When I create a reoccurring Estimate from an Estimate that is marked closed, all reoccurring estimates are created closed. This seems like a bad bug

reis1 · ‎November 17, 2020

because when the Estimate is auto-created it goes immediately to a closed state, nothing gets emailed, it is not on the pending list, etc. I have missed billing 3 customers due to this issue.

There is also no way of editing the template, or seeing what state the Estimate will be created in, so it is impossible to know which Templates are set incorrectly.

When I contacted support, I was told this couldn't be a bug otherwise it would have been previously reported.

Here is my support conversation with Reynaldo.

You at 15:10, Nov 17:
Reoccurring Estimates that were created when the Estimate was closed reoccur as closed. This has caused us problems because the estimate is never sent to the customer.
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You at 15:10, Nov 17:
Hello Reynaldo
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Reynaldo L at 15:11, Nov 17:
Hi Jonathan, thanks for contacting Intuit. This is Reynaldo, your QuickBooks Online expert here to help.

I see you have a concern regarding the recurring template.
Reynaldo L at 15:13, Nov 17:
If I may ask, is the recurring estimate template still in schedule status?
You at 15:33, Nov 17:
Yes, but it was created by clicking "Make Reoccurring" on a closed estimate. When you select "Use" on the Reoccurring item, it automatically creates the Estimate in a closed state.
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You at 15:34, Nov 17:
I have to delete the reoccurring estimate. Change the status from Closed to Pending, then recreate the reoccurring Estimate
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You at 15:34, Nov 17:
Otherwise it schedules the Estimate in a closed state. Which doesn't make any sense
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You at 15:36, Nov 17:
The status of a scheduled reoccurring Estimate should always be Pending
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You at 15:37, Nov 17:
I have another reoccurring Estimate that when I click "Use" creates the Estimate, I click save on the Estimate, then it completely disappears
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Reynaldo L at 15:40, Nov 17:
For the estimate that wne tmissing after saving, did you already check on your Sales tab>>All sales?
You at 15:42, Nov 17:
I found that one. It is also creating it as Closed so it is not showing up in my list of Estimates. So same issue
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Reynaldo L at 15:44, Nov 17:
The only reason why the recurring template is creating close estimates is that the recurring estimate that was made was from a close Estimate.
You at 15:44, Nov 17:
Why would anyone want a reoccurring closed estimate? That sounds bad
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Reynaldo L at 15:45, Nov 17:
If you create an estimate that has a pending status and makes it a recurring template it will create a pending estimate also.
You at 15:45, Nov 17:
Plus there is no way of changing the reoccurring estimate to not be closed
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You at 15:45, Nov 17:
How to edit the template then?
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You at 15:46, Nov 17:
So that status is pending, not closed
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Reynaldo L at 15:46, Nov 17:
That is good that you recreated your recurring estimate. That will resolve the issue.
Reynaldo L at 15:46, Nov 17:
You need to recreate the template, you can't edit the status on the template because it was only based and created from the original estimate.
You at 15:47, Nov 17:
It doesn't resolve the issue since users won't remember to do it and there is no way of knowing which templates are incorrect.
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Reynaldo L at 15:47, Nov 17:
If the original estimate was closed the template will create closed estimates. If the original estimate is pending it will create pending estimates.
You at 15:47, Nov 17:
It sounds like a pretty bad bug
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You at 15:47, Nov 17:
How to tell that on the template?
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You at 15:48, Nov 17:
So I know which templates need to be recreated?
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Reynaldo L at 15:48, Nov 17:
We can't tell it by editing the template. We can check it by sing the template.
Reynaldo L at 15:49, Nov 17:
*using
Reynaldo L at 15:49, Nov 17:
If the template creates a closed estimate that needs to be recreated.
You at 15:49, Nov 17:
How about admitting this is a bug and needs to get fixed
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Reynaldo L at 15:50, Nov 17:
It is not actually a bug, that is the QuickBooks working design.
I already checked here and replicated on my end.
You at 15:51, Nov 17:
It is a bug because it has caused me to not bill 3 customers over the past 6 months and there is no way of telling which templates are incorrect. And who would ever create a closed Estimate? Nobody. It voids the whole workflow
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You at 15:53, Nov 17:
You do realize that scheduling an Estimate is so that you can initiate workflow. Right?
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Reynaldo L at 15:53, Nov 17:
Yes, you are correct.
You at 15:54, Nov 17:
If it goes to a closed state, it never gets emailed, never is on your pending Estimate list, etc.
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Reynaldo L at 16:00, Nov 17:
Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience that this has caused you. However, if this is a bug many customers should have been reported this issue to QuickBooks a long time ago. Also, right now we can see that if we use the newly created recurring estimate template it is now showing the correct estimate status because we create the recurring template from the estimate with the correct status also.
You at 16:01, Nov 17:
Lol, since no one has reported this before it cannot be a bug?
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Reynaldo L at 16:02, Nov 17:
To investigate this further, let's check on your Audit log what was created first.If it was the close estimate or the recurring template.
You at 16:02, Nov 17:
Ok, I am used to this from QBO. I will post this conversation on the forms and see what other will think about it.
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Reynaldo L at 16:06, Nov 17:
Is there anything else that I can assist you with aside from this?

Rebecca R · ‎November 17, 2020

Hi there Jonathan,

The ability to create templates for recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online is a huge time saver and makes the process of creating new transactions super simple. I've read through your chat log with Reynaldo and I hear what you're saying about your recurring estimate templates creating as automatically closed. I want to expand on this.

As Reynaldo explained, creating a recurring transaction from a closed estimate, prompts QuickBooks to assume that you'd like to duplicate the estimate exactly as is. Hence when you select Make recurring from a closed invoice, it creates a template that will further create closed estimates. The same would apply if you were to create a template from a Pending or Accepted estimate.

Since the status of the estimate isn't a detail that can be specified from the recurring transaction template, the only way to determine which transaction of yours is being created as closed would be to locate the estimates that have been create as closed and take note of the dates and line details. Then navigate to the Gear icon, under Lists select Recurring transactions and select Edit from the Action column to view the template. Once you've determined which template is the is responsible, you can close it and use the arrow in the Action column to select Delete.

I know it'd be extremely helpful to have a status field on the recurring transaction template so that you could identify the status that the estimate is being sent as. I'm going to pass this feedback along to my team, but I encourage you to submit feedback on this as well. Our product development team loves hearing from users like you because it helps them to determine which improvements and new features they'll work on next. Have your voice heard by selecting the Gear icon, then Feedback.

I also want to share this article on how to Create recurring transactions in QuickBooks Online. It also includes a list of additional resources, all of which could be helpful to review.

I hope you have an enjoyable evening!

reis1 · ‎November 17, 2020

Thank you for the reply Rebecca. Could you please explain the real-world scenario where someone would want to create a reoccurring Estimate as closed? It just seems like a non-sensical workflow. Closed is the only way to "soft-delete" an estimate since there is no hard delete for estimates. Why would any user want to yearly create a deleted Estimate for a customer? The Estimate just sort of disappears. It is taken out of any future work-flow.

Getting an recurring Estimate in the correct state seems pretty difficult. When you open up an existing Estimate and select "Make recurring" it impossible from the Edit screen to even know what status the Estimate is. You would first have to exit the Estimate, update its state, then go back in the Edit screen and select "Make recurring", then you would have to go back into the previous screen and update the status back to what you had. This seems complicated, and very error prone.

JamesM · ‎November 18, 2020

I hear you on this, Jonathan and I agree to what you've described above. I know how vital it is to have the program work according to your expectations. I want to make sure your voice is heard and in order to make this happen, I suggest sending feedback directly to our product developers. To do this, click on the Gear icon and look for Feedback. New product ideas and improvements are largely based on the feedback we get from users like you.

reis1 · ‎November 18, 2020

Thank you James. I submitted my feedback.

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When I create a reoccurring Estimate from an Estimate that is marked closed, all reoccurring estimates are created closed. This seems like a bad bug