Creating and Sending Quotes

Overview

A quote is a formal pricing proposal you send to a client before work begins. It captures the scope of work, line items, materials, labour, pricing, and expiry, and either gets the work over the line or starts a conversation.

Who uses this feature

Sole Traders, Business Owners, and Supervisors (where permissions allow). Tradies and Apprentices cannot create quotes unless explicitly permitted. Finance can create and send quotes where the business has granted that permission.

When to use this feature

• A client requests pricing for work you have not yet started.
• A client has submitted an enquiry that you are ready to quote.
• You need to revise pricing or scope on an existing quote.

What you can do with this feature

• Create a quote from scratch or from the dashboard Quick Action.
• Add line items, standalone materials, and labour.
• Set the issue date and the expiry date (default 30 days from creation).
• Save as a draft, or save and send to the client.
• Draft the quote email body with AI before sending.
• Download a PDF copy of the quote.
• Edit a quote (where its status allows).
• Send a quote to the client by email (and via the Client Portal if enabled).

How the feature works

Create a quote

1. Select Quotes from the sidebar, or use the Create Quote Quick Action on the dashboard.
2. Select Create Quote.
3. Enter or select the client. Add a new client inline if needed.
4. Enter the client email and phone.
5. Enter the project or site address.
6. Enter the quote description — describe the work being quoted.
7. Review the issue date (auto-filled) and the expiry date (default 30 days).
8. If linking to an existing job, select Link to Job, search, and select.
9. Add line items: select Add Line Item, type the item name, and select an existing item or create a new one. Use Edit Materials to link materials for internal costing.
10. Add standalone materials: select Add Materials, search for the material, enter quantity, and confirm.
11. Add labour: select Add Labour, enter the task, allocated hours, and price per hour.
12. Review the customer-facing quote view, subtotal, GST, and total.
13. Select Save as Draft to keep working, or Save & Send to email the quote to the client.
14. If sending, review the email draft and select Send Quote or Send.
15. The confirmation pop-up tells you where the issued quote can be found.

Tip: autocomplete in the editor

As you type in line item or materials fields, the editor suggests matching items and materials from your existing records — select a suggestion to auto-fill the description, unit, and price. The autocomplete is drawn from your business’s own records and is not shared with other businesses.

Edit a quote

1. Open Quotes and Invoices from the sidebar.
2. Select the relevant quote.
3. Select Edit.
4. Update the fields.
5. Select Save changes to save without sending, or Save and send to send the updated quote to the client.

Download a quote as a PDF

1. Open the quote.
2. In the actions area, select Download PDF. The PDF saves to your device.

Send a quote

1. Open the quote.
2. Select Save & Send, or Email from the actions bar.
3. Review the email draft — client email, subject, body, attached PDF — and select Send.

Draft the email with AI (optional)

In the email draft you can have AI write the email body for you. Set a tone (free text — for example “professional” or “friendly”), and the AI drafts the prose only; it does not add the greeting, buttons, or signature, and never invents prices. Review and edit before sending. Each AI draft uses 1 AI call from your monthly allowance — see Using AI in MyApprentice.

Role-specific notes

• Sole Trader / Business Owner / Supervisor: can create, edit, PDF, and send quotes (subject to permissions).
• Finance: can create and send quotes where permissions allow.
• Tradie / Apprentice: cannot create or send quotes by default.

Related workflows

• Managing Your Client Library
• Recording Quote Acceptance and Converting to a Job
• Creating, Sending, and Tracking Invoices
• Using the Client Portal
• Using AI in MyApprentice

Important notes

• The default expiry is 30 days from creation. You can change this in Business Settings → Sales (see Configuring Business Settings).
• If the Client Portal is enabled, the client gets a portal link to view and accept the quote online. If the portal is off, the client receives the PDF by email and accepts by reply email or phone.
• Editing an accepted quote triggers a confirmation pop-up — “Careful: this quote has already been accepted. The client has formally accepted this quote. Editing line items, prices, labour, or dates can create a mismatch with the approved document. Continue only if you intend to update the system record and manage any client follow-up.” Select Go back to cancel, or Proceed to continue with the edit.
• Sent quotes have no silent save. Every edit on a Sent or Expired quote is resent to the client via Save & Send — there is no Save changes option for Sent quotes.