Estimates in ServiceCore allow you to create and share quotes for upcoming work before scheduling a job or rental. They help you organize customer details, services, and pricing in one place so you can respond quickly, reduce back and forth with customers, and move work forward more efficiently.
Before You Start
Here are a few things to know before you continue:
- Estimates can only be deleted by an Account or Franchise Owner, Admin, or Manager.
- You can create an estimate for an existing customer and site, or add a new customer and site during the process.
- Creating an estimate for a new customer will add the customer to your customer list.
- Creating a job or rental from an estimate will not update the estimate’s stage.
- To see if you have access in ServiceCore to estimates, please check out this article on user permission levels.
Estimates Page Overview
You can navigate to a list of all the estimates that have been created in your account by clicking “Estimates” in the top menu.
Estimates Summary
At the top of Estimates, you will see a “Create Estimate” button along with a summary of all of your Estimates activity over the past year.
Estimate List
Estimate List gives you quick access to all new estimates with sorting, filtering, and visibility into key details such as:
- Estimate owner
- Stage
- Estimate name
- Customer/Lead
- Amount
You’ll also be able to sort estimates by document number and filter by owner, stage, or date range to find what you need quickly.
Sorting and Filter Estimates
Below the Estimates summary, you will find options to focus on the estimates you need.
Sort By
The Sort by drop-down menu allows you to sort your job list by:
- Estimate Number
- Estimate Name
- Customer Name
- Service Date
- Estimate Total
- Expiration Date
- Estimate Owner
You can use the AZ button to sort your list either alphabetically A-Z or Z-A OR numerically ascending or descending. For instance, if you have sorted the list by Estimate Total it will sort numerically while if you have sorted by Customer Name it will sort alphabetically.
Filtering and Search
As you create more and more estimates over time, you’ll want to leverage the estimates list search and filtering options to focus on the estimates of interest.
The Filter menu allows you to filter your list by:
- Stage
- Estimate Owner
- Approved (Stage)
Using these filter options allows you to quickly find all of the estimates that are at a specific stage, connected to a specific estimate owner, or are approved or not.
You can also use the search bar to quickly find a particular estimate.
Estimates Options
For each estimate that appears in your list, you can start workflows right for the page. In addition to the high-level overview of each estimate, there are icons to click to:
- Copy the Estimate
- Edit the Estimate
- View the Estimate
The following additional options can be found by clicking the three dots options menu:
- Create Job
- Create Rental
- Create Invoice
- Delete Estimate
- Email Estimate
- Print Estimate
Create an Estimate
To create an estimate, follow these steps:
- Click “Estimates” in the top menu.
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Click the “Create Estimate” button.
- TIP: You can also create an estimate by clicking the “+” icon in the top right corner and selecting “Create Estimate” in the drop-down menu.
- Select Existing Customer or Add New.
- If you select a current customer, the Customer Info section of the Estimate will autofill.
- Select an Estimate Stage.
- Select a Start Date. (The day’s date will autofill.)
- Select an Estimate Owner.
- TIP: Although optional, we highly recommend assigning an Estimate Owner for better tracking and reporting.
- Select a Division. (Optional)
- This field only appears if divisions are enabled on your account and one is available for your customer or lead. If only one division is available, it will auto-select.
- The division carries over to any job or rental created from the estimate.
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Add an Estimate Name, Expiration Date, End Date, and PO Number. (Optional)
- Select a Customer Stage. This defaults to Lead. Available stages: Lead, Customer, High Value, VIP, and Suspended.
- Suspended flags the account as inactive or on hold. A warning appears on any job or rental form when a Suspended customer is selected, but it won't block you from saving.
- Only users with Billing Manager permissions or above can assign the Suspended stage.
- Select Preferred Communication.
- If Email is selected, an email address is required.
- As a best practice, we highly recommend adding an email address to every estimate so you can easily send it to your leads.
- Add any additional customer information such as Phone, Contact First Name, Contact Last Name, etc.
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Click “Additional Information (optional)” to enter Billing Address details for the Estimate.
- Select Existing Site or Add New.
- Search and add any Products.
- Search and add any Services.
- Search and add any Surcharges.
- Review Estimate Summary, add a Discount (optional), and confirm or change Tax Code.
- Add or edit a Message displayed on Estimate.
- If you have set a default message for estimates in your account settings, it will populate automatically.
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Add any Internal Estimate Notes.
- Use this space to record details about the lead or estimate for future reference.
- Choose how you would like to proceed after saving the Estimate:
- View Estimate
- Send Estimate
- Print Estimate
If you create an estimate for a new customer, they will be added to your customer list once the estimate is saved along with any associated site or billing addresses that were added.
Estimate Pipeline Tracking
Using the estimate stages provides pipeline tracking that helps your team stay organized and know exactly where each opportunity stands. Each estimate moves through stages in your sales process, including:
Inquiry Received: A lead or opportunity comes in
Contact Made: You’ve spoken with or reached out to the customer
Qualified: You’ve confirmed they’re a good fit (budget, location, services)
Estimate Sent: The customer has received your estimate
Awaiting Approval: Waiting on a customer decision
Closed Won: The customer accepted your estimate
Closed Lost: The customer decline.
Went with Another Option: The customer chose a different provider
Approved: The estimate has been approved by the customer
You can update stages directly on the estimate, giving your team an at-a-glance view of open opportunities and what needs follow-up.
Send an Estimate for Online Approval
ServiceCore allows you to send estimates to customers and have them review and approve online. This helps you capture customer approval faster and maintain a clear record of when an estimate was accepted.
When an estimate is approved online, ServiceCore will automatically:
- Updated the Estimate Stage to “Approved.”
- Record who approved the estimate.
- Record the date and time of approval.
- Notify the owner (or estimate creator if no owner is assigned), as well as the contact email on the estimate.
Customers can also be required to agree to your Terms & Conditions before approving an estimate.
Send an Estimate for Approval
This can be done by clicking “Send Estimate” when saving an estimate after creation, or at a later time.
To send an estimate for approval:
- Open the Estimate.
- Click “Estimate Actions.”
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Select “Email Estimate” in the drop-down menu.
- Confirm or add to the recipient email address(s).
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Click “Send Email.”
Customers will receive an email with a link to View and Accept Estimate.
Customer Approval Process
When the customer opens the link, they can:
- Review the estimate details.
- Enter their name.
- Agree to your Terms & Conditions. (if enabled)
- Click “Approve Estimate.”
Once approved, the estimate will be marked “Approved” in ServiceCore.
Viewing Approved Estimates
After the estimate is approved by the customer, ServiceCore will show:
- Estimate Stage: “Approved.”
- Approved Date: When the estimate was approved.
- Approved by: The name entered by the customer.
You can filter the Estimate page by Approved to quickly find estimates that have been accepted.
Adding Terms & Conditions
You can require customers to agree to your Terms & Conditions before approving an estimate.
To add Terms & Conditions to your estimates:
- Click your name in the top right corner.
- Click “Settings.”
- Within Company settings, select “Preferences.”
- Expand “Estimates.”
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Click “Upload Terms & Conditions.”
- Search and select your Terms & Conditions from your computer file system.
Customers will need to agree to your Terms & Conditions before approving the estimate.
Create a Job or Rental from an Estimate
Depending on what the estimate is for, you can choose to create a job or a rental from the estimate itself and follow the same basic steps.
If you are not familiar with how to Create a Job or Rental, please review the following articles before proceeding.
- Open the Estimate details page.
- Click “Estimate Actions.”
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Select “Create Job” or “Create Rental” in the drop-down menu.
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On the Create New Rental or Create New Job page, click “View Estimate” for easy reference back to the estimate.
- Review all fields and add any additional details needed for the job or rental.
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Click “Save” to create the job or rental.
ServiceCore Sell Report for Estimates Pipeline and Performance Insights
When you use estimates, you can use the ServiceCore Sell Report to track key metrics like:
- Total value of open estimates
- Number of estimates by owner and stage
- Conversion rate from estimate to rental/job
- Pipeline value over time
These insights help you identify top performers, high-value opportunities, and where deals may be getting stuck.
To learn more about the ServiceCore Sell Report, please review this article.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Support team through the chat widget on the bottom of this page or by sending an email to support@servicecore.com!