Create and send a quote

Overview

A quote is the priced proposal you send to a client for work. In MyApprentice a quote captures the client details, site address, work description, line items, materials, labour, issue date, expiry date, subtotal, GST, and total. You can save it as a draft for review or send it straight to the client. Once the client accepts, the quote feeds the rest of the workflow — converting to a job, scheduling, and invoicing.

Who This Workflow Is For

This workflow applies to Admin, Business Owner, Finance, and Sole Trader.

Before You Start

Have the client details (name, email, phone, site address) and a description of the work. If the work uses items from your Materials library, having them in there speeds up quoting. Your business profile, payment terms, quote validity period, and quote logo should already be set — see Complete your business profile, Set payment methods and terms, Set quote validity and reminder defaults, and Upload your quote and invoice logo.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Open the Quotes page from the left sidebar, or use the Create Quote quick action on the Dashboard.
2. Select Create Quote. The Create Quote form opens.
3. Enter or select the Client Name. Selecting an existing client auto-fills their details; entering a new name lets you build a new client inline (the inline-created client becomes a permanent record once the quote is sent).
4. Enter the Client Email and Client Phone.
5. Enter the Project Address or site address for the work.
6. Enter the quote Description — the scope of work being quoted.
7. Review the Issue Date (auto-filled) and Expiry Date (defaults to your validity setting — commonly 30 days). Change the expiry date if needed.
8. (Optional) Select Link to Job to tie the quote to an existing job. Search by job number, title, client, or address and select the correct job.
9. Add line items for the services or activities being quoted:
   • In the line item field, start typing the name. Select an existing item or create a new one.
   • To attach materials to a line item for internal costing (visible to your business but not the customer), select Edit Materials, choose from your materials list, and confirm.
   • To charge materials directly to the client as standalone lines, select Add Materials, choose the material, enter the quantity, and confirm.
10. Add labour if needed: select Add Labour, enter the labour task, allocated hours, and price per hour.
11. Review the customer-facing quote view, plus the subtotal, GST, and total.
12. Save:
    • Select Save as Draft to keep the quote in Draft status for further review.
    • Select Save & Send to email the quote to the client now.
13. If sending, review the email recipient, subject, and body, then send. The quote moves to Sent status. (Optional: in the email draft you can have AI write the body — set a tone, then review and edit before sending. The AI writes the prose only and never invents prices; each draft uses 1 AI call. See Using AI in MyApprentice.)
14. Note how the client receives the quote, based on your Client Portal setting:
    • Client Portal enabled — the client gets an email with a portal link to view and accept online.
    • Client Portal disabled — the client gets the quote as a PDF attachment and accepts by email reply.

What Happens Next

The quote tracks through its lifecycle:

• Draft → Sent when you send.
• Sent → Client Accepted when the client accepts (in the portal, via an “I accept” email reply, or via your manual Accept action).
• Sent → Expired automatically once the expiry date passes without acceptance.
• Client Accepted → Job when you convert the accepted quote — see Create a job from an accepted quote.
• Invoiced once the related invoice is paid; the quote can no longer be edited.

Common Issues

• Quote not received by the client. Confirm the client email is correct on the quote, and ask the client to check spam.
• Incorrect totals. Review subtotal, GST, and total before sending. Check that line items, materials, and labour are entered correctly.
• No rejection status. MyApprentice does not have a “quote rejected” status, and clients cannot reject through the Client Portal. The portal may show Not accepted — see Record quote acceptance or rejection for how to handle declines.
• Invoiced quotes are locked. Once a quote has been invoiced and paid, it can no longer be edited.

Related Guides

• Edit a quote
• Generate a quote PDF
• Record quote acceptance or rejection
• Handle an expired quote
• Create a job from an accepted quote
• Using AI in MyApprentice