Estimates
An estimate (or quote) is a priced proposal you send to a Contact before issuing an invoice. The contact can review it, accept or decline it — even item by item — and when they accept, BusinessHRM can turn it straight into an invoice.
This menu item appears if your company has the estimates module enabled and your role has view access.
What an estimate contains
- The Contact it is addressed to (and optionally a project)
- An Estimate Number and a Valid Till date
- One or more line items with quantities, units, taxes and amounts
- A subtotal, optional discount, tax and total
- A description, a note, and your company's standard terms
How to create an estimate
- Go to Finance → Estimates.
- Click Add Estimate (or Create Estimate).
- Confirm or edit the Estimate Number (it is pre-filled with the next number in sequence using your prefix and digit settings).
- Set the Valid Till date (defaults to 30 days ahead; must be today or later).
- Choose the Currency if different from your company default.
- Select the Contact. If a project applies, choose it under Project (only shown if the projects feature is enabled).
- Choose how tax is calculated under Calculate Tax — after discount or before discount.
- Optionally add a rich-text Description.
- Add your line items (see below).
- Set a Discount, review totals, and add a Note.
- Save with one of:
- Save — saves without sending.
- Save & Send — saves and emails it to the contact.
- Save as Draft — saves it as a draft.
Line items
Click Add Item to add a row. Fields:
| Field | Meaning | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Description / Item Name | The product or service | Yes (at least one row) |
| Item summary | Longer description under the item | No |
| HSN/SAC | Tax classification code (only if enabled in Invoice Settings) | No |
| Qty | Quantity | Yes (numeric, at least 1) |
| Unit | Unit of measure (Pcs, etc.) | No (default pre-selected) |
| Unit Price | Price per unit | Yes |
| Tax | One or more taxes per line, shown as name: rate% |
No |
| Amount | Qty × Unit Price (calculated) | — |
| Item image | Optional picture for the line | No |
You can drop saved products into line items using the Select Product picker (shown when the Products or Purchase module is enabled), with a category filter and an inline "add product" link if you have permission.
Discounts, taxes and totals
- Discount can be a percentage or a fixed amount, and cannot exceed the subtotal.
- Calculate Tax decides whether tax is computed before or after the discount.
- Subtotal, discount, tax and total update automatically.
Estimate statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Saved but not yet sent. |
| Waiting | Sent to the contact and awaiting their decision. |
| Accepted | The contact accepted it. |
| Declined | The contact declined it. |
| Canceled | You cancelled the estimate. |
You can filter the estimate list by All, Waiting, Accepted, Declined or Draft.
Sending an estimate
From the estimate's detail page:
- Send to contact — emails the estimate. (Sending a draft moves it to Waiting.)
- Copy public link — generates a temporary link the contact can use to view the estimate without logging in.
How a contact accepts or declines
When an estimate is in the Waiting status, the assigned contact can:
- Accept — they confirm via a signature step (draw a signature or upload an image, plus name and email).
- Decline — they reject the estimate.
Item-by-item acceptance
If item selection is enabled in your Invoice Settings, each line item shows a Yes/No choice. The contact can accept only some items; the totals recalculate live, and only the "Yes" items carry through to the PDF and to any invoice created from the estimate.
Converting an estimate to an invoice
There are two ways an estimate becomes an invoice:
- Automatically on acceptance — when the contact accepts, BusinessHRM creates an unpaid invoice from the accepted items (unless an invoice already exists for that estimate).
- Manually — while the estimate is Waiting, use the Create Invoice action (requires permission to add invoices). The invoice form opens pre-filled from the estimate.
Other actions
| Action | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cancel Estimate | Available while the estimate is Waiting; sets status to Canceled. |
| Edit | Available while Waiting or Draft. |
| Create Duplicate | Starts a new estimate pre-filled from this one. |
| Download | Downloads the estimate PDF. After accept/decline, the PDF reflects only the items the contact kept. |
| Delete | Available for the most recent estimate. |
There is no separate Print button — open the downloaded PDF and print from there.
Estimate Requests
Contacts can ask you for a quote using Estimate Requests. When the feature is enabled:
- A contact sees a Create Estimate Request button on the estimates screen.
- Your staff see an Estimate Requests list of incoming requests.
- A staff member turns a request into an estimate; doing so marks the request as accepted and links it to the new estimate.
Estimate Templates
Use Estimate Templates (button on the estimates list) to save reusable estimate skeletons — line items, currency, discount, tax handling and description. Start a new estimate from a template and everything is pre-filled.
Permissions
- View estimates — see the list and individual estimates.
- Add estimates — create and send estimates.
- Edit estimates — edit estimates.
- Delete estimates — remove estimates.
- Add invoices — required to use the Create Invoice action.
- View / Add estimate requests — work with incoming requests.
Tips
- Turn on item selection if you want contacts to be able to accept partial scopes — the invoice will then only bill what they kept.
- Use Save as Draft while you finalize pricing internally, then send once it's ready.
- Build templates for your standard service packages to keep quoting fast and consistent.