Estimates
Quote a price before the work happens - build, discount, share and convert an estimate into an invoice.
An estimate is a quote - "here's roughly what this will cost". It asks nobody to pay anything and never touches the client's account balance. Only an invoice does that.
The five stages
| Stage | Means | Editable? |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | A scratchpad. The client never sees it | Yes |
| Finalised | Locked and ready to share | No - Unfinalise to unlock |
| Converted | Turned into an invoice. End of the road | No |
| Expired | The "valid until" date passed | No |
| Declined | The client said no | No |
Two things to remember: a draft is private until you finalise it, and Finalise is not Send - it only locks the figures. Sharing is a separate click.
Common tasks
| I want to... | Do this |
|---|---|
| Quote for a pet | Patient → ⋯ → Create estimate. Pet and owner pre-filled |
| Quote for an owner | Client → ⋯ → Create estimate |
| Quote during a visit | Consult → Financial tab → New estimate. Pet, owner and visit pre-filled |
| Start from scratch | Billing → Estimates → New Estimate |
| Add a line | Add Item (top-right of Charges), then pick from the catalogue |
| Change a line | Edit Qty, Unit $ or Discount on the row. No pop-up |
| Swap the item | The search icon inside the item field |
| Remove a line | The trash icon on the row |
| Reorder lines | Drag the grip handle. Needs a mouse |
| Discount one line | Its Discount field. % by default; the $ / % toggle switches |
| Quote a range not a number | Estimate range ± in the totals block, bottom-right |
| Fix a locked quote | Unfinalise → edit → Finalise |
| Email, print or save it | The envelope, printer or download icons. Finalised only |
| Turn it into a bill | Convert to Invoice → Create Invoice |
| Drop it into a live visit | ⋯ → Add to invoice → pick the consult → Pull into consult |
| Find one | Billing → Estimates, then search or filter by status |
Walk-throughs
Fees on a quote
A medication that carries a dispensing or injection fee is quoted with it. Add the item and the fee comes with it, the same fee the invoice will charge, so the quote and the bill agree. Before August 2026 estimates left fees off, which quietly undersold the quote and the client met the difference at payment time.
The fee sits on the line and is editable, down to zero, exactly as it is on an invoice. Where the fee comes from - the catalogue item's own override, or your clinic default - is set in the catalogue.
Gotchas
- A quote that seems to have "disappeared" for the client is usually still a draft. Finalise it, then share it.
- Mind the "valid until" date. Once it passes the quote expires and can't be converted. Give quotes a comfortable window.
- No Convert button means the estimate has expired or was declined. Make a new one, or put the items straight on an invoice.
- No Unfinalise button means it's already been converted. Converted estimates are final history - edit the resulting invoice instead.
- "It says Converted already" - someone beat you to it. Find that invoice rather than converting again.
- No share icons means it's still a draft. They only appear once finalised.
- Dragging to reorder needs a mouse. Fiddly on a touchscreen. The order doesn't affect the total, so leaving it is fine.
Where to go next
Invoices · Taking payments · Charges vs invoices · The catalogue · Emailing clients