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Create and send quotes in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•13• Updated 1 month ago

Learn how to set up quotes in QuickBooks Online.

Create a quote when you want to give your customer a quote, bid, or proposal for work you plan to do. The form looks similar to an invoice, but instead of charging your customer, you’re giving them info about your proposal and what they can expect to pay. Then, when the work is done and you're ready to invoice your customer, you can convert the quote to an invoice so you don't have to enter it twice.

Your quotes or invoices will look different depending on whether you have the old or new quote and invoice experience. Find out which experience you have.

Now that you understand which version of the quote and invoice you have, here’s how to create a new quote and convert it to an invoice.

Step 1: Create a quote

As you’re creating a quote, you can customise it to display only what you want your customer to see. Here’s how to create and customise a new quote:

  1. Select + New, then select Quote.
  2. Select Add customer. Then select a customer from the ▼ dropdown. Or, to add a new customer, select + Add new, enter the customer info, and select Save.
  3. Select the ▼ dropdown in the Product or service field and add the products or services to the quote. Or, to add a new product or service, select + Add new, enter the info for your product or service and select Save. 
  4. If you saved a rate for your product or service, it automatically displays in the Amount column. Add or adjust the quantity or amount as needed. 
  5. The default status of a new quote is "Pending". If you need to edit the status, select ⚙ Manage, if not already selected, then select the Pending ▼ dropdown and choose a different status. 
  6. To customise the quote, select ⚙ Manage, if not already selected, and select the dropdown▼ on the section you need to customise. Then, choose what info displays on your form by turning the switches on or off in each section. As you make changes, a preview displays on the form.
  7. When you're ready, select Save.
  8. To email the quote to your customer, select Review and send. Then edit the email message, if necessary, and select Send quote.

Step 2: Update a quote's status

When you email your customer a quote and they accept or decline the quote directly from the email, QuickBooks automatically updates the status of the quote for you. 

Or, here’s how to manually update the status of the quote:

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Find the quote.
  3. In the Action column, select the dropdown▼ and then Update Status.
  4. Select Accepted or another status. Then select OK.

Tip: Quotes are non-posting transactions. They won’t affect your books until you convert the quote to an invoice.

Step 3: Convert a quote to an invoice

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2.  Find the quote.
  3.  In the Action column, select Convert to invoice.
  4.  Make any necessary edits to the invoice.
  5.  If you need to customise any invoice fields, select ⚙ Manage and select the dropdown▼ on the section you need to customise. Then turn the switches on or off to change what displays on the invoice. As you make changes, a preview displays on the form.
  6.  When you're ready, select Save to save the invoice, or select Review and send to email the invoice to your customer.

Review open quotes

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Find your quote. Tip: You can sort how quotes are displayed by selecting the date, number, customer, total, or status column headers.

You can also run a report to get more details:

  1. Go to Reports (Take me there).
  2. Look for and open the Quotes by Customer report.
  3. Select your date range and select Run report.

This gives you the customer name, the quote number, the status, and the amount.

Delete a quote

If your customer decides they don't want you to do the work, it's better to change the quote status to “Declined” rather than delete it. (See Step 2: Update a quote's status.) This keeps a record of the quote on your accounts for good bookkeeping.

But if you created a quote by mistake, you can simply delete it:

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Find the quote.
  3. In the Action column, select the dropdown ▼ and then select Delete.
  4. Select Delete to confirm.

Step 1: Create a quote

  1. Select + New.
  2. Select Quote.
  3. Select a customer from the Customer dropdown.
  4. If the work has already started, select a status from the Pending ▼ dropdown. This is optional.
  5. Set the Quote date and the Expiration date.
  6. Enter the products or services you plan to sell.
  7. Enter any other info you need.
  8. When you're ready, select Save and close.

Step 2: Update a quote's status

When your customer accepts the work, or decides they don't want to continue, update the quote's status. This keeps your accounts accurate and up to date:

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Find the quote.
  3. In the Action column, select the dropdown▼ and then Update Status.
  4. Select Accepted or another status. Then select OK.

Tip: Quotes aren't considered transactions on your books until they're accepted.

Step 3: Convert a quote to an invoice

Convert the quote to an invoice so you can bill your customer:

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Find the quote.
  3. In the Action column, select Convert to invoice.
  4. If you have progress invoicing turned on, choose how much you want to invoice: (Skip this step if you don’t use progress invoicing)
    • To create an invoice on the entire estimate amount, select Remaining total of all lines. Then select Create invoice.
    • Or, to create an invoice for only part of the estimate, you can select the option to enter a percentage of each line or the option to enter a custom amount. Then select Create invoice.
  5. Make any changes to the invoice, then select Save and send, or Save and close.

Instead of converting quotes, you can also add them to existing invoices:

  1. Select + New.
  2. Select Invoice.
  3. Select the customer from the Customer dropdown. This opens the Add to invoice window.
  4. Select Add to add quotes to the invoice.
  5. Select Add all if you want to add more than one quote at a time.
  6. If you have progress invoicing turned on, choose how much you want to invoice: (Skip this step if you don’t use progress invoicing)
    • To create an invoice on the entire quote amount, select Total of all quote lines. Then select Copy to invoice.
    • Or, to create an invoice for only part of the quote, you can select the option to enter a percentage of each line or the option to enter a custom amount. Then select Copy to invoice.
  7. Complete and save the invoice.

Tip: If you have more than one open quote for a customer, you can add them all at once. However, your customer may prefer separate invoices for each one.

Review open quotes

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Select the Filter ▼ dropdown.
  3. In the Type dropdown, select Quotes.
  4. You can use additional filters as needed.
  5. Find your quote.

You can also run a report to get more details:

  1. Go to Reports (Take me there).
  2. Look for and open the Quotes by Customer report.
  3. Select your date range and select Run report.

This gives you the customer name, quote number, status, and invoice no. if it's been converted.

Delete a quote

If your customer decides they don't want you to do the work, it's better to change the quote status to "Rejected" rather than delete it. (See Step 2: Update a quote's status.) This keeps a record of the quote on your accounts for good bookkeeping.

If you created a quote by mistake, you can simply delete it:

  1. Go to Sales and select All sales (Take me there).
  2. Find the quote.
  3. In the Action column, select the dropdown ▼ and then select Delete.
  4. Select Delete to confirm.
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