My estimates are automatically creating invoices with pmt due upon acceptance

Thanks for choosing QuickBooks in managing your sales transactions, alext-pobox-com. I'm here to share some insights about how estimates work.

If your customer accepts your estimate by paying a deposit online, a partially paid invoice will be created automatically. The transaction will default to Net 30 payment terms (even if you have a different global setting like Due on receipt or Net 15). 

You can modify the due date to make sure the invoice is accurate. Here's how:

1. Go to Get paid & pay and select Invoices.
2. Find and select the invoice, then select Edit invoice. 
3. Select the Invoice date field and enter a date in the future that is close to the time work will be completed. 
4. Click Save.

For more details about this, please see this article: Request and Accept Deposits on Estimates.

If you're not using QuickBooks Payments, you can manually convert the estimates to invoices after the work is done. When the customer accepts the estimate, QuickBooks will automatically update the status for you. However, this won't automatically create an invoice.

To learn more about recording estimates in QuickBooks Online, I'd suggest checking out these resources:

• Create and Send Estimates in QuickBooks Online
• See What’s New with Estimates and Invoices in QuickBooks Online

Additionally, I've included these articles that'll help you manage your sales transactions in QuickBooks Online. This way, you'll be able to make sure your record is accurate:

• Sales and Customers
• Invoices and Payments

I'm only a few clicks away if you need assistance with your other QuickBooks tasks, alext-pobox-com. It's always my pleasure to help you out again.

My customer did not pay a deposit.  All they did was accept the estimate.  When they did, QB created an invoice with the amount due.  For previous estimates this did not happen, the estimate status was just changed to "accepted" which is what I would expect.  I'm not sure why it decided to automatically create an invoice this time.  It can't be random, there must be a setting somewhere I changed to make it do this.  Any ideas how to undo it?

Hello there, @alext-pobox-com. I'll walk you through deleting an invoice linked to an estimate and recreating them.

The status of an estimate will not reset to Pending if an invoice linked is deleted. It will, however, show as Accepted. You don't have to be concerned; you can recreate the invoice and link it to the same estimate. I can show you how to go about doing it.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Sales menu.
2. Choose the Customers tab.
3. Double-click on the name of the customer.
4. Locate the estimate you want to work.
5. From the Actions column, click the Create Invoice link.
6. Set the amount to the invoice.
7. Click the Create Invoice button.
8. Review the invoice details. 
9. Hit Save and Close.

Once you've tied an estimate to an invoice, the estimate will be Closed. Check for thorough instructions in this article: Set up and send progress invoices in QuickBooks Online.

Always feel free to leave your comments below if you have other questions about managing and converting your estimates.

Yes, I realize that I can delete the auto-generated invoice and then change the estimate status to accepted.  I guess my question is why did QB do this and how can I keep it from happening in the future?  When people click the "Accept Estimate" button I just wan the estimate set to "accepted" I don't want an invoice generated.  How can I make sure this happens with future estimates?

Hello, alext-pobox-com.  

In QuickBooks, there is a new feature where accepted estimates WITH DEPOSITS are automatically converted to an invoice. However, it didn't say that accepted estimates without deposits will also auto-convert to invoices. 

Therefore, this is something that should be checked further. I suggest reaching out to our customer support team to investigate this further. You can check out this link to reach out to our Customer support. 

Regarding what's new in QuickBooks about estimates and invoices, please refer to this article: See what’s new with estimates and invoices in QuickBooks Online 

Additionally, you can also check these articles for more details about managing estimates in QuickBooks:

• Convert an estimate into an invoice in QuickBooks Online
• Create and send estimates in QuickBooks Online 

In case you have other concerns or questions about estimate automatically create invoice in QBO, you can always get back to me by leaving a reply on this thread. I’ll be around ready to help you. Keep safe!

I'm not sure what is going on here.  The responses to my question seem like they were just pasted from a help file somewhere.  I still haven't seen a simple answer to my question, "why did this estimate automatically create an invoice when my customer accepted it?"  I've had estimates before that simply changed their state to Accepted and didn't create an invoice.  Nobody has been able to answer me that simple question.  All I want to know is - why did it happen and is there something I can do to change that behavior in the future?

Thanks for getting back to us, and I got the point you're making, @alext-pobox-com. 

I've tried this on my end, and everything seems to work fine. The system won't automatically create an invoice with a payment once an estimate is set to an accepted status. In this scenario, I'd like to verify if you've done performing some troubleshooting? If you haven't tried it yet, log in to your QuickBooks Online account in a private browser.
 

• For Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + N.
• For Microsoft Edge or Firefox, press Ctrl + Shift + P.
• For Safari, hold down Command + Shift + N.

If everything works well, you can clear the cache to optimize QuickBooks' performance. Also, you can use other supported browsers.

If the same thing happens, please give us a short call to report this scenario. We'll need to further investigate this using our appropriate tools. To contact our Support Team, you can follow the steps below.
 

1. Sign in to your QBO account.
2. Click the Help icon and follow the on-screen instruction.
   

Still, you can check these articles to learn more about estimates:

• Create and send estimates in QuickBooks Online
• Convert an estimate into an invoice in QuickBooks Online

Also, if you're going to track your estimate entries in QBO, you can run the Estimates by Customer report. For more tips about running reports, you can visit the links below.

• Memorize reports
• Customize reports

Visit again if you have more concerns as you go along with QuickBooks. Stay safe and have a good one, alext-pobox-com.

I just tested this myself.  

Created a new estimate.

Added myself as a customer.

Sent myself the estimate.

When I received it I clicked the Approve button - in a private window

Went back to QB and sure enough my estimate is now "Converted" and I have an invoice due today for the work. 

Something is causing QB to auto convert my estimates to invoices which are due right away

Hello,

I am just checking if you were ever able to find a solution to this issue. As I am also having the same problem with my account as well. I looked into the audit log and it shows that "System Administrator" created an invoice immediately after my customer approved the invoice.

This seems like a bug in their system as I don't have QB payments set up as well.

Thank you for raising your issue here in the Community, @G Creative. 

I've come with a solution that can help you fix your issue about QuickBooks automatically creating an invoice after accepting the estimate.

This behavior is unusual in QuickBooks. As mentioned by my colleague SarahannC above, QuickBooks won't automatically create an invoice after the estimate was accepted by your customer. In this case, you'll want to verify if this is a browser issue. If you haven't yet, let's log in to your QuickBooks Online account via a private browser. To do so, press this shortcut key on your keyboard:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: Command + Option + P

If this works, it means that you need to clear the browser's cache so the system can start fresh. If you get the same result while using a private browser, I recommend switching to a different one.

If the issue persists, I highly recommend contacting our QuickBooks Support Team. This way, they can further look into this matter and provide in-depth troubleshooting steps to get this fixed.

You may also want to view the status of your sales transactions in your QuickBooks Online. You can go to the Sales menu and select All Sales.

Please let me know if you need further assistance with your concern by dropping a reply below. Have a good one, @G Creative.

I have the same problem. When a customer accepts an estimate, QB automatically closes the estimate and creates an invoice. I do not have QB payments turned on and do not intend to. I have not asked the customer for a deposit.

I opened QB online in an incognito window and tried all of this - Create estimate, send it via email to my test customer (my private email), accept the estimate, and poof, the estimate is automatically converted into an invoice due in two weeks. 

How can I modify my settings to work so that when the customer accepts an estimate, QB simply updates the status of that estimate to "Accepted"? I will then manually convert the estimate into an invoice when I've completed the work.

Please answer the question.

Thanks!

Tom

Thank you for joining the thread, Tom.

I appreciate you for performing some troubleshooting steps to fix the issue you had with QuickBooks automatically creating an invoice after accepting the estimate.

Usually, this behavior happens when QuickBooks Payments is enabled with the new version of estimates that allow customers to pay their deposit. Since you don't have QuickBooks Payments but estimates are automatically creating invoices after acceptance, I'd suggest reaching out to our Customer Support Team to check this further. Once connected, a live representative can look into your account securely and review why estimates behave this way.

To contact support: 

1. Log in to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account.
2. Go to the Help (?) menu.
3. Select either the Assistant or Search tab to get started.
4. Choose a way to connect with support.

If you need to modify an estimate further, learn more about the process from this article: Create and send estimates in QuickBooks Online.

Once you're ready to record a payment after converting an estimate into an invoice, check out this link: Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online.

You can always drop a comment below if you have any other concerns about estimates or invoices. I'm just a post away to help. Keep safe always!

Unless I am missing something, I think I have the same question:

 am struggling with thinking there has got to be a way for Quickbooks to quickly turn an estimate into multiple purchase orders to multiple vendors (this before you bill the customer because you cannot bill a customer for something that has not shipped). Why select a preferred vendor for a product if you cannot utilize that information by automatically creating a PO to the vendor.

So in case I am not being clear. Say I have an estimate for a customer who wants a bunch of different books from different publishers. I send them the quote. Then they place the order. I would then send POs to as many as ten different publishers. Obviously, these books are not going to all ship at the same time.

I would like to be able to invoice the customer piecemeal when I find out that the items were shipped to the customer.

It doesn't seem like I can do this, but there has to be a way right?

Thanks for joining the thread, @MothraMoon. I'll share some details about your concern so you can get through this and complete your tasks in your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account.

I understand how important it is to be able to turn an estimate into multiple purchase orders to different vendors in QBO. As of now, the feature you're trying to access in QBO is currently unavailable. However, you can manually create multiple estimates and then copy each of your estimates to your purchase orders so you can select an item you're going to order from a specific vendor. 

Refer to this article for more information: Copy an estimate to a purchase order.

If you wish to add this feature to QuickBooks, I'll input the steps below so you can send a feature request to our Product Development Team. This way, they'll see your request and consider adding it to  future product updates. To begin, here's how:

1. Access your QuickBooks Online company.
2. In the upper-right corner, click the Gear icon.
3. Under the Profile column, select Feedback.
4. Enter a brief description of your product suggestion. and then click Next.
5. Type your email address.
6. Once done, click Send Message.

Additionally, here's an article in case you'd like to personalized your sales forms to match it with your business here in QBO: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

You can also check this page to learn more about customizing a report in QuickBooks to show you the data you need for your business: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

@MothraMoon, if there's anything else that you'd like me to help you with, know that you can always post here in the Community. Rest assured, I've got your back, and I'll be there to help you resolve your queries. Take care, and have a good one.

I spoke with someone from QB and they said there was a recent upgrade that causes estimates to automatically convert to invoices even if you have online payments turned off. So now with every estimate that is accepted I have to go in and delete the invoice it created. What a pain. QB needs to fix this "fix" ASAP.

Has a solution been found yet for this issue?

We just converted to QBO in Novemeber 2022. This week I found an estimate was converted to an invoice. I spoke to someone at QB and they assured me that a customer would have to contact us to accept an estimate. Furthermore, I would have to change the status to accepted and create an invoice. I did up a test estimate for myself. I was able to accept it and in QB it automatically changed the status to accepted and created an invoice which was emailed to me. We can't email our customers invoices prior to the product shipping. This is a major problem and the rep I spoke to obviously didn't have a clue what they were talking about. Has anyone found a solution to this? Thanks!

Hi there, @GenelleS.

I can see the challenges that you've been through on figuring out how estimates works in the program. I also appreciate you reaching out to our Support Team, and I wish I could help you better. 

Accepted estimates with deposits are now automatically converted to invoices using a new feature in QuickBooks. However, it didn't indicate that accepted estimates without deposits will likewise auto-convert to bills. If this isn’t the case, please clarify the issue you mentioned below.

The option to not email the invoice prior to product shipment is currently unavailable. With this, I’d recommend sending feedback request to our product development team. They look through them to determine what we need to implement moving forward to provide the best QuickBooks experience. 

Here’s how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Under the Profile column, click on Feedback.
3. Share your feedback. Then, click Next.

You'll want to track your suggestion through this website. You can also visit our blog to keep up with all of our recent events and developments.

Feel free to read these articles about estimates in the program:

• Create and Send Estimates in QuickBooks Online
• See What’s New with Estimates and Invoices in QuickBooks Online

I've also included these resources that'll guide you with managing your sales transactions, so we can ensure that your record is accurate:

• Sales and Customers
• Invoices and Payments

In case you have other follow-up questions about estimates and invoices, don’t hesitate to share them with me. I’d be delighted to work with you again. Keep safe.

What if we don't have the deposits accepted turned on?

I appreciate you for getting back to us, GenelleS.

I'll share some insights with you. You can customize an estimate to show only the information you want your customer to see. Your estimates or invoices will look different depending on whether you have the old or new estimate and invoice experience.

 When you email an estimate to a customer, QuickBooks updates the status of the estimate for you when they accept or decline it. Since estimates are a type of non-posting transaction, they will not reflect.

If you turn off the deposit, your customer will not have the option to make payment on their end and won't be able to process any payment. In addition, it does not automatically create an invoice. You'll have to create them manually.

For detailed information, refer to this article: Create and send estimates in QuickBooks Online.

You can also visit this article to learn how to convert an estimate into an invoice in QBO: Convert an estimate into an invoice in QuickBooks Online.

If you have further questions, don't hesitate to post them here. Have a great day!

Hello,

We're still getting Estimates automatically converted to invoices when a customer accepts the Estimate via the link included in the email they receive with the Estimate.

Question 1: How do I turn off the option for customers to make a deposit? We never require a deposit, so I'd like to turn that option off altogether.

Question 2: This video shows exactly how I'd like QB Online to work regarding estimates and Invoices.\

https://youtu.be/YduXjDH2spA

Unfortunately it doesn't. It's so frustrating that there's a QB video that shows exactly how I'd love for the program to work, but I cannot for the life of me get it to work this way. How do I set up QB Online to function as shown in the video?

I called QB Customer Service this summer and they spent 2 hours with me on the phone only to say "Well, that seems to be the way it works. Please submit a request to have us update the program. Oof.

Thanks,

Tom

Hi, Tom.

I'm here to share more information about the estimate in QuickBooks Online.

Online customer payments are automatically applied to your invoices in QuickBooks Online. For now, we're unable to turn off the deposit option. However, you can switch to the old layout to use the old feature:

Here's how;

1. Select + New. 
2. Select Invoice or Estimate. 
3. Select Old layout.

On the other hand, with the new update, when the deposit is paid, the estimate is immediately converted to a partially paid invoice. That said, I'd suggest sharing your thoughts about the update through the Gear icon and then selecting Feedback.

Let me also share a couple of articles to share in case you might need them in the future:

• Find out when QuickBooks Payments deposits customer payments
• Handle duplicate credit card transactions in QuickBooks

Please visit us again if you ever need more help. 

Has anyone received an answer to this problem? 

I have a lawn care business and send estimates for the entire season for fertilizer and weed control plans. 

Why would i want to create an invoice in January for a service im providing in December? 

This is a high pain in my rump…why do i want or need 150 invoices created as im sending estimates for my potential customers to accept. 

 It seems like none of us are getting answers that help.

is there a switch or toggle for STOPPING AUTOMATIC INVOICE CREATION FROM ESTIMATES??????????

IT SEEMS BASIC AND NOT SURE WHY ITS SUCH A HARD QUESTION TO ANSWER OR FIX?

PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO FIX THIS ISSUE. 

IT IS OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM FOR MANY PEOPLE. 

The links you’re providing do absolutely nothing to address the problem we are conveying to you. 

We all know how to turn an estimate into an invoice…there is a button for that.

HOW DO WE STOP AUTOMATIC INVOICE CREATION FROM AN ACCEPTED ESTIMATE. 

The answer that the “customer is not receiving the invoice” is not a fix to the problem 

i now have 100+ invoices for work I’ve not even started on. So in 30 days i will 100 OVERDUE invoices. My work season wont even have started yet. 

Please help all of us with an answer and a fix for our issue

Gratefully 

Chris

Hi there, 01chrisburton.

The automatic conversion of estimate into an invoice only happens if you have activated QuickBooks Payments turned and your customer has made a deposit as well.

If the feature was not activated, we'll have to take a closer look at this and check why it's automatically creating invoices. Having said that, please contact our phone support team. They can screen-share with you and gather more information to sort this out. 

Here's how to reach out to them:

1. Go to the Help menu in the upper-right hand corner to open the QB Assistant window.
2. Type in "talk to a human", then press Enter.
3. Click Contact Support Team, then let them know that you want to remove yourself as an accountant.
4. Press Enter once again.
5. Select No, I still need help, then choose Contact Support Team.
6. Look for the Chat option and click on it.

The Community is always here if you need anything else.