How to Send an Invoice on a Estimate That Hasn’t Been Sent Yet
Manually book the estimate by changing its job status, then create and send an invoice from Payments without sending the estimate first.
Overview
You can create and send an invoice on an estimate before the estimate itself has been sent to your client. To do this, the estimate must first be booked, which you can do manually by changing its job status in the estimate's settings.
Before You Begin
- You need an estimate with pricing in it, for example one built from a template.
- The estimate must be booked before you can invoice it. The steps below show how to book it manually.
Book the Estimate Manually
1. In the left-hand menu, click Jobs.
2. Click Job list and select the estimate. You can also click Pipeline and select it from there.
3. In the estimate's left sidebar, click Settings.
4. Scroll down to Job details and find Job status.
5. Click the Job status dropdown and select Booked.
6. Click Save changes. The estimate's status at the top of the page changes from Pending to Booked.
Create the Invoice
1. In the estimate's left sidebar, under Production, click Payments. The Invoices page opens with a Send this estimate message.
2. Click Skip... to continue without sending the estimate.
3. Click Create new. The New Invoice window opens.
4. Set the amount for the invoice. For example, in Amount (% of project total), change the value to 20%. The Amount updates to match.
5. Optionally, in Message/description, enter a message.
6. Click Save. The invoice is saved and appears in the Invoices list with the status Outstanding.
Send or Manage the Invoice
1. In the Invoices list, select the invoice.
2. Choose what to do with it from the options at the top of the list:
- Not sent! Send to send the invoice to your client.
- Mark as paid to record it as paid.
- Delete to delete it.
- More for other options, such as changing the invoice's status.
Why This Matters
- You can bill your client, for example for a deposit, without having to send the estimate first.
- Booking the estimate manually gives you access to invoicing on that estimate.
Summary
To invoice an estimate that hasn't been sent, open the estimate, go to Settings, change the Job status to Booked and save. Then click Payments, click Skip, create a new invoice, set the amount and save it. Select the invoice to send it, mark it as paid, delete it, or change its status.