How to Create, Send, and Manage Estimates
Starting a repair before the customer has signed off on the price leaves room for disputes, pushback, and work you don’t get paid for. You need a clear way to quote a job and get approval before any work begins.
RepairDesk’s Estimates give you exactly that. You can send customers an estimate they can approve, decline, or request changes to right from their email, and set RepairDesk to hold the ticket until it’s approved. Estimates can be created from the Estimates page, the point of sale, or an existing ticket, and once an estimate is approved, it converts straight into a repair so you can proceed with confidence.
Video Guide:
In this guide, you’ll learn how to configure your estimate settings, create estimates from the Estimates page, point of sale, or a ticket, and use the customer approval flow to convert approved estimates into repairs.
FAQs:
How can I change the default estimate type?
By default, the estimate type will be Service, but you can set it to product too. In order to set the default estimate type to product, go to Store Settings > Prospects > Estimates
Enable the toggle Set the default estimate type as product
By enabling this option, the system will set the default estimate type to Product when creating new estimates.
How can I add internal notes on an estimate?
You can add the internal notes in estimates for your employees as you add them in the ticket section. Go to the estimates section and create a new estimate.
Note: You can also add the internal notes on already existing estimates
Manage estimates > Create estimates or update estimates
After adding the internal notes, you can view them or edit them by clicking on the estimates from the listing.
After selecting the estimate from the listing page, you can see the added internal notes under the private comments tab at the bottom of the screen.
If you want to restrict your employees from creating, approving, cloning, or converting an Estimate, here's how you can do it:
Go to Settings > Employees > Roles, Access and Permissions > Estimation > Change internal notes
Can I make customer approval mandatory?
Yes, you can enable a trigger from Store Settings > Prospects > Estimates. Based on that trigger customer approval will be made mandatory.
How can I add a signature while approving estimates?
Yes, you can add a signature while approving estimates by enabling the trigger from module configuration >> estimates.
Can I create an invoice from an estimate?
You can not directly create an invoice from an estimate. To create an invoice, first convert the estimate to repair ticket. Then you can create an invoice against a repair ticket.
Can I create estimates for Trade-In items and accessories?
Definitely! The same procedure is applicable to create estimates for Trade-In and Casual Items. You can also convert this estimate for these items as a repair ticket.
Can employees approve an estimate if customer approval is marked as mandatory?
No, if customer approval is marked as mandatory then the employee can not approve the estimate. Only customers will be allowed to approve that estimate.
Can I create an estimate from the lead section?
Definitely! You can create an estimate from a lead. You can also email the estimate to customer directly from lead and download as a PDF as well.
To do this, simply open a lead. Click on Email to email estimate to the customer. Click on Download Estimate to save a copy of the estimate as PDF file on your system.
To do this, simply open a lead. Click on Email to email estimate to the customer. Click on Download Estimate to save a copy of the estimate as PDF file on your system.
Is there any option through which I can manually change the estimate status?
No, you can not change the estimate status manually. Status is action-based and once you perform any action, status is changed automatically.
How can I manage estimate status?
You can view estimate status from settings under the order status tab. You can view all the staus being used in the estimate module. Plus, if you want to translate, you can change the name of the status as per your requirements.
Once an estimate is created Via ticket, the estimate will be sent to the customer for approval and once he approves the estimate then the user will be able to edit and update that specific ticket.
Once I update an estimate do I have to send the estimate for approval again?
It depends on your choice, once you update the estimate system give you the option to send an estimate or proceed without customer approval.
Is there any option to disable estimates from the tickets section?
Yes, you can disable this option by Store Settings > Repairs > Tickets
You'll see a trigger named "Allow creating estimates for tickets". By disabling this option, the estimates option will be disabled from the tickets section. 
Can I add a due date to my estimates?
We've added a New Due Date Macro for Estimates under the estimate templates. This feature empowers users to incorporate a dynamic due date macro directly into their estimate templates. Users can now easily and consistently include due dates within templates, ensuring accurate and standardized communication of this essential information
Can I decline an estimate?
You can Decline Estimates Directly from within the system, from the customer portal, and email. This feature empowers users to efficiently manage and track declined estimates without the need for additional communication or workarounds. Users can now decline estimates directly from their preferred interface, preventing these estimates from progressing into tickets or invoices in Customer Portal.
Can I clone an Estimate?
Yes, you clone an estimate. First you need go to the manage estimates section.
Find the estimate you wish to clone from the list.
Click on the three dots menu button next to the desired estimate.
Select the "Clone" option from the dropdown menu. 
The system will open the cloned estimate in edit mode, with all line items and customer information pre-filled from the original estimate.
What are Advanced Filters?
As a user managing estimates in RepairDesk, you can now search for estimates based on various criteria. By using Advanced Filters in the estimate section, you can streamline your workflow by quickly locating specific estimates. The Advanced Filters dropdown includes the following options:
- Customer Organization
- Mobile/Phone Number
- Customer Group
- Ticket Reference
- Product/Service Name
Can I show custom fields data on Estimates?
Yes, you can!
Head over to Store Settings>Prospects>Estimates, and enable the Display custom fields data’ toggle.
This will allow your customer to be fully involved and informed in all decisions.
Head over to Store Settings>Prospects>Estimates, and enable the Display custom fields data’ toggle.
This will allow your customer to be fully involved and informed in all decisions.
Can I show problem/ service description on estimates?
Yes, to do that go to Store Settings>Prospects>Estimates, and turn on the trigger for ‘Display problem/service description'.
Can I be notified when a customer adds a note to an estimate?
Yes. A new Customer Added Notes notification is available on the Manage Email & SMS Notifications page. Turn on the email and/or SMS toggle for this trigger, and staff will be notified whenever a customer adds a note to an estimate, whether the note is submitted through the Customer Portal or in reply to the estimate email.
Can I create an estimate for the general category?
Yes you can!
Mark a repair category as General Category in Store Settings > Repairs > Repair Categories > Manage Repair Categories > General Category
Select your desired general category, choose the number of hours in quantity and the total will populate accordingly.
Can I hide item SKUs from my Estimate templates?
Yes! Some merchants prefer not to disclose SKU details to customers for internal tracking or pricing confidentiality. This option gives you full control over that.
Go to Store Settings > Prospects > Estimates > Display SKU
Once disabled, item SKUs will be hidden from:
- Printed A4 and Thermal Receipt Estimates
- Exported Estimate PDFs
- Estimate PDFs sent via email
Once enabled, it will apply to all existing and new estimates when printed or exported.
How to create an estimate for a product or a service within a ticket?
Accurate estimates speed up approvals and boost customer confidence. With RepairDesk, you can instantly generate estimates for services and inventory items from the new ticket page, ensuring a seamless workflow and transparent pricing.
Go to Store Settings > Repairs > Tickets > Would you like to create an estimate against the ticket
After enabling the trigger, click on the Add New button.
You will see three options: Service, Estimate, Items.
Select the Estimate option to create an estimate for the service or an inventory item.
Upon selecting Estimate option, a drawer will appear where you can select the services or items for which you'd like to create an estimate.
Select the check box and click on the create estimate button to create an estimate.
Please note that once the estimate is created, you will not be able to modify that specific line item.