add new**. The  **Product/Service information **pane should slide out from the right side of the screen. Here again, you're only required to enter a  **Name**, but you should really create the whole record and save it to return to the estimate. If you've not been through this process before, we can walk you through it. You can add a discount to the estimate as either a percentage or a dollar amount in the lower right corner of the screen. You can also edit the customer message that appears in the lower left and attach any files necessary. When you're done, save the estimate. #### **Estimate Options** ![](https://blog.tarabyte.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/QBO-0619-2.jpg?width=592&height=243&name=QBO-0619-2.jpg) *You can work with your estimate from the **Sales Transactions **screen.* If you're not already there, click the  **Sales **link in the left vertical toolbar, and then the  **All Sales **tab and the  **Estimates** bar. Find your estimate and look at the end of the row, in the  **Action **column. If you want to convert your estimate to an invoice, click  **Create invoice**. In the window that opens, indicate whether you want to invoice: - A percentage of each line item, - A custom amount for each line, or, - The total of all lines. Look over your invoice when it opens, complete any other fields necessary, and save it. Your estimate's status has now been changed to  **Closed**, and the new invoice created from it will appear on the  **Sales Transactions **screen. It will also be included in the  **Estimates By Customer **report. If you can create an invoice, you can create an estimate. The tricky part comes in when you have to amend an estimate before you bill it - or even alter it and resubmit it. If you're going to be working with estimates extensively, let us help you get it right from the start. ![Untitled design (1)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(1).png "Untitled design (1)") ### **Jeanne Tarazevits** **CPA, QuickBooks Maven, Fishbowl Guru** As a Top 100 QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Fishbowl Inventory Super Hero, Jeanne helps businesses change the way they do business by getting their inventory management, accounting and manufacturing systems all working together seamlessly. In providing these services Jeanne draws upon her knowledge as a CPA, her previous experience as an Auditor with Ernst & Young and long-time CFO of a publicly-traded medical device manufacturer, and the expertise gained in the 10+ years she has been working with Fishbowl Inventory. #### Related Posts ### Recent Posts ### Posts by Tag - [Fishbowl Inventory (32)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/fishbowl-inventory) - [QuickBooks (29)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/quickbooks) - [Inventory Management (14)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/inventory-management) - [Accounting (11)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/accounting) - [Our Partners (4)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/our-partners) - [QuickBooks Online (2)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/quickbooks-online) - [netstock (2)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/netstock) - [Food Manufacturing (1)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/food-manufacturing) - [Payable (1)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/payable) - [Payables (1)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/payables) - [Purchase Orders (1)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/purchase-orders) - [Uncategorized (1)](https://blog.tarabyte.com/blog/tag/uncategorized) See all [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/5606425/15e03d41-fea1-404a-b70e-3b0b87f5bdce.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/5606425/15e03d41-fea1-404a-b70e-3b0b87f5bdce) ![TaraByte-Logo-Wht](https://blog.tarabyte.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TaraByte-Logo-Wht.png?width=250&height=43&name=TaraByte-Logo-Wht.png) TaraByte Solutions has been providing expert QuickBooks consulting and accounting services to small and mid-market firms since 2001. 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