Invoices: How do I send an estimate?

[tbone112219]

The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Sending estimate

I have read through some of the other post and it sounded like square was working on this a year ago.  So how am I able to send the estimate?  Only thing I see is send an invoice.

[#2]

Hello! Square Estimates are now available! 🎉

More information about creating and sending Estimates are available in our Support Center! 🙂

[principle]

Is there a way to generate a quote?  This should be able to be modified and changed to an invoice, but not necessarily.

[VanKalkerFarms]

There is not currently a way to make a Quote using Square POS or Square invoices.

[Helen]

Welcome to the Seller Community @principle! I'll share your request for a quote feature with the Product Team. Thanks for posting! 

[Allstand]

Hi @principle,

While it’s not possible to do this in Square directly, you can always use a third-party app like PandaDoc to generate documents like invoices and send them to your clients. 

PandaDoc integrates with Square, so you can include a payment option in your invoices. Payments can be made without the need for recipients to leave the document, so everything stays in one place. Your Square account will automatically update with client payment details.

[Helen]

@priciple Helen here from the Community team. I wanted to add a quick update to to this thread: you can now send Estimates with Square! 

[ultraproclean]

Hi Helen, the link you shared does not talk about estimates but rather custom quotes. Also, there is online square site available, does the estimate feature available there? Thanks.

[JustinC]

Maybe try Estimates with multiple packages, as it allows you to send an estimate with multiple packages that include groupings of items or services at accompanying prices. The buyer can choose which package they prefer to purchase. @ultraproclean

This feature isn't available with Square Online. @ultraproclean

[crystalimages]

Is there a way to allow customers to request a quote/estimate? I have had to create a form on my site for customers to enter information to get a quote. It would be nice if they could initiate an estimate inquiry that starts what could end up as a sale within square. Then I don't have to copy and paste info from one system to another.

Some of our items have variable pricing, as we sell photography, and it is sometimes subjective as to what the package might be priced at. It's a little more difficult than putting an item on the online store, especially since I can't post the photos themselves, as people could just take the photos right from the site. We shoot literally thousands of photos a day, so we also would need a fast way to bulk upload photos if that were an option.

[ashc]

Hey @crystalimages! 

I moved your post to an existing thread in the Community with the same question.

From @Helen 's best answer above- Estimates are available within our Invoicing that you can use! Check out the article she posted to see if that's what you're looking for here. 

[ACAcatering]

I want to see if anybody else has an interest in this option.  I've asked Square a couple of times about this, but am not sure it is something they are working on.  As you can see from my name, I'm in the catering business.  Many times my customers ask for a quote, or it's something that I offer.  The problem is that every time I do this, I have to explain to them that "it will look like an invoice, but use it as a quote," and that "we can edit or delete it at any time."  For me, a Quote Toggle at the top of invoices would be great.  It would take the payment option away, and clearly state that what is being sent is a quote.  It would look so much more professional in my opinion, and save me the time of having to explain this to every customer that wants a quote.  
Could anybody else benefit from this option?

[jwgmarine]

Hi there - sorry if this has been posted before and answered. I did some looking around and did not find whether I can create an estimate for a customer using square. Is this possible? In QB (which sucks) - not my choice - you can create an estimate and then covert it to an estimate. Apologies in advance if this is silly question.

Thank you for your help.

John

JWG Marine, Owner

[Sean]

Definitely not a silly question! This sounds like like it would be a useful feature for a number of Square sellers! While we don't specifically have a way to send estimates, you could consider using Square Invoices. 

Would you mind sharing what would differentiate an estimate v. an invoice. I'd love to hear what exact features would be useful. 

[HC]

Hi Sean - having the ability to send an estimate would be hugely beneficial. If we could create an invoice that would details items and total cost and send to a customer, who then could review it and decide if they want to go forward with a service. We can create an invoice and send it, but it appears to the customer that we are asking them to pay the invoice - essentially, we want that funcionality, but have it read as "estimate" and not give the option to pay. Its important that it is noted as an estimate, with repair work labor costs and parts may change during the course of work done, so the price of a job may increase or decrease from the initial estimate. It would be really slick if an estiamte that is accepted can stay open, and allowed to be edited and then sent as an invoice upon job completion. 

[Sean]

@HC - Thanks so much for the details. I'll be sure to share your feedback, as well as yours, @jwgmarine! 

Out of curiosity, have you already had a chance to check out our integration with InvoiceASAP. It looks like they have a lot of features that you're looking for! Here is a link to their main website too.

[macsamurai]

Just adding my voice as another who'd really like to see "Estimates" as an option within Square. I do a decent chunk of my invoicing through Square now, but I still have to fall back to Harvest for all of my estimates. 

[HandymanJeremy]

Hi Sean,

Has Square added the ability to create an estimate since this post last July? I recently started using square to send invoices but really need the ability to send estimates first. As a Handyman,  I provide a service that requires me to send an estimate for the client to approve before moving forward with the work. 

[Chad]

Hey @HandymanJeremy,

This is still a feature request. We are tracking it and passing the feedback to our product team. I see how estimates could be useful to a number of businesses. Please hang in there! 😀

[HandymanJeremy]

Great. Thank you for the response.

[newandbetter]

New to Square. If I can't do something as simple as an estimate and then convert into an invoice, then I'm out.

[Sean]

Hi @newandbetter, as this thread alludes, we don't currently offer this functionality. We understand this would be a useful tool for folks. I'll be sure to share your feedback with our product liaison team.