An Estimate provides a ballpark figure for how much it would cost to provide the services asked for in a Request. Once a request is approved, the estimate can be created for the request. Based on the estimate, the contact can decide whether to proceed with the service request or not. The estimate can either be accepted or rejected.
Add Estimates
To create an estimate:
- An estimate can be created in one of two ways:
- Select the Requests module from the Work Order Management menu and click the request you want to create the estimate for. In the Request Details page, click Convert to Estimate.
Select the Estimates module from the Work Order Management menu and click Create.
Perform this step if you are creating an estimate from scratch (without a request).
- Enter the following details and click Save:
- A Summary of the estimate
- An Expiry Date until which the estimate will be valid
- Select a Currency.
The Currency and Exchange Rate will be displayed only if multiple currencies are enabled. The Contact whom the estimate is being created
The Company the contact belongs to
The Email address of the contact.
If there is no email address associated with the contact, the email address of the company (if present) will be used.
- The Phone number of the contact
An Asset
An Asset is added when the service is for a product that you have sold.
The Territory in which the contact is located
A Service Address
This is the address of the contact's location where the service task needs to be carried out. If a Service address exists for the contact, then on selecting a value in the Contact field, that address is filled in the Service address field. If the Service address does not exist then you can choose any other address available for the contact or click Create New.
Upon clicking Create New, the Add Address overlay will be displayed. To add a new address, enter the details and click Save.
- A Billing Address
- Entries for Services
These denote the services that have to be delivered for the request for which the estimate is being created. The Services added in Services And Parts module will be listed here. The entries for Parts will be automatically populated for a service if it is linked to a work type.
Select a Tax Rate or choose non-taxable by providing a reason. Click here to find details about setting the tax rates. Enter a percentage for the discount you wish to offer or a discount amount.
- Add the Parts necessary for the service tasks.
For Service, select the Service task for which the Product has been added. Select a Tax Rate or choose non-taxable by providing a reason.
The estimate amount can be viewed in the Estimate Details page under the Service and Parts tab.
Add Estimates from Mobile App
To create an estimate from the mobile app:
- Select Estimates, in the left menu.
You can also create an estimate by using the Convert to Estimate in a request.
- In the Estimates screen, tap the add [+] icon.
- In the Create Estimate page, enter the necessary details and click Save.
- In the lookup fields, you can do an advanced search.
- In the address fields, you can add addresses.
- The Currency and Exchange Rate will be displayed only if multiple currencies are enabled.
The created estimate can be edited. To edit an estimate:
- Click the Edit [] icon on the top right side.
- Make the necessary changes and click Save.
You can also add notes, and view the related records.Edit Estimate
To edit estimates:
- Select Estimates from the Work Order Management menu.
- Click the estimate you want to edit. In the Estimate details page, click Edit.
- Click Save after making the changes.
NOTE: If an estimate is in Rejected, Cancelled, or Expired status, while editing you will have options to retain the estimate status, and include the approval link. Refer to the
Edit & Resend section for details.
Send Estimate
Once the estimate is created, it can be emailed to the contact. To do so, follow the steps below:
- In the Estimate Details page, click Send Estimate.
- In the Send Estimate overlay, click Send.
By default, the checkbox for Add Estimate PDF will be selected. If you do not wish to include the estimate PDF in the estimate email, deselect it.
In the From field, choose a sender email address.
In the Send To field, you can use one of the following email addresses:
- Contact email address (if only a contact is present for the estimate)
- Company email address (if a company is present for the estimate)
- Email addresses of the Company's Contacts (if a company is present for the estimate)
- An email address entered by the user in the Email field of the estimate
In the Cc and Bcc fields, along with the email addresses available in the Send To field, the active users with the Administrator profile will also be listed.
The customer will receive an email with the estimate details and the options to accept or reject it. The options to accept or reject will be available only on enabling
Estimate - Email Approval.
Once the estimate is accepted by the contact, then a work order can be created with the information in the estimate. Refer to
this section for mapping details. Any requests and work orders created for this estimate will be displayed in the
Estimate Details page.
You can use Mark as Sent, or Mark as Approved to change the status of the estimate manually. When an estimate is shared with the customer through any means other than via the FSM application, then Mark as Sent can be used to change the status of the estimate to Waiting for Approval. Similarly, if you want to manually change the status of the estimate to Approved, then use Mark as Approved.
Send Estimate from Mobile App
To send an estimate:
- Tap Send Estimate.
- Select a recipient and tap Send [].
Tap More options for the actions you can perform on the estimate.
Print Estimate
Once you have sent an estimate, you can print the estimate. To print an estimate:
- From the dropdown button, click Print.
- Click Print.
Invalidated Status
After the estimate is emailed, if an FSM user performs any of the following actions, then the Accept/Reject link in the email will expire and the
status of the email will change to
Invalidated:
- Edit the estimate
- Resend the estimate
- Mark the estimate as expired
- Cancel the estimate
- Approve the estimate
- Reject the estimate
You can also manually invalidate an email when the status of the email is in Pending status. To do so:
- Hover over the email entry you want to invalidate. Click the more options [ ] icon and select Invalidate.
Resend Estimate
If an estimate has been rejected, cancelled, or has expired, then you can resend the estimate. You can resend the estimate in three different ways:
- Resend
- Edit & Resend
- Clone & Resend
Resend
You can resend the estimate (without changes) with or without the approval link. The option Add approval link will only be available if the Estimate - Email Approval is enabled at Setup > Field Service Settings > Other Settings.
- Click Resend and click Proceed.
- Click Send.
If you select the Add approval link checkbox, then it will be checked in the Send Estimate overlay. If this checkbox is selected, then the estimate email will contain the Accept/Reject link.
Edit & Resend
You can resend the estimate after making changes.
- Click Edit & Resend and click Proceed.
- In the Edit Estimate overlay, click Save or Save and Send.
- If you select the checkbox Keep the status as [Status_Name], you can retain the status (rejected, cancelled, expired) of the estimate. Click Yes, Proceed in the confirmation message. The changes made to the estimate will be saved.
- If you do not select the checkbox Keep the status as [Status_Name], the status of the estimate will change to New.
- In Send Estimate overlay, click Send.
- If you select the checkbox Add approval link, then the estimate email will be sent with the approval link. The estimate status will change to Waiting For Approval. The status of the email will be Pending. The Add approval link checkbox will be shown only if had selected the checked Keep the status as [Status_Name] in the previous step.
- If you do not select the checkbox Add approval link, then the estimate email will be sent without the approval link. The status of the estimate will remain unchanged. The status of the email will be None.
- If the checkbox Keep the status as [Status_Name] was not selected in the previous step, then the estimate status will change to Waiting For Approval (since it was in New in the previous step). The status of the email will be Pending.
Clone & Resend
You can create a copy of the estimate and send it.
- Click Clone & Resend and click Proceed.
- In Clone Estimate overlay, click Save.
A copy of the estimate will be created with status New.
Customize Estimate Email Template
You can customize the template you use to email the estimate. To do so, follow the steps below:
- In the Estimate Details page, click Send Estimate.
- In the Send Estimate overlay, click the Customize [ ] icon.
- Choose one of the following options:
- Standard Template: The default template will be used.
- Custom Template: The email templates that you have created for the Estimates module will be listed here. The placeholders in the email template will be replaced with actual values.
- Compose your own: Using the text editor you can create a template for this estimate. This template, however, will not be saved for future use.
Adding Accept/Reject Links
You can add links for Accept/Reject in a custom template (created using an email template or by using the text editor in the Send Estimate overlay).
In an email template, click Add Placeholders or type # and select Estimates Actions. Add the necessary placeholders.
While composing your email template from the Send Estimate overlay, click on +Add Placeholders and select the required options.
Adding Customer Notes, and Terms & Conditions
You can add Customer Notes, and Terms & Conditions to the Estimate Email. You can add these from Setup > Field Service Settings > Other Settings > Estimates.
These two sections will be added at the bottom of the Estimate Email.
In the mobile app, click on the
More Options [
] icon in the
Send Estimate screen to view the templates available. The user can either choose the Standard Template or any
email template created for the
Estimates module.
Emails tab
Under this tab, the details of the emails sent will be listed.
Statuses
List of Estimate statuses
Status
| Description
|
New
| When an estimate is created
|
Approved
| - When the estimate is approved by the contact from the estimate email - When the estimate is approved by a FSM user from the Estimate Details page. - When a FSM user chooses Mark as Approved from the Estimate Details page. |
Rejected
| - When the estimate is rejected by the contact from the estimate email - When the estimate is rejected by a FSM user from the Estimate Details page. |
Cancelled
| When the estimate is cancelled by a FSM user from the Estimate Details page.
|
Waiting For Approval
| - When the estimate email is emailed to the contact
- When a FSM user chooses Mark as Sent from the Estimate Details page. |
Converted to Work Order
| When a FSM user chooses Convert To Work Order from the Estimate Details page. |
Expired
| - When the FSM user chooses Mark As Expired from the Estimate Details page.
- On the Expiry Date provided by the FSM user.
- If the Expiry Date is not provided by the FSM user, seven days after the estimate is created. |
List of Email statuses
Status
| Description
|
None
| - When you resend the estimate when it is in Approved or Converted to Work Order status
- If Estimate - Email Approval setting is disabled at Setup > Field Service Settings > Other Settings.
- If approval link is not included in the estimate email
|
Pending
| When the estimate email is sent
|
Invalidated
| When the approval link is no longer valid or has expired. If an FSM user does any of the following actions, the accept/reject link in the email will expire: - Edit the estimate
- Resend the estimate
- Mark the estimate as expired
- Cancel the estimate
- Approve the estimate
- Reject the estimate
|
|
Approved
| When the estimate is accepted by the user by clicking Accept in the estimate email.
|
Rejected
| When the estimate is rejected by the user by clicking Reject in the estimate email. |
Permissions
Following are specific permissions under Estimates that are required to perform certain actions:
Action
| Permission Required
|
Invalidate
| Estimate Edit
|
| Estimate Edit, Send Estimate
|
| Send Estimate
|
| Estimate Create, Send Estimate
|