Creating & Sending
Quotes
Learn the end-to-end process of creating, reviewing, and sending professional quotes for one-time jobs, and understand how they integrate with Work Orders and Invoices.
Duration
20 minutes
Category
Billing & Finance
Part 1: Why Use Quotes? The Path to Professionalism
Sending a professional, detailed quote is one of the best ways to win bigger, more profitable jobs. It sets clear expectations, builds trust with your customer, and formalizes the sales process.
How Upbuoy Streamlines Your Quoting Workflow
In Upbuoy, quoting is designed to be a seamless part of your workflow:
📄 Create Professional Documents
Quickly generate clean, branded quotes with itemized lists and clear pricing.
📊 Track Your Sales Pipeline
See all your open quotes in one place and know which jobs are pending approval.
⚡ Convert to Work with One Click
Once a customer approves a quote, you can instantly convert it into a schedulable Work Order.
💰 Seamless Billing
Approved quote details flow directly into the final invoice, ensuring you bill for exactly what was agreed upon.
Part 2: Creating a New Quote
You can create a quote from two main places: the Billing > Quotes page or directly from a customer's profile.
📍 Getting Started
Let's walk through the creation process.
Navigate and Click "Create Quote": This opens the quote creation interface.
Step 1: Quote Details
👤 Select Customer
Choose the customer you are creating the quote for. Their name and address will be automatically populated.
📅 Quote & Expiration Dates
The Quote Date defaults to today, and the Expiration Date defaults to 30 days from now. You can adjust these as needed.
📋 Line Items
This is the core of your quote. For each line item:
Description
Describe the product or service.
Examples:
"New Pump Installation," "Pentair IntelliFlo VSF Pump"
Quantity (Qty)
The number of units.
Unit Rate
The price for a single unit.
Total
Upbuoy automatically calculates Quantity x Unit Rate.
➕ Add More Items
Click the "Add More Items" button to add as many line items as you need for the job.
💰 Add Sales Tax
If applicable, click this button to add a sales tax line item based on the tax settings you configured.
📊 Total
The subtotal and total are calculated for you at the bottom.
⏭️ Click "Continue"
Once you've added all your items, click "Continue" to move to the review step.
Step 2: Review
This screen shows you a preview of the exact document your customer will see. It includes your company logo and information (from your General Settings), the customer's details, and the full itemized list.
⚠️ Review Carefully!
This is your last chance to catch any typos or pricing errors before it goes to the customer. If you see something wrong, simply click the "Back" button to go back and edit it.
✅ Click "Finish"
This generates the quote in the system. The quote now has a unique ID and a shareable link.
Part 3: Sending the Quote and Tracking its Status
After you finish creating the quote, you are taken to the final step where you can share it with your customer.
📤 Sharing Options
📧 Send via Email
Click this to send an email directly to the customer. The email will contain a summary and a secure link for them to view and approve the full quote online.
🔗 Copy Link
This copies a unique, shareable URL to your clipboard. You can paste this into a text message or your own email client.
📄 Download PDF
Creates a professional PDF document of the quote, perfect for printing or for customers who prefer attachments.
📊 Tracking Quote Status
Once a quote is sent, you can track its status on the main Billing > Quotes page. The status will update automatically as the customer interacts with it:
📝 Draft
The quote has been created but not yet sent.
📤 Sent
The quote has been emailed or the link has been shared.
👁️ Viewed
The customer has clicked the link and viewed the quote.
✅ Approved
The customer has clicked the "Accept Quote" button online.
❌ Rejected
The customer has declined the quote.
⏰ Expired
The quote's expiration date has passed without a response.
Part 4: The Lifecycle: From Approved Quote to Paid Invoice
This is where the power of Upbuoy's integrated system shines.
🔄 Complete Workflow
✅ Approval
The customer receives the quote and clicks "Accept Quote." The quote's status is automatically updated to "Approved" in your dashboard. You may also receive a notification.
🔧 Convert to Work Order
Navigate to the approved quote's detail page (/billing/quotes/[id]).
Click the "Convert to Work Order" button.
Upbuoy instantly creates a new, unscheduled Work Order with all the line items and descriptions from the quote.
📅 Schedule and Complete
Go to the Work Orders page, find the new job in your "Unscheduled" list, and assign it to a technician and a date.
The technician completes the job as usual.
💰 Invoice and Get Paid
Once the work order is marked "Finished," go to the Billing section.
You can now generate an invoice directly from the completed work order. The invoice will be pre-filled with the exact items and prices the customer already approved, ensuring a smooth and transparent billing process.
Key Takeaways
Quotes are for one-time, non-recurring jobs and are the first step in the sales process for larger projects.
The CreateQuotePage provides a simple, step-by-step wizard for building professional quotes.
Once a quote is approved, it can be seamlessly converted into a Work Order, which carries all the job details over.
This workflow ensures that from quote to final invoice, the job details and pricing remain consistent, reducing customer disputes and making billing effortless.
Next Steps
You've learned how to sell a job with a quote. Now let's master the next step in the billing process: creating and managing invoices for all types of work.
Ready to learn about invoices?
Proceed to Module 18: Managing Invoices