Draft a quote by talking, track what has been billed against it, and turn it into one invoice or a deposit plus a draft.
A quote is an invoice you have not sent yet. Same charge types, same tax treatment, same branding — and when the work is agreed it turns into an invoice without you typing any of it twice.
This guide covers drafting a quote by talking, what the statuses on the Quote History actually tell you, and the two ways a quote becomes an invoice.
Two places, deliberately. Client Tools → Client/Prospect Quotes, and Accounting → Client/Prospect Quotes. Some people never open the ledger, so quoting does not hide behind it. Same list either way.
Add Quote, then pick the Business Entity. The quote number is reserved when you save, not before, so an abandoned draft does not burn one.
Valid Until is optional and worth using. It prints on the quote as an expiry date, which is how a price stops being open forever.
Type or speak what you are quoting in plain English — “tax prep for the 2025 personal return $350, plus a bookkeeping review $120” — and press Draft lines. The quote lines fill in below for you to read.
Two things to know: pick the Business Entity first, because it drafts against your charge types; and you still click Save. Nothing exists until you do.
Notes (Internal) stay private. Notes (Quote) print underneath the total.
Quote Print (PDF) for a document, Email Quote to send it directly, or Send File if it should go through secure transfer rather than plain email.
This is where quoting earns its keep. Each quote carries a status:
The running balance is the point. Bill a job in pieces and the quote keeps track of what is still owed against it, so a part-billed job cannot quietly lose its remainder.
Note that an accepted quote shows a view icon rather than an edit one. Once it has been agreed and billed against, it is a record rather than a draft.
The black arrow in the Actions column is the one that converts. It offers two choices:
The whole job on a single invoice, due now. This is the ordinary case.
A deposit invoice raised now, plus the full invoice prepared as a draft that credits the deposit back.
The draft posts nothing and does not start ageing until you issue it. So the deposit is real money today, the balance is sitting ready, and your receivables are not distorted by an invoice you have not sent.
If a quote has already been part-billed, converting again bills whatever is left rather than re-copying lines you have already invoiced.
You can quote a Prospect, but you cannot invoice one. Invoices attach to a Client record, so a Prospect quote has to wait until you convert that Prospect into a Client — then the quote converts normally.
This is deliberate rather than a limitation: quoting is how you win the work, and converting them to a Client is the moment you won it.
Always set Valid Until. A quote with no expiry is a price you have to honour indefinitely.
Use the split for anything substantial. A deposit invoice now protects you, and the draft means the balance is already written.
Quote in the client’s language, not your charge codes. The charge type organises your books; the line description is what they read.
Check the Quote History before chasing. Part Invoiced with a balance left is a different conversation from Fully Invoiced.
A Quote is an invoice you have not sent yet. Same shape, same Charge Types, and it turns into one when the work is agreed. Client Tools, Client and Prospect Quotes, Add Quote. Pick your Business Entity, and the number is reserved when you save. Valid Until is optional, and worth using. It prints on the Quote as an expiry date, which is how a price stops being open forever.
Then AI Help. Type or speak what you are quoting, in plain English. Tax prep for the 2025 personal return, three hundred and fifty dollars. Draft lines. It fills them in for you to read. You still click Save.
And there is the Quote. Your Charge Types, the amounts, GST, and the total. Notes on the Quote print underneath it. Print it as a PDF, email it, or send it through Send File if it should not go by plain email.
Now the part that earns its keep. Quote History. Draft. Accepted. And this one — Accepted, Part Invoiced, with eight thousand three hundred and eighty eight dollars still left on it.
The black arrow is the one that converts it. Convert all to one Invoice. The whole job, on a single Invoice, due now. Or split it into two. A deposit Invoice now, and the full Invoice prepared as a draft with that deposit credited back.
The draft posts nothing and does not start ageing until you issue it. One thing to know. A Quote for a Prospect cannot become an Invoice until you convert that Prospect into a Client, because Invoices attach to a Client record. Quote it, agree it, bill it. Without typing any of it twice.
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