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What you will accomplish

You will create a quote—pricing the customer can review and approve before your facility sends a real invoice or starts expensive work. A quote is not the same as an invoice:
Quote — “Here is what we propose to charge. Please review and approve.”Invoice — “This amount is ready to be paid now.”
Quotes are useful for storage proposals, detail packages, transport estimates, memberships, or larger service work.

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Before you start

  • An owner or admin has turned on Enable Quotes in Settings > Billing. See step 1 below if the Quotes page says quotes are not enabled.
  • Payment processing is set up if you want customers to accept quotes online. See Connect payment processing.
  • The customer already exists in Contacts.
  • At least one product with a pricing variant exists in Products & Services. Quotes pull prices from products—you cannot complete line items without them.
  • Know what you are quoting (storage, detailing, transport, membership) and a realistic expiration date.
Set up products before your first quoteOpen Manage products and services and add pricing variants (for example monthly_standard on a storage product). If the Price column in the quote window says Select price with no options, return to the product record and add a variant first.

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Step 1: Turn on quotes (one-time setup)

1

Open Settings > Billing

In the sidebar, click Settings, then Billing. You can also open Settings > Billing directly.
2

Find Quotes, Estimates & Proposals

Scroll to Quotes, Estimates & Proposals.
3

Turn on Enable Quotes

Switch Enable Quotes to on.Expected result: The setting shows as active. The Quotes page will show Create quote instead of a setup message.
Billing settings showing Quotes Estimates and Proposals section with Enable Quotes toggle turned on
Turn on Enable Quotes once per facility before your team uses the Quotes page.

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Step 2: Open the Quotes page

Go to Payments > Quotes. The Quotes page lists each quote, the customer, status, total, and expiration date.
Quotes page showing quote rows with customer names, status badges, totals, and expiration dates
Use the Quotes page to see drafts, open quotes, accepted quotes, and expired quotes.

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Step 3: Create the quote

1

Click Create quote

In the top-right area of the Quotes page, click Create quote.Expected result: A window titled Create Quote opens with the description: Create a price estimate for a customer. Quotes can include one-time charges and recurring plans.
2

Choose the customer

In Customer *, search for the customer and select the correct person or company.Expected result: The customer name and email appear below the field. If the customer is missing, add them in Contacts first.
3

Add a quote title and message (optional)

  • Quote Title (optional) — short headline the customer will see (for example Winter Storage Package).
  • Message (optional) — friendly note that appears with the quote.
Why this matters: A clear title helps customers understand what they are approving without calling your office.
4

Set the expiration date

Choose Expiration Date. By default the app may suggest a date about 30 days out.Why this matters: After this date, the quote should not be honored at old pricing.
5

Add line items

Under Line Items, click Add Item if you need more than one row.For each row:
  1. Type — usually Product
  2. Item Details — pick a product from Products & Services
  3. Price — pick the pricing variant (for example monthly or one-time)
  4. Qty — quantity (often 1)
Expected result: The subtotal at the bottom updates as you add complete rows.If you see No prices available, open the product in Products & Services and add a pricing variant, then try again.
6

Choose whether to email the customer now

Find Send immediately near the bottom.
  • Off — saves a draft your team can review first. Click Create Draft Quote.
  • On — emails the customer when the quote is ready. The button reads Create & Send Quote.
Why this matters: Sending too early can lock in pricing before a manager reviews it. Drafts give your team a safe review step.
7

Confirm and save

Click Create Draft Quote or Create & Send Quote. You may see a short confirmation window that explains what will happen.If you chose Create & Send Quote, a second window asks Notify the customer? Choose Yes to send the quote email, or No to finalize without emailing. Closing the window cancels the send.Expected result: The quote appears on Payments > Quotes with status Draft or Open.
Create Quote dialog showing customer field, quote title, message, expiration date, line items table, and Send immediately toggle
Complete every line item (product + price) before you save. Use Send immediately only when the customer should receive email right away.
Products and Services list showing recurring and one-time products used as quote line items
Build products and pricing variants first so quote line items have prices to select.

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Review a quote you already created

Click a quote row on the Quotes page to open the quote detail page.
Quote detail page showing header, line items, subtotal, tax, total, expiration date, and status
Open a quote to confirm status, line items, and total before you follow up with the customer.

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Draft quotes: finalize when ready

If you saved a Draft quote:
  1. Open the quote from the list.
  2. Review totals and line items.
  3. Click Finalize & Send (or similar) when pricing is ready for the customer.
  4. When Notify the customer? appears, choose Yes to email the quote or No to finalize without emailing.
Expected result: Status changes to Open. The customer gets email only if you chose Yes. For quotes already sent, use Resend Email if the customer needs the link again. That action also asks Notify the customer? — choose Yes to send.

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What each status means

Draft — your team is still editing. The customer has not been asked to approve yet.Open — the quote is finalized and the customer can review it.Accepted — the customer approved the quote.Canceled — your team stopped using this quote.Expired — the quote is past its expiration date.

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Cancel a quote your team will not use

If pricing changed or the customer chose not to move forward, cancel the quote so your team does not bill from old numbers by mistake.
1

Open the quote

Go to Payments > Quotes and click the quote row.Expected result: The quote detail page opens. Status should be Draft or Open—not Accepted.
2

Cancel from Actions

Click Actions (or the more-options menu) near the top-right, then choose Cancel quote (or similar).Why this matters: Canceled quotes stay in your history but customers should not accept them anymore.
3

Confirm

Confirm the cancellation when asked.Expected result: Status changes to Canceled. Create a new quote if the customer wants updated pricing later.
Already accepted?Do not cancel a quote the customer already accepted if billing was created. Open Payments > Invoices or Payments > Recurring instead, or ask a manager how to correct billing.

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What success looks like

After you create a quote:
  • The quote appears on Payments > Quotes.
  • Status shows Draft or Open depending on whether you sent it.
  • Line items and total match what your team intends to charge.
  • If sent, the customer can open the quote from email or the customer portal.

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Tips for better quotes

  • Use a short, friendly Quote Title that explains the outcome.
  • Break large jobs into separate line items so the customer understands the total.
  • Set a realistic expiration date so your team does not honor old pricing by mistake.
  • Save as a draft when a manager still needs to review pricing.

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Troubleshooting

I do not see Create quoteOpen Settings > Billing and turn on Enable Quotes. If the button is still missing, ask an admin to confirm your account can access Payments.
Price says No prices availableThe product needs at least one pricing variant. Open Products & Services, edit the product, and add a variant. See Manage products and services.
Please complete all line itemsEach row needs a product and a selected price. Remove empty rows or finish every column before saving.
The customer is missingCreate the customer first in Contacts, then return to Quotes.

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Turn an accepted quote into billing

When a customer accepts a quote online, Car Storage Software usually creates the right billing record automatically. Your team does not need to click a separate Convert to invoice button on the quote page.
One-time charges on the quote usually become a customer invoice on Payments > Invoices.Recurring charges on the quote usually become a recurring plan on Payments > Recurring.If the quote included both types, check both pages after the customer accepts.

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What the customer does

1

Open the quote link

The customer opens the quote from their email or the customer portal.Expected result: They see line items, the total, and a way to accept the pricing.
2

Accept the quote

The customer reviews the pricing and accepts it online.Why this matters: Acceptance is the customer’s formal yes. After this step, your facility can bill based on what they approved.

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What your team does after acceptance

1

Confirm the quote status

Go to Payments > Quotes and open the quote. Status should show Accepted.
2

Find the new invoice or recurring plan

Why this matters: Totals should match what the customer already approved.
3

Collect payment or monitor the plan

Quote includes recurring items?On the quote detail page, you may see a note that recurring charges are included. After acceptance, check Payments > Recurring so monthly storage or membership billing is on track—not only a one-time invoice.

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If you need to bill manually instead

Use this only when your manager asks you to create billing by hand (for example, the customer approved pricing over the phone).
1

Open the accepted quote for reference

Keep the Accepted quote open so you can match line items and totals.
2

Create billing

3

Match amounts

Use the same customer, descriptions, and amounts from the accepted quote.
Quote expired or canceled?Do not bill from an old quote. Create a new quote with current pricing, or ask your manager before sending an invoice.

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What to do next

After the quote is accepted, follow the steps above to invoice the customer or start recurring billing. For one-time work without a quote, use Create an invoice.