Estimates in RemOnline are used to create commercial offers or estimates for clients.
Who are estimates suitable for?
The estimate feature can be useful for many businesses where:
the service or product has a variable cost (depending on complexity, volume, details);
the client makes decisions based on price;
the process is carried out in several stages and approval is required for each stage;
the high cost or complexity of the work requires transparency.
In workshops and repair shops (e.g., electronics, telephones, household appliances, computers, office equipment), the nature of malfunctions can vary greatly in terms of complexity and cost. It is often necessary to agree with the client on the scope of work before starting repairs, for example, whether to replace only one component or several.
In construction and repair services (e.g., finishing work, windows, doors, ventilation, air conditioning), there are many components and options for these components, so it is important for the client to see the entire scope and cost.
In car services, service stations, and detailing services, services are combined, and detailing often has package and individual services, so an estimate helps the client choose.
In printing and advertising services, the price depends on the volume, materials, and processing, and it is often important to see several service options.
In atelies and clothing and shoe repair services, everything is also individual — fabric, complexity, and deadlines.
How to work with estimates
Important: If you want to use estimates, you need to enable the "Can add products without deduction" permission in the employee role in Settings > Employees > Roles.
You can create estimates on the Workflows page. In the general table, you will see the corresponding document name. To open the estimate, you need to click on its number or double-click on the line. The numbering for estimates and orders is the same and is configured in the location window. Searching for payments is the same as searching for orders.
Estimates statuses have been added to the filter, so you can filter payments in the table. Also, now payments are included in the following system badges for orders: “My orders”, ‘Urgent’, ‘Overdue’.
You can create different types and forms for estimates on the Settings > Forms editor > Orders page. That is, you can create separate types of orders and customize the corresponding forms for them to use them for estimates in the future.
After creating new estimates in RemOnline, you can work with them.
You add products to the Estimate without writing them off from the warehouse. After approval by the customer, you can transfer the estimate to an order and then write off the specified goods from the warehouse.
Using system statuses, you can control and track each stage of work with the estimate, as well as transfer the estimate to an order.
Inside the estimate, there is an event feed that records all changes with the date, time, and employee who made them.
Important: the event feed is the same for both the estimate and the order. So, if you convert an estimate to an order, the events that occurred in the estimate will be saved in the order's event feed.
You can close estimates, i.e. convert estimates to successful orders for further work with the client or convert estimates to unsuccessful statuses.
If necessary, you can always delete the estimate.
Templates from the Orders document group are used to print documents in estimates.
Please note that it is not possible to create payments in estimates, set up automatic movement of products by statuses, or automatically send notifications. All of these actions become available after you convert the estimate to an order.