Creating an Estimate

Overview

Estimates are quotes you send to customers before starting work. They outline what you'll do and how much it will cost, giving customers a chance to approve before you begin. Once approved, estimates can be converted directly into invoices, scheduled jobs, or recurring service agreements. After sending an estimate, BlueClerk prompts you to create a ticket or schedule a job to complete the work.

NEW: Inline Ticket Creation - When you click "Create Ticket" or "Schedule Job" from an estimate, the ticket dialog opens right on the page instead of navigating away. The dialog automatically pre-fills the customer, property, and all line items from the estimate (filtered to items with itemId) so you can quickly convert the estimate into trackable work. Customer type determines which ID gets passed:

• Homeowner customers: Pass customerHomeownerId
• Builder/Business customers: Pass customerId (the customer company ID)

NEW: Convert Options Available Earlier - You can now convert estimates to invoices or tickets as soon as they're marked SENT, not just after approval. This gives you flexibility to start work or create invoices earlier in the process.

NEW: Duplicate Button - Click the duplicate icon in the top action bar to clone an estimate instantly. The duplicate is created as a DRAFT with a new estimate number, copying all line items and customer info from the original.

NEW: Send Button in Top Action Bar - The Send button has been moved to the top action bar alongside Save and Duplicate, making it easier to send estimates without scrolling.

NEW: Contractor-Only Profit Block - Estimates now show a profit summary when line items have cost data from linked catalog items. See cost subtotal, profit amount, and margin percentage calculated from Item.cost. The block automatically hides if no items have costs, and shows a note when some items are missing cost data.

NEW: Multi-Attach Email - Send 2-5 estimates to a customer in one email with all PDFs attached. Select multiple estimates from the list, click "Send X Together", enter recipient email, add an optional cover note, and BlueClerk sends one multipart/mixed email with all estimates attached via AWS SES.

NEW: AI Duplicate with Line Filtering - Ask the AI to "make a copy of EST-0017 without the install line" and it will clone the estimate, drop any line items whose description matches your substrings (case-insensitive), and recalculate totals automatically.

When to Use Estimates

Use estimates when:

• Work scope is significant enough to warrant customer approval
• You want written confirmation before starting
• Customer requested a quote
• Job is time-and-materials but you want to set expectations
• You're bidding against other contractors

Creating an Estimate

From Scratch

1. Click "Finance" in the sidebar
2. Select "New Estimate" from the flyout menu
3. Fill in estimate details:
   • Customer: Select existing or add new customer
   • Property: Choose property address for the work
   • Estimate Date: Defaults to today
   • Valid Until: Expiration date for the quote (optional)
   • Purchase Order: Optional PO number from customer

Adding Line Items

Line items describe the work and pricing:

1. Click "Add Line Item"
2. Select from catalog or type a new item
3. Enter quantity and unit price
4. Mark taxable if sales tax applies
5. Add more items as needed

Item Picker Default Behavior: When the search input is empty, the picker now shows the top 15 active items alphabetically instead of "No results found". This gives you quick access to your most common items without typing.

Setting Totals

BlueClerk calculates totals automatically:

• Subtotal: Sum of all line items
• Tax: Applied to taxable items based on your tax rate
• Total: Final amount customer will pay

Adding Notes

Include any terms, conditions, or additional information in the notes section. This appears on the PDF sent to customers.

Sending an Estimate

Email to Customer

1. Click "Send" in the top action bar (next to Save and Duplicate)
2. Confirm recipient email
3. Add personal message (optional)
4. Click "Send Estimate"

The customer receives a professional PDF with a link to view online.

After Sending

When you send an estimate, BlueClerk prompts you to:

• Create a ticket to track the work
• Schedule a job to perform the work

This ensures you maintain complete records and can follow up appropriately.

Converting Estimates

To Invoice

After approval (or when status is SENT or later):

1. Open the estimate
2. Click "Convert to Invoice"
3. Review prefilled invoice
4. Adjust if needed and save

To Ticket or Job

You can now convert estimates earlier in the process:

1. Open the estimate (status must be SENT or later)
2. Click "Create Ticket" or "Schedule Job" in the action bar
3. Ticket dialog opens inline with customer, property, and line items pre-filled
4. Adjust details as needed and save

The inline dialog keeps you on the estimate page while creating trackable work records.

Duplicating Estimates

Manual Duplication

1. Open the estimate you want to copy
2. Click the duplicate icon in the top action bar (next to Send)
3. A new DRAFT estimate is created with all line items copied
4. Edit as needed and save

AI-Powered Duplication with Filtering

Use the AI chat assistant to create smart copies:

1. Open AI chat (sparkles icon in header)
2. Ask to duplicate an estimate: "Make a copy of EST-0017 without the install line"
3. AI clones the estimate and removes any line items matching your description
4. Totals are recalculated automatically
5. New estimate opens as a DRAFT for review

Multi-Sending Estimates

Sending Multiple Estimates in One Email

When you need to send 2-5 estimates to the same customer:

1. Go to the estimates list
2. Check the boxes next to 2-5 estimates (bulk action appears)
3. Click "Send X Together" in the bulk actions bar
4. Enter recipient email (pre-filled if customer has one)
5. Add optional cover note to explain what's included
6. Toggle CC yourself if you want a copy
7. Click "Send"

The customer receives one email with all estimates attached as PDFs. Each estimate is marked SENT automatically.

Understanding Profit

Contractor-Only Profit Block

When line items have linked catalog items with cost data, a profit summary appears below totals:

• Cost Subtotal: Sum of Item.cost × quantity for all items with costs
• Profit Amount: Total revenue minus cost subtotal
• Margin %: Profit divided by total revenue

What's included:

• Only line items with itemId that have a non-zero Item.cost
• Calculates against post-tax total for accurate margin

When it's hidden:

• No line items have cost data
• All items are missing costs (nothing to calculate)

Missing cost note: If some items have costs but others don't, the block shows how many items are missing cost data so you know the calculation is incomplete.

Tips

• Valid Until dates create urgency and protect you from old quotes
• Photos can be added to line items to show customers what materials look like
• Send via text as well as email for faster customer response
• Use templates for common job types to speed up estimate creation
• Link purchase orders from suppliers to track material costs against estimates

Questions

Q: Can I edit an estimate after sending? A: Yes, but changes won't update the PDF already sent to the customer. Send a revised estimate if changes are significant.

Q: What happens if I convert an estimate to invoice before it's approved? A: The invoice is created as DRAFT. You can still edit it before sending to the customer. The estimate status is marked CONVERTED.

**Q: Can I duplicate