Chapter 7
Sending an estimate and getting approval
Once you've inspected the item, just enter the line items in "Final estimate" under "Fees & payments" on the ticket and send it. It goes to the customer by email, and the customer can approve it right on their smartphone. No phone call needed.
Creating and sending the final estimate#
- In "Final estimate" under "Fees & payments" on the ticket, enter the line items (repair details, category, quantity, unit price) one row at a time. Leave the quantity empty for 1; enter 2 or more and the row's amount becomes unit price × quantity. "+ Add row" adds a row, and the total is calculated automatically. Start typing an item name in the repair details and items in stock appear as suggestions; picking one fills in its price and category. Once you send the estimate, that quantity is reserved for this repair and taken from stock when the work is marked as done ("Items & stock" in Chapter 8). Shipping or call-out fees also go in as line items. For a discount, add a row with a negative unit price, such as -10.00, and it's subtracted from the total (you can't send an estimate with a negative total). If your shop charges tax, untick "Tax" on a row and no tax is added to that row. Lines in a category whose Tax box is unchecked under "Category" in Settings start with Tax unchecked.
- On the "More settings" tab, enter "Additional notes (overall)", "Estimated completion date" and "Cancellation fee" (all optional). The additional notes appear as-is on the customer's page as "A note from [your shop]"
- Press "Save and send final estimate (email)". After you confirm, the status moves to "Estimated (Awaiting reply)" automatically and the customer is notified. For customers without an email address, the button just says "Save and send final estimate" and no notification is sent
If you're not ready to send it yet, press "Save draft (don't notify customer)". It's kept as a draft, and neither the status nor any notification changes.
To hand the customer a paper copy, press "Print estimate" on the ticket (it appears once the final estimate is saved). A preview of the paper opens over the ticket; press "Print (A4)" and the print screen comes up right away (on an iPad the PDF opens in a new tab; print with Share → Print). To save or send it, "Open PDF" next to it opens the PDF in a new tab. It's one A4 page (Letter for shops in the US and Canada) with the amount, estimated completion date, item, line items, notes and the same QR code as the customer copy of the check-in ticket (the deposit terms aren't included; they're on the check-in ticket's customer copy). It suits shops that make the estimate right at check-in and hand over the paper on the spot.
To show scratches or cracks, you can add up to 6 photos with "Add photo", above "Additional notes" on the "More settings" tab (Pro plan). On a smartphone, you can take them on the spot. Photos are saved as soon as you add them. On the customer's status page, the photos appear below the amount, followed by the additional notes (they aren't included in the email itself, but appear on the status page it links to). After sending, you can add or remove photos in the same place under "Edit final estimate", and nothing is resent. Remove a photo with the × at its top right.
For repairs set to "No estimate approval needed (leave it to us)" at check-in, the button becomes "Confirm amount (auto-approve, move to In repair)". Pressing it moves the repair to In repair without waiting for approval, and the customer isn't notified. You can change the leave-it-to-us setting later with the checkbox above "Fees & payments". If you tick it while a sent estimate is still awaiting approval, you're asked to confirm the amount, and then it counts as approved on the spot and moves to "In repair" (the customer isn't notified).
What the customer sees, and after approval#
The customer receives an email with a link to the status page, which shows the line items and total with the buttons "Approve this estimate", "I'd like to cancel" and "View details".
Once the customer approves, "Estimate approved" arrives in your shop's "Notifications", and the status moves to "In repair" automatically. All that's left is to start the work. If the customer cancels, you'll get "Customer cancelled", and the ticket is marked as cancelled and moved to "In repair" (preparing the item for return).
Even without approval, your shop can move ahead by pressing "Next step: In repair". In that case, the estimate is shown to the customer for reference only, and the slide to approve disappears.
Let the customer choose Option A / B#
When there are two or three ways to do a repair, you can split the estimate into "Option A / Option B". The customer picks one on their page and approves it, so you don't have to explain over the phone and ask again.
- Press "Split into Option A / B" above the estimate lines. "All / A / B" appears at the right of each line (press "+ Option C" if you want three)
- Leave lines that belong to every option (such as a diagnosis fee) on "All", and press "A" or "B" for lines that belong to one option. The total for each option ("All" lines + that option's lines) appears below the table
- Press "Save and send estimate". The customer receives the lines and total for each option
On the customer page the options are listed, and choosing one shows "Slide to approve Option A". Once approved, the estimate is rewritten to the "All" lines plus the chosen option and its total, and moves to "In repair" just like a regular estimate. The progress history keeps the chosen option and the amounts of the options not chosen. Options can't be chosen with LINE buttons, so LINE messages get a "Choose an option" button that opens the customer page.
If you heard the choice by phone or in the shop, press "Choose Option A" (etc.) under "Record the option the customer chose" below the estimate you sent. No notification is sent to the customer.
You can't move the ticket to "In repair" yourself until an option is chosen (otherwise both options would go into sales and invoices). Options can't be used on tickets set to "No estimate approval needed" or on refurbish tickets. Stock items on option lines are reserved once the option is decided.
Changing or withdrawing the amount#
- Edit final estimate
- You can edit it even after sending. From In repair onward, "Fees & payments" is collapsed, so press it to open it first. When you save, it's resent automatically with the message "Your estimate has been updated", and the approval is reset so it goes back to awaiting reply. The same happens if you edit it during repair or after pickup, so be careful if you only want to correct the recorded amount (leave-it-to-us repairs aren't resent, and their status doesn't change)
- Withdraw final estimate
- Resets the sent and approval status and moves the ticket back to "Received". The line items you entered stay as a draft
- When the customer doesn't reply
- Turn on automatic resending under "Customer notifications" in Settings, and the customer gets one reminder after the number of days you set
"Payments" at the bottom of "Fees & payments" brings together the total, deposits and payments, card payments, amounts paid via POS, refunds and the balance due at pickup (for mail-in and partner jobs with a balance after handover, it shows as "Unpaid (balance to collect later)"; deposits and payments in Chapter 5, card payments and refunds in Chapter 10). "Deposit", "Balance", "Paid by card" and "Paid via POS" also appear next to the heading.
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