Make a quote and turn it into an invoice

A quote presents your offer to the client: the services, the prices and the VAT. You create it like an invoice. When the client accepts it, one click turns it into an invoice.

The quote list

In the menu, under Sales, open Quotes.

1. Add creates a quote.
2. The tabs sort your quotes by status. The filter bar searches by number, client, title or amount. The Awaiting an answer view lists the quotes sent that have had no answer.

Status	What it means
Pending send	The quote is saved; the client has not received it yet.
Sent	The client has received it. You are waiting for their answer.
Accepted	The client said yes, online or to you directly.
Rejected	The client said no.
Converted to invoice	An invoice was created from the quote. It no longer changes.
Cancelled	A quote already sent that you cancelled. It stays in your list with its number, and can no longer be sent, edited, accepted or converted.

On the dashboard, the Quote conversion rate figure does not count cancelled quotes.

Create a quote

1. In Quotes, click Add. The editor opens on a single page, with the PDF preview on the right.
2. Client. Choose the client in Select a client..., or create one with New client.
3. Dates and references. Check the Reference To Bill suggests, the Date and the Currency. Valid until is the last day your offer binds you: To Bill suggests a date; change it if needed. Give a Quote title, for example “Reception fit-out”.
4. Lines. Add your lines as in an invoice: type an item’s name, adjust the quantity, then press Enter or click Add. Choose the VAT: Global VAT, VAT per item or Excl. VAT.
5. Options. If needed, add a discount under Discounts and fees and your terms under Notes.
6. Check the preview. Click Send to send it straight away (see below), or leave the editor: the quote is already saved.

The quote saves itself as soon as it has a client and a line, with the status Pending send; there is no button to save it. The editor is the same as the one for invoices: the guide Create an invoice explains each part, the automatic saving and the VAT types at 0%. A quote is paid in one go: instalments are set on the invoice that comes out of it.

State how long the quote is valid

A quote with a deadline for acceptance binds you until that deadline ends. Without a deadline, it binds you for the reasonable time an answer takes. The Valid until date appears on the quote and in the client’s portal: choose it with care.

Send the quote

1. In the list, click the quote’s number. Its page opens with the PDF preview.
2. Click Send. From the editor, Send saves the quote and opens the same sending dialog.
3. Check the Recipient, the Email subject and the Message type, then click Send.

The client receives the PDF as an attachment and a link to their client portal, where they can accept or reject the quote. A quote pending send changes to Sent; a quote already accepted or rejected that you send again keeps its status.

To send several, tick them in the list, then Send › By email: each goes to the email address of the contact chosen on the quote, otherwise to its client’s. To Bill says how many went out and, for the others, why: client without an email address, quote cancelled or already converted into an invoice, quote sent less than 30 seconds ago. A bulk send counts 50 quotes at most: beyond that, By email stays greyed out and To Bill explains why, for example “50 quotes per send at most: you chose 64.”

Did you hand it over in person? In the list, open the row’s … menu, then Mark as sent.

Record the client’s answer

• The client answers online. On their portal, they click Accept or Reject, with a reason if they wish. The status changes on its own and you receive an email. The reason for a rejection also shows on the quote’s page, under Reason for refusal. After the Valid until day, the client can no longer accept online: see The client portal.
• The client answers by phone or by email. On the quote’s page (1), click Mark as accepted (2). For a rejection, open the … menu, then Mark as rejected.
• The client said yes even before you sent it. On the page of a quote pending send, open the … menu, then Mark as accepted.
• The client changes their mind. An accepted quote can be marked as rejected, and a rejected quote as accepted, from the same … menu. A converted or cancelled quote no longer changes status.

Turn the quote into an invoice

1. Open the accepted quote.

2. Click Convert to invoice (1).

   

3. The editor of the new invoice opens. It takes over the quote’s client, lines, sections, discounts, title, notes and currency.

4. Check the Invoice date: To Bill takes the quote’s date. Set today’s date if needed. The due date follows the client’s payment terms.

5. Save, then send the invoice. See Send an invoice.

The quote’s status changes to Converted to invoice. Its page offers View invoice.

A quote that has not been accepted can also be converted, whether it is pending send, sent, rejected or expired: on its page, … › Convert to invoice, or in the list, the Convert to invoice button on its row (when the list is not wide enough, on a laptop for example, it shows only its icon: hover over it to see its name). To Bill first asks This quote has not been accepted. Turn it into an invoice anyway?: confirm with Convert to invoice. Only a cancelled quote cannot be converted.

One invoice per quote

The conversion takes over the whole quote. To invoice in several parts, split the invoice into instalments: see Payment in instalments. A converted quote can no longer be edited or deleted: to cancel it, cancel its invoice.

Edit or delete a quote

• Edit. On the quote’s page, click Edit (or … › Edit). The quote keeps its number and its status: a sent quote stays Sent, and your client’s portal shows its latest version at once. Let your client know, or send it again with … › Send again by email.
• Extend an expired quote. After the Valid until day, the quote’s page shows for example Expired 3 days ago, and your client can no longer accept it online. To extend the offer, click Edit and choose a new date in Valid until: the quote stays Sent, and your client can accept it again. You can also convert it into an invoice as it is.
• Delete or cancel. Only a quote that was never sent, neither by email nor marked as sent, can be deleted (… › Delete). Any other quote is cancelled (… › Cancel quote): it stays in your list with its number, with the status Cancelled. This is final: a cancelled quote can no longer be edited, sent, accepted or converted. To make the offer again, create a new quote.
• Several at once. Tick them in the list. Delete only becomes available if they are all quotes that were never sent; otherwise, use Cancel quotes. A quote already converted into an invoice stays as it is: to cancel it, cancel its invoice.

Legal basis

• An offer made with a deadline for acceptance binds the offeror until the deadline expires: Art. 3 CO. Without a deadline, it binds the offeror until the moment when a reply sent in good time could be expected to arrive: Art. 5 CO.
• A quote is not an invoice: it has no QR-bill and goes neither into the accounts nor into the VAT return.