When the client says yes: approve, convert to a job and take the deposit

Once a quote is out, the client approves it online, asks for changes, or tells you yes (or no) on the phone. This page covers each of those, then turning the quote into a job, billing the deposit, and adding extra work to a job with a change order.

Who can do it

Owners, admins, office staff and estimators whose role includes Quotes and sales can mark quotes approved or lost, sign for the business, convert quotes to jobs and start change orders. Billing the deposit takes Invoices and payments, which owners, admins and office staff have and estimators don’t. See What each role can see and do.

When the client approves in the Client Hub

The client opens the link you sent. On a plain quote (one without Good, Better and Best options):

They see your message and the lines. They tick any add-ons they want (the lines marked Optional), and the total changes as they go.
If they have a code, they choose Have a promo code?, type it and choose Apply. If the code needs a bigger order, they see “… needs an order of at least $…. Remove the code, or change your choices.”
If your quote prints contract terms, they read the estimate as it prints in Review the agreement, add their initials where a section asks, and choose Continue to sign.
Under Sign (or Approve, on a quote with no terms), they type Your full name, sign under Your signature, tick “I approve this quote for $… and authorize … to do the work.” (with “agree to the terms I reviewed” in it when there are terms), and choose Approve quote. On a quote for recurring work, the box says the price per visit and how often: “I approve this quote for $55.00 per visit, every 2 weeks, Tuesday, April to October…”.

They see “Signed on …” with the signed estimate to print or save, and “Thank you. … will be in touch to schedule the work.” For a quote offering options, they choose one first: see Offer Good, Better and Best options.

In the office:

The quote moves to Approved, with “Approved … by …” and their signature at the top.
The office gets a notification: “Quote #… approved”.
On the Sales board, the card moves to Approved.

The add-ons they ticked are the ones that count, on the quote and on the job you make from it.

Approve and set up autopay

When you take autopay and the client isn’t on it yet, a quote with a line priced per visit (its Unit is “visit”) has two buttons: Approve quote and Approve and set up autopay. The second signs the quote, then goes straight on to saving a card on Stripe’s secure page and agreeing to your autopay terms. If they choose Approve quote, the signed quote offers it after: “Pay automatically after each visit” with Set up autopay.

When you require a card on file, any quote says “A card on file is required for service. After you sign, you’ll add yours on Stripe’s secure page.” and its one button is Approve and add your card. Until they’ve added it, the signed quote shows “Finish setting up: add your card” with Add your card.

Either way, the quote is signed and approved first, so it stays approved even if the client stops on Stripe’s page. Price ranges and change orders don’t offer autopay.

A preview can’t approve

The link from Preview as client shows exactly what the client sees, with “Preview: this is what your client sees.” It can’t approve the quote or ask for changes (“Preview: your client signs here.”), so it’s safe to click through. Only the link you send the client can.

If the client asks for changes

In the Client Hub, the client chooses Request changes, writes what they’d like under “What would you like changed?” and chooses Send request. They see “Request sent”.

In the office:

The quote moves to Changes requested, and the office gets “Changes requested on quote #…”.
The top of the quote says “… asked for changes”, with their note in quotes, and “Update the quote, then resend it.”
On the Sales board, the card says Changes requested in red.

Change the lines, then choose Resend. The quote goes back to Awaiting response. Meanwhile, the client can still approve the quote as it is: their link says “You’ve asked for changes. … may send an updated quote, or you can approve this one as it is.”

When they say yes another way

If the client tells you yes on the phone or in person, open the quote, choose ⋯, then Mark approved. It works on a draft too. The quote moves to Approved in your name (“Marked approved”), and keeps the document style and contract terms it has now, the same as a signed one. The client’s signature line stays blank, for signing on paper.

You can also drag the quote to Approved on the Sales board. A quote offering options asks “Which option did they choose?” first, so it’s marked approved from its own page.

Sign for your business

If your document style has a signature line for your business, an approved quote shows Sign for and your business name.

With a saved signature, one tap signs it (“With your saved signature.”).
Without one, sign with your finger or mouse in the window that opens, and leave Save my signature for next time ticked so it’s one tap next time.

Your signature goes on the business’s line of the signed estimate, in the office and on the client’s link. See Make your estimates and invoices look like your business.

Convert the quote to a job

Choose Convert to job, at the top of an approved quote or in its green “Approved” box. Crewtavo makes the job and opens it: “Converted to a job”.

The job gets:

The quote’s title, client and property, and its Message to client as the job’s instructions.
The lines the client chose. Add-ons they left off don’t go on the job.
The discount or promo code, as a line of its own.

A quote for recurring work becomes a recurring job billed After each visit, with the quote’s schedule, season and end date. It starts on the quote’s First visit, or today if that day went by while the client decided, and its visits go on the schedule straight away. A quote for one-time work becomes a one-off job billed When the work is done. If the client is on autopay and Turn on autopay for new recurring jobs of clients on autopay is on, the new recurring job is charged automatically from the start: see Which jobs are charged.

The quote moves to Converted (“Converted to job #…”), the request it came from moves to Converted too, and a lead becomes an active client. Next, schedule the work: see Create a job or recurring service.

You don’t have to mark a quote approved first. Convert to job is also at the top of a quote that’s awaiting a response, and in the ⋯ menu of a draft. Converting a quote nobody signed approves it in your name on the way.

Take the deposit

Paid as they approve

When you take payments with Stripe and the quote has a Deposit required, the client’s button in the Client Hub says Approve and pay deposit, with “The $… deposit is paid next, by card or bank, on Stripe’s secure page.” Approving makes the deposit invoice, marks it sent and opens Stripe’s page to pay it.

The quote is approved before they pay, so it stays approved if they stop on Stripe’s page. Until it’s paid, their signed quote says “Your deposit is still due: pay it to hold your place on the schedule.” with a Pay the $… deposit button. When you convert the quote, the deposit invoice goes on the job, and the job’s last invoice takes it off. A quote you mark approved yourself doesn’t take the deposit this way: bill it from the job, below.

Bill it from the job

Without Stripe, the client’s signed copy tells them “You’ll receive an invoice for the deposit.” Nothing makes that invoice on its own: someone in the office has to create it from the job and send it.

Convert the quote to a job, then open the job.
Choose Create invoice.
Pick Deposit. It says “The quote asked for $…”, and that amount is filled in. Change it if you agreed on something else.
Choose Create invoice. The deposit invoice opens as a draft (“Invoice created as a draft”).
Check it and send it, the same as any invoice.

When you bill the rest of the job, the final invoice takes off what the deposit already billed. See Create an invoice and get paid.

Estimators can’t create invoices. If your estimators close the deal, let the office know so they can send the deposit invoice.

Add work to a job with a change order

A change order is a small quote for extra work on a job that’s already going, like a second driveway apron or rotted decking found during a tear-off. Once the client approves it, its lines go on the job.

Open the job, choose ⋯, then New change order.
A quote opens, titled “Change order: …”, saying “Change order for job #…”. Add what’s changing, the same as on any quote. It starts at 0% tax and with no Valid until date, so set the Tax if the extra work is taxed.
Send it with Send quote. In the Client Hub, the client ticks “I approve this change order for $… and authorize … to do this added work.” and chooses Approve change order.

When it’s approved, by the client or by you with Mark approved, its lines and any discount are added to the job right away, and the job’s total goes up. Its button says Add to job #… rather than Convert to job. The job’s page lists its change orders under Change orders, where New change order starts another.

If they say no

Choose ⋯, then Mark as lost. Pick the Reason: Price was too high, Went with another company, Timing didn’t work, No response, Scope changed or Other, add a Note if you like, and choose Mark lost. The quote says “Marked lost: …” and moves to the Converted or lost tab. The reasons add up in Metrics under “Why quotes were lost”, so you can see what’s costing you work.

Dropping a quote on Drop here to mark lost on the Sales board marks it lost too, with the reason “Marked lost from the pipeline”.

An approved quote can’t be marked lost from its page. Archive it instead, or drop it on lost on the Sales board.

Reopen, archive or delete a quote

In the quote’s ⋯ menu:

Reopen as draft brings back a lost or archived quote, to change and send again.
Archive puts a quote away without calling it lost, like a duplicate. It goes under Converted or lost.
Delete quote removes it with its lines: “Its line items are deleted too. This can’t be undone.” It’s only there for drafts, lost and archived quotes that never became a job.