Creating Estimates

Estimates help you negotiate project expenses with your clients or evaluate how much a project will cost. They help:

Align expectations on budget and scope
Serve as a foundation for invoices and project acceptance

Only users with the following roles can create and manage estimates:

Owner
Members with permissions to manage time and finances

How to access the Estimates section

STEP 1: Log in to your ActiveCollab account.
STEP 2: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 3: You’ll see a list of existing estimates and an option to Create a New Estimate in the upper right corner

How to create a new estimate

STEP 1: Click the + New Estimate button.
STEP 2: Fill out the required fields:

Estimate Name
Choose a currency and language
Client (select from your contacts)
Enter the address
Issue Date

STEP 3:

Add the description, items, quantity, cost, amount, and the tax (if applicable)
Add a discount (optional),
Add a note for the client (insert a note template) or a private comment (optional),

STEP 4: Click Create Estimate.

How to customize the estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Access Invoice Designer at the bottom of the page to customize the appearance and layout.
STEP 4: Аdjust the items, company details, header, and footer

How to send an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: After reviewing, click Send by email.
STEP 4: Choose a client contact to send it to. You can enter multiple recipients.
STEP 5: Enter a short message ( optional)
STEP 6: Click Send

How to mark as sent

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Mark as Sent. The estimate will be moved to the Sent section.

How to mark as won

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Mark as Won to update the details

Note: When the client responds and you reach an agreement, you can mark the estimate as Won and start a Project based on this estimate.

How to mark as lost

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Mark as Lost to update the details

Note: When an agreement with the client is not reached, mark the estimate as Lost. All lost estimates remain visible until you decide to move them to the Trash. You can also edit or resend a lost estimate to other clients.

How to create a new project from an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Create Project. Fill in the required project information.

Note: The project budget will be determined by the current amount from the estimate.

How to create an invoice from an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Create Invoice. Fill in the required invoice information.

How to access logs on an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Access logs

How to edit the estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Edit Estimate to update the details

How to duplicate an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click on Duplicate.

How to download an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click on Download PDF.

How to delete an estimate

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Select a desired estimate from the List/Grid view and click on the three dots in the upper right corner
STEP 3: Click Delete. This will send the estimate to the Trash folder, where you can delete it permanently or recover it if needed.

How to manage estimates

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Click on Grid/List view next to the Sort button in the upper right corner.
Switch from Grid to List view for a better overview

Status Tracking: Estimates move through statuses like Draft, Sent, Won, Lost, or Cancelled.

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Click on Draft, Sent, Won, Lost, or Cancelled to see the desired estimates.

How to filter estimates

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Click on the Filter button next to the Sort button
STEP 3: Proceed to filter by:

Status
Client
Date
Currency

How to sort estimates

STEP 1: From the main left menu, click on Estimates ( under the “Invoices” section)
STEP 2: Click on the Sort button next to the Filter button
STEP 3: Proceed to sort by: