Overview

Estimates let you send professional quotes or proposals to your customers before you send an invoice. You can create, send, track, and convert estimates directly from your Bluevine dashboard. If your customer accepts your estimate, you can turn it into an invoice in just a few clicks — no need to start from scratch.

Before You Begin

• This feature does not require a Stripe connection.

  • Important: If an estimate is converted into an invoice, a Stripe connection is recommended for the payment gateway to appear in the invoice.  

• Estimates are available on all Bluevine plans.

• You can add up to 20 items per estimate.

• You can’t backdate an estimate or edit it after sending.

 

How to Create an Estimate

1. Log in to your Bluevine dashboard.

2. From the navigation panel, select Sales → Estimates.
   

3. Click Create Estimate.
   

4. Fill out the estimate details:

   • Logo (optional): Select Add Logo to include a company logo within Estimate.

     1. Upload the logo file and select Next to continue or Cancel to return to the estimate.

     2. Adjust logo as needed and select Save to continue or Go back to return to the estimate.

     3. Note: if you already have a logo added, it will show here.

   • Customer: Choose existing or create a new one.

   • Date: Add an issuance date for the estimate. This defaults to today (can’t select past dates). This should be a date before the expiration date.

   • Auto-reminders (optional): Add one reminder for Standard plan users and up to four for Plus or Premier users. 

     1. For more details on how auto-reminders work, refer to How do I manage Invoice and Estimate Auto-Reminders?

   • Expiration date: Choose a date for the estimate to expire; this date needs to be a future date and shouldn’t be the same as the issuance date you chose. Quickly select by using net terms for 30, 60, or 90 days.

   • Custom field (optional): Add a new field and value for additional customization. Available only to Plus or Premier plan users. For more details on how custom fields work, refer to How do I add Custom Fields to an Invoice or Estimate? 

   • Note to customer (optional): Use this to provide additional context or details to your customer.

   • Add item(s): Choose from existing items or create a new one. Add up to 20 items.

   • Service Charge (optional): Add a fee to your estimate. For more details on how Service Charge works, refer to How do I manage an Invoice and Estimate Service Charge?

     1. Note: This feature may not be available to all customers yet.

   • Discount (optional): Add a discount to your estimate. For more details on how Discounts work, refer to How do I add a Discount to an Invoice or Estimate?

   • Upload attachment (optional): Select Upload attachment to include an attachment in the estimate. 

     1. Accepted Formats: PNG, JPG, or PDF with a max file size of 20 MB.

5. Click Preview & Send.
   

6. Choose how you’d like to share the estimate:

   • Email: 

     1. Select Email, review, and confirm the estimate details. 

     2. (Optional) CC: add up to 10 email addresses to be CC’d. Tip: Include your email address to receive a copy.

     3. Select Send email when ready to send the estimate. This email will contain both a link to the estimate that the customer can approve/decline and a PDF attachment of the estimate. 

     4. Note: The estimate will be sent immediately after selecting Send email.

   • Unique URL: 

     1. Select Unique URL, review, and confirm the estimate details. 

     2. Select Create estimate link when ready to create. 

     3. Note: This method will not automatically send the estimate to your customer. Copy the link and send it to your customer using your preferred method of communication.

   • PDF: 

     1. Select PDF, review, and confirm the estimate details. 

     2. Select Create PDF when ready to create. 

     3. Note: This method will not automatically send the estimate to your customer. Download the PDF and share it with your customer using your preferred method of communication.

   • SMS: 

     1. Select SMS, review, and confirm the estimate details. 

     2. Important: The first time sending an SMS to your customer, we will ask if you have consent to send an SMS. Check the box to confirm. If consent has already been given, we will not ask for it again. 

     3. Select Send SMS when ready to send the estimate. 

     4. Note: The estimate will be sent immediately after selecting Send sms.
        
        

7. Select Done to complete creating estimates or Create another if more are needed.

8. What to expect next: your customer will be able to accept or decline the estimate if shared with them via email, SMS, or URL. 

   • You’ll receive an email confirmation when your customer accepts or declines an estimate. 

     1. If your customer accepts the estimate, you will need to convert it into an invoice when ready to send as an invoice. Important: an accepted estimate does not automatically become an invoice. 

     2. If your customer declines the estimate, they will be able to provide details as to why they are declining. This will be listed in the decline email. 

        1. Decline reasons can also be found in details panel of the applicable estimate. 

   • For PDFs you will need to manually update the status to reflect if a customer accepts or declines the offer. 

9. Continue with the following processes depending on your needs:

   • Manually update estimate status

   • Duplicate Estimate

   • Delete Estimate

   • Converting an estimate to invoice
     
     

Manually update Estimate status

Your customer has the ability to accept or decline an estimate when it is sent via email, link, or SMS. Estimates sent as a PDF will not have this option. You can manually update if the estimate was accepted or declined. Only estimates in the Sent status can be marked as accepted or declined. 

1. From the navigation panel, select Sales → Estimates.

2. Find and select the applicable estimate.

3. In the details panel, find the quick actions menu and select Mark accepted or Mark declined.

4. The status of your estimate will be updated accordingly.

 

Duplicate estimate

Easily create a duplicate of your estimate so that you don’t have to manually create it each time and add minor changes as needed. 

1. From the navigation panel, select Sales → Estimates.

2. Find and select the applicable estimate.

3. In the details panel, find the quick actions menu and select Duplicate

4. A new estimate will open with the information duplicated over. Review the list below for details on what is duplicated.

   1. Logo: will be copied over.

   2. Customers: will copy over unless the customer no longer exists in your customer dashboard.

   3. Date: will copy over unless the date was in the past, it will default to the current date.

   4. Automatic email reminders: will not copied over, and will need to be set up.

   5. Expiration date: will not copied over and will need to be set up.

   6. Note to customer: will be copied over.

   7. Custom fields: will be copied over if still on a paid plan. 

   8. Items: will all be copied over unless the item no longer exists in your items dashboard.

   9. Service Charge: will be copied over.

   10. Discounts: Will be copied over.

   11. Attachments: will not copy over.

5. Review the estimate and make changes as needed.

6. Repeat steps 5-9 of the How to Create an Estimate process above. 

 

Delete an Estimate

Estimates that are in the following statuses: Draft, Sent, and Accepted, can be deleted.

1. From the navigation panel, select Sales → Estimates.

2. Find and select the applicable estimate.

3. In the details panel, find the quick actions menu and select Delete.

4. Notify your customer via email that the estimate was deleted?

   1. If yes → Select check box.

      1. Note: By selecting the check box, an email will be sent to your customer advising of the deletion.

   2. If no → Leave check box blank.

5. Select Delete to complete removal or Go back to cancel deletion. 

 

Converting an Estimate to an Invoice

Only estimates that are in Accepted status can be converted into an Invoice. An estimate in accepted status will NOT automatically be converted into an invoice. 

1. From the navigation panel, select Sales → Estimates.

2. Find and select the applicable estimate.

3. In the details panel, find the quick actions menu and select Convert to Invoice.

4. You’ll be taken to the invoice creation page with all details pre-filled.

5. Review and update as needed Note: the customer field will be locked and unable to be modified.

6. Send your invoice just like you normally would. For more information, refer to How do I manage Invoices? Support article. 

 

Understanding your Estimates dashboard

Your Estimates dashboard shows all quotes with real-time status updates.

Reading the Estimates Table

Your Estimates dashboard shows all quotes with real-time status updates. Each row includes:

• High-Level Overview header: Will provide a quick view of the total amounts and number of estimates in the different statuses. 

• Date: The issue date you chose for your estimate. This is the first date listed in an Estimate, and is a date before your expiration date. 

• Customer: your customer's name.

• Estimate number: automatically assigned. 

• Status: Current estimate status (e.g., Draft, Sent, Accepted, Declined).

• Amount: Total value of the estimate.

Viewing More Details

You can click on any estimate to open a detailed panel showing:

• Note: Will list the Note to customer, if one was included in the estimate.

• Expiration: Estimate expiration date.

• Estimates tracker: This will help show the journey and key points of your estimates lifecycle. It will include the following dates:

  • Estimate Created: date estimate was created.

  • Estimate Sent: date estimate moved from draft and was sent.

  • Reminder(s) sent: Date estimate reminder email was sent.

    • If on Plus or Premier plan, this will list up to four reminders.

  • Accepted/ Declined/ Expired: Date that the estimate was accepted or declined, or expired. 

  • Converted to invoice: Date the estimate was converted.

Estimate statuses explained

• Draft: Estimate not yet sent.

  • Quick actions for this status: Edit, Duplicate, and Delete.

• Sent: Estimate successfully delivered to customer.

  • Quick actions for this status: Mark accepted, Mark declined, Share, Duplicate, and Delete.

• Accepted: Your customer approved the quote. Note: this will display the accepted date. 

  • Quick actions for this status: Convert to invoice, Duplicate, and Delete.

• Declined: Customer declined the quote. Note: this will display the declined date and the decline reason. Decline reason is only included if your customer provided a reason.

  • Quick actions for this status: Duplicate.

• Expired: Estimate is past expiration date.

  • Quick actions for this status: Duplicate.

• Converted: The estimate has been converted into an invoice, this will display the converted date.

  • Quick actions for this status: View invoice, and Duplicate.

    • Important: View Invoice will take you to the invoice dashboard with the specific invoice selected and the details panel open.

 

Filtering and Exporting Estimates

Your dashboard lets you easily filter Estimates data to focus on what matters most. By default, it shows all statuses for this month, but you can customize your view.

To filter:

1. Click the filter icon in the top right corner of the Estimates section.

2. Choose your preferred date range and status.

3. Apply the filters to update your view.

This helps you quickly track estimate status and other key activity over time.

Date Filters

You can filter your estimate data by selecting a specific timeframe. Available options include:

• Today

• Yesterday

• This Week

• Last Week

• This Month

• Last Month

• This Year

• Custom Range

Each selection updates the data displayed on your dashboard.

Status Filters

You can filter estimates by their current status to focus on specific outcomes. Available statuses include:

• Draft

• Sent

• Accepted

• Declined

• Expired

• Converted

Using these filters helps you quickly identify successful estimates or isolate estimates that may need attention.

Exporting Your Estimates Dashboard

You can easily export your estimate history from your Bluevine dashboard. Here's how:

1. Sign in to your Bluevine dashboard.

2. Navigate to Sales > Estimates in the left-hand menu.

3. Click the Export button in the top-right corner of the Estimates page.

Note: The export only includes estimates based on your current filters. To adjust what’s included in the file, update your filters before exporting.

 

FAQs

Can I edit an estimate after sending it?

No, but you can duplicate it, make edits, and send it again.

Can I set automatic reminders?

Yes, standard users can set up one reminder. Plus and Premier plan users can set up to four reminders before the expiration date.

What happens if my customer declines the estimate?

You will receive an email about the declined estimate, and you’ll see a decline note and date in your dashboard.

Do estimates expire automatically?

Yes. They expire on the date you set during creation.

Can I access this feature on mobile?

Not yet — web only for now.

 

Still Need Help?

• If you have questions about a Estimates, our Customer Support team is here to help. Visit the Help Center for additional resources, or contact Bluevine Customer Support for direct assistance.