QTC-01Service / PSAUser

How to Create and Send Estimates in CrmLeaf

All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.

Part 3 · Quote to Cash7 min readIncludes a Service / PSA lens

Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.

Overview

An Estimate is a formal quote you send to a client for approval. In CrmLeaf an Estimate is the document that converts into money: when the client accepts it on the public link, CrmLeaf creates an unpaid Invoice automatically. Estimates sit between the deal and the invoice in the quote-to-cash chain, so the figures the client approved become the figures you bill.

How It Works

You build the estimate with line items, send it to the client, and the client accepts or declines it on a signed public page. Acceptance is the event that starts billing.

Create → Send → Client reviews → Accept or decline → Invoice created

Estimate statuses are draft, waiting (sent), accepted, declined and canceled.
An estimate carries line items, discounts, taxes, a currency and a valid_till date after which it expires.
CrmLeaf records last_viewed, so you can see whether the client has opened the document.
The client opens a signed public link at /estimate/{hash} and does not need a portal login.
Accepting records a signature, sets the status to accepted, and auto-creates an unpaid Invoice. The creation is idempotent, so a repeated acceptance does not produce a second invoice.
Declining sets the status to declined and no invoice is created.

Who Can Use This Feature?

User

Create, edit and send estimates for the clients you are permitted to see.
Track status and acceptance, and open the invoice created on acceptance.
Cancel an estimate that is no longer valid.

Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator. Estimate visibility follows the ownership-based permission scope (none / owned / added / both / all) set for your role.

Prerequisites

A client record must exist for the recipient.
Currencies and tax rates must be configured for your account.
Products must exist in the catalogue if you want to add them as line items.

For Users

Step 1: Open the Estimates screen

Go to: Sales → Estimates

What to do: Open the estimates list to review existing documents before creating a new one. Use Filter or Search to check whether a quote already exists for the client.

What to verify: The list shows each estimate with its status.

Step 2: Create the estimate

What to do: Select Add and complete the estimate. Select the client, the currency, and the date until which the quote stays valid. Add each line item, apply the discount and the tax rates that apply, and complete every mandatory field.

What to verify: The totals reflect the discount and taxes you applied, and the currency is the one the client is billed in.

Step 3: Save as draft and review

What to do: Select Save. The estimate is stored with status draft while you check the figures. Use Edit to correct anything before sending.

What to verify: The status reads draft and the line totals are correct.

Step 4: Send the estimate to the client

What to do: Send the estimate to the client. The status moves to waiting and the client receives the signed public link to the estimate page.

What to verify: The status is waiting. Once the client opens the document, the record shows a last_viewed value.

Step 5: Track the outcome

What to do: Monitor the estimate until the client acts. On acceptance the status becomes accepted, the signature is stored against the estimate, and an unpaid Invoice is created. On decline the status becomes declined.

What to verify: For an accepted estimate, open Sales → Invoices and confirm the new invoice exists with status unpaid.

Field and Option Reference

Field / Option	Description	Required
Client	The client the estimate is addressed to. Determines who receives the public link.	Yes
Currency	The currency the estimate and the resulting invoice are raised in.	Yes
Valid till	The date after which the estimate expires.	Yes
Line items	The products or services quoted, with quantity and rate.	Yes
Discount	A reduction applied to the estimate total.	No
Tax	Named tax rates applied per line item.	No

Expected Result

The estimate is saved and appears in Estimates with the correct status. After the client accepts it on the public link, the status is accepted, a signature is recorded, and a matching Invoice exists with status unpaid.

Service / PSA lens

Why This Matters for Service Organisations

In a service organisation the estimate is where scope becomes a number the client has agreed to. The recurring failure is a gap between what was quoted and what is eventually billed: the engagement is delivered, someone rebuilds the figures by hand at invoicing time, and the client queries the difference. Because acceptance of an estimate creates the invoice directly, the document the client signed and the document the client is billed against hold the same figures.

How It Supports Professional Services

Acceptance of an estimate automatically creates an unpaid invoice, so the scope-to-billing handover happens without a re-keying step.
Line items let a firm express an engagement the way it sells it — by phase, by deliverable, or as a rate line per role — and those are the lines the client approves.
The valid_till date gives a firm a place to expire pricing, which matters where rates are reviewed annually or where a quote assumed a start date that has passed.
The last_viewed value tells a consultant whether the client has actually opened the document before they chase the decision.
Acceptance is captured on a signed public link with a stored signature, so a procurement or finance contact who is not a portal user can still approve the scope.
A CrmLeaf Client record is a real user account, so the client organisation can also review its estimates in the portal.

Typical Service Workflow

Client → Estimate → Acceptance → Invoice → Project → Delivery

The estimate is the agree step of the commercial spine. The link from acceptance to an unpaid invoice is performed by the product; setting up the project that delivers the accepted scope is a practice the organisation operates, not an automatic consequence of acceptance.

Other Product-Type Use Cases

The same document quotes physical supply as readily as effort. Manufacturing, Solar and Construction accounts quote from BOM-derived line items, and a general business uses an estimate for any priced offer it wants a client to approve before invoicing.

How to Use Estimate Templates and Estimate Requests — reuse a standard scope instead of rebuilding a quote for every similar engagement.
How to Create and Send Invoices — the document acceptance creates, and where billable time and expenses are added later.
How to Create and Send Proposals — the design-led alternative for engagements that need a narrative, not just a price.
How to Create and Work Deals — the pursuit the estimate is quoted against.

Important Notes

Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
Only Estimates auto-create an invoice on acceptance. Proposals do not.
Invoice creation on acceptance is idempotent, so one accepted estimate produces one invoice.
An estimate past its valid_till date is expired. Raise a new estimate rather than relying on an expired quote.

Common Scenarios

Example: quoting a won deal. A deal reaches the stage where the client asks for pricing. You raise an estimate against the client, send it, and the client accepts it online. The unpaid invoice created by that acceptance is the one you then collect payment against.

Example: revised pricing. The client asks for a lower price. You cancel the original estimate, create a new one with the revised line items, and send that instead so the accepted document matches what you will bill.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Cause	Resolution
No invoice appeared after the client accepted	The estimate status is not `accepted` - the client may have opened the link without completing acceptance	Confirm the status is `accepted` and that a signature is recorded. If the status is still `waiting`, ask the client to complete acceptance on the link.
The estimate is not visible in the list	Your role's permission scope limits you to records you own or added	Ask your Administrator to review the estimate permission scope for your role.
The client cannot open the link	The estimate has not been sent, so it is still `draft`	Send the estimate so the status moves to `waiting` and the public link becomes usable.
The estimate total is wrong	Tax rates or the discount were not applied to every line item	Use Edit to correct the line items, then re-send.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. The estimate is shared as a signed public link, so the client can review and accept it without a portal login.

Can I edit an estimate after the client has accepted it?

Acceptance records a signature and creates an invoice, so treat an accepted estimate as final. Raise a new estimate for revised pricing.

What is the difference between an estimate and a proposal?

An estimate is a formal quote that converts into an invoice on acceptance. A proposal is a design-template-driven sales document that is signed but does not create an invoice.

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