How to Manage Estimates: Status, Editing, Printing, and Deleting (Leads & Estimates)

Last updated July 6, 2026 · Admins and office staff

Once an estimate exists, the Estimate Summary page is where you review it, change its status, edit line items and pricing, download or print it, convert it to a job, or delete it. This article covers those day-to-day actions. To build a new estimate, see Create an Estimate.

Before you start

  • An operator account with access to the Leads menu. Estimates are reached from the Estimates list, from a lead’s Estimates tab, or from a customer’s summary.
  • To convert an estimate to a job, it must be Accepted and linked to a customer (not just a lead).

Estimate statuses

An estimate always has one of six statuses, shown as a colored badge:

Status Meaning
Draft Being prepared; not yet sent.
Sent Delivered to the customer.
Viewed The customer has opened it.
Accepted The customer agreed — ready to convert to a job.
Declined The customer said no.
Expired Past its expiry date.

You set status manually in most cases. When a customer approves or declines through the Customer Portal, the status flips automatically (to Accepted or Declined) and the estimate becomes locked — see Estimate Approval in the Customer Portal.

Steps

Open an estimate

  • Estimates list (Leads menu → Estimates) — a grid of every estimate with customer, lead, job, status, amount, and date columns. Click View on any row. The list also has Print and Delete actions per row and Excel/PDF/CSV export in the toolbar.
  • Lead Summary → Estimates tab or Customer Summary — the estimates attached to that record, each with a View link.

Change the status

There are two ways, depending on whether the estimate is editable:

  • Editable estimate — the Basic Information card in the sidebar shows a Status dropdown. Pick a new status and click Save Changes.
  • Locked estimate (already converted, declined, or portal-signed) — use the Quick Update button next to the status badge. It opens a small dialog to change status without touching anything else.

Note: an estimate the customer has e-signed in the portal can’t have its status changed manually — you must void the acceptance first (covered in the portal article).

Edit an estimate

An estimate is fully editable while it’s Draft, or while it hasn’t been converted to a job and isn’t Declined. When editable, the summary page lets you change line items, quantities, rates, tax, deposit terms, notes, the change log, season, and job site — then click Save Changes (or Save in the header).

  • Line items stay editable until the estimate is converted to a job. Use Add Line / Delete Line and the per-row Delete button; totals recalculate as you type.
  • Once an estimate is converted to a job, line items become read-only.
  • Once an estimate is e-signed in the portal, the whole estimate is locked (a contract record) until the acceptance is voided.

Download or print an estimate

Two buttons produce a branded, customer-ready document:

  • Download PDF — in the Estimate Summary header. Generates a PDF (Estimate-####.pdf) with your company logo, address, the customer, line items, totals, and client notes. Save it or attach it to an email.
  • Print — on the Estimates list, opens a branded print-friendly view in a new tab that you can send to a printer or “print to PDF” from the browser.

Both use the same company branding (logo, business name, address) that your document settings define. There is no built-in “email this estimate” button — download or print, then attach it to your own email, or use the Customer Portal so the customer reviews it online.

Convert an accepted estimate to a job

When the estimate is Accepted and linked to a customer, the header shows Convert to Job:

  1. Click Convert to Job and confirm in the dialog (it shows the estimate name, customer, and total).
  2. A new job is created and linked back to the estimate. You’re taken to the job summary.
  3. From a converted estimate you’ll then see View Job and Convert to Invoice in the header.

Special cases:

  • If the estimate is Accepted but only linked to a lead (no customer yet), the button reads Convert Lead to Customer — clicking it converts the lead and returns you here so you can then convert to a job.
  • If the estimate isn’t Accepted, or has no customer/lead attached, the Convert button is disabled with a tooltip explaining why.
  • If the estimate was e-signed with options in the portal, the job receives only the lines the customer actually chose (see the options and portal articles).

Delete an estimate

Click Delete in the header (or on the list row) and confirm.

  • If the estimate is linked to a job, that link is removed first (the job itself is kept).
  • A portal-signed estimate can’t be deleted — you’ll be told to void the acceptance first.

What happens next

The normal path from here is Accepted → Convert to Job → schedule the work → Convert to Invoice for billing. Declined or Expired estimates can be left as a record, edited into a new version, or deleted.

Tips & best practices

  • Update status as you go so the Estimates list stays an accurate pipeline. Portal-driven estimates keep their own status automatically.
  • Send the customer a real document. Use Download PDF (or the portal) rather than reading numbers over the phone — the PDF carries your branding and the client notes.
  • Revise with a new version, not silent edits. Once an estimate has been sent, bump the version and log the change so you have a paper trail.
  • Convert promptly. An Accepted estimate isn’t scheduled work until it’s converted to a job — don’t let accepted estimates sit.

Troubleshooting

  • Convert to Job is disabled — the estimate must be Accepted and linked to a customer. If it’s attached to a lead, use Convert Lead to Customer first; if it’s unassigned, attach a customer and set status to Accepted.
  • I can’t edit the estimate — it has either been converted to a job (line items lock) or e-signed in the portal (fully locked). To edit a signed estimate, void the acceptance first.
  • Status dropdown won’t change a signed estimate — manual status changes are blocked on portal-signed estimates; void the acceptance to unlock it.
  • Can’t delete the estimate — it’s portal-signed; void the acceptance first, then delete.
  • Download PDF is missing my logo/address — set them in your company document/branding settings; the estimate PDF pulls from there.

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