How customers approve an estimate

Your customer doesn't need an account or a password. The button in your email opens the estimate in their browser, on a phone or a computer.

What your customer does

1. They open the estimate and see your logo, the work, the prices and your terms.
2. If you offered a choice, such as three finishes, they pick one of them. If you added optional extras, they tick the ones they want. The total updates as they go.
3. They click Approve estimate, type their full name — which counts as their signature — and click Approve and sign.

If it's not right for them, they can click Not right now and choose a reason, such as going with a cheaper quote or postponing.

What happens next

• The estimate changes to Accepted. Their typed name, the date and time and their IP address are saved under Acceptance.
• Your office team is told straight away, with a notification in Recoatly and an email.
• If the contact was a lead, they become a Customer.
• If the estimate asks for a deposit, Recoatly creates a deposit invoice and emails it to the customer. Once you've connected Stripe, they can pay it online straight away. When you invoice the finished job, the deposit they paid is taken off the final invoice.
• If one of your contract templates is set to attach automatically when an estimate is accepted, a draft contract is created for you to review. Nothing is sent without you.
• Click Create job on the estimate to schedule the work. See Turn an estimate into a job.

Approved by phone or in person?

Open the estimate and click Mark accepted or Mark declined in the Status panel. When you mark one declined, pick the closest reason — the reasons feed your win and loss reporting.

Marking an estimate accepted yourself doesn't create a deposit invoice. If you need a deposit, create an invoice for it, and take it off the final invoice when you bill the job.

Good to know

• After the Valid until date, customers can't approve the estimate online; they're asked to contact you for an updated one. To give them more time, edit the estimate and change the date.
• The first time your customer opens the estimate, it moves from Sent to Viewed.
• To withdraw an estimate, choose Archive estimate from the ⋯ menu. The customer's link stops working.
• If the scope changes after approval, use Duplicate and send a revised estimate, so the signed version stays as it was.
• Customers can also find their estimates in the customer portal, where they sign in with a link sent to their email.