Estimates & Quotes

Before you send an invoice, sometimes you need to send an estimate. Here’s how much the project will cost, here’s what’s included, sign here if you’re in. Pluvel estimates work exactly like invoices — same editor, same templates — but they don’t count as money owed until the client approves.

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Creating an Estimate

Go to Finance → Invoicing → Estimates and click New Estimate. You’ll fill out:

• Customer — Who’s this for
• Line items — Services, products, hourly rates, whatever you’re quoting
• Expiration date — How long is this price valid
• Notes — Scope of work, terms, disclaimers

Same interface as invoices. If you’ve created invoices before, you already know how this works.

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Estimate vs. Invoice vs. Quote

In Pluvel, they’re technically the same thing with different labels: You can relabel “Estimate” to “Quote” or “Proposal” in Settings → Invoicing → Labels if your industry uses different terminology.

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Sending to Customers

Once your estimate is ready:

1. Click Send
2. Enter the customer’s email (or use the one on file)
3. Add a message if you want
4. Send

The customer receives an email with a link to view the estimate. They can:

• Accept — Marks the estimate as approved
• Decline — Marks it as lost (with an optional reason)
• Comment — Ask questions before deciding

You’ll get notified when they respond.

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Converting to Invoice

When a customer accepts an estimate (or you agree on the scope), convert it to an invoice:

1. Open the estimate
2. Click Convert to Invoice
3. Review the details (they’ll carry over)
4. Send the invoice

The estimate is marked as “Converted” and linked to the resulting invoice. You can still view it for reference. You can also partially convert — take some line items from an estimate and invoice them while keeping others for later. Useful for phased projects.

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Tracking Estimates

Your estimate list shows: Filter by status to see your pipeline. “Sent” and “Viewed” are your active opportunities.

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Tips for Better Estimates

Be specific about scope. Vague estimates lead to scope creep and awkward conversations later. List exactly what’s included (and what’s not). Set realistic expiration dates. 30 days is standard for most services. Complex projects might need 60-90 days. Too short feels pushy, too long lets people forget. Include terms. Payment terms (50% upfront, net 30 on completion), revision limits, timeline expectations. Better to agree now than fight later. Follow up. If an estimate has been “Viewed” for a week with no response, send a follow-up. People get busy.

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Estimate Templates

If you send similar estimates often, save them as templates:

1. Create an estimate with your standard line items
2. Before sending, click Save as Template
3. Name it (“Standard Web Project”, “Hourly Consulting”)

Next time, start from the template instead of scratch.

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Revisions

Customer wants changes? You can:

• Edit the existing estimate and resend (they’ll see “Revised”)
• Create a new version and archive the old one
• Duplicate the estimate, modify it, and send as a new option

Pluvel tracks versions so you know which estimate they ultimately accepted.

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Reporting

Estimate pipeline — Total value of sent estimates, acceptance rate, average time to decision. Won/Lost analysis — Which types of estimates win more often? Which customers decline most? Find these in Reports → Sales → Estimate Pipeline.