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Zoho Books

Estimate

An estimate in Zoho Books is a pre-sale price quotation sent to a customer that outlines the scope, items, rates, and taxes…

An estimate in Zoho Books is a pre-sale price quotation sent to a customer that outlines the scope, items, rates, and taxes for a proposed transaction, and can be converted into a sales order or invoice once the customer accepts.

Creating an Estimate in Zoho Books

Go to Sales, then Estimates, and click New Estimate. Select the customer, set the estimate date and expiry date, and add line items with item name, quantity, rate, and applicable GST rate. Zoho Books calculates CGST, SGST, or IGST automatically based on the customer’s GST treatment and your organisation’s state. You can add a discount at the line level or on the total, include terms and conditions, and attach supporting documents.

Estimate Statuses and Workflow

Estimates in Zoho Books move through statuses: Draft (not yet sent), Sent (emailed to the customer), Accepted (customer has agreed), Declined (customer has rejected), and Expired (past the expiry date). You can track which estimates are awaiting response and follow up from within Zoho Books. The Estimate Details page shows when the email was opened, helping sales teams prioritise follow-up calls.

Converting Estimates

An accepted estimate can be converted to a Sales Order (for businesses that track order fulfilment separately from invoicing) or directly to an Invoice. The conversion carries all line items, amounts, and tax values to the new document, eliminating re-entry errors. If the scope changes after the estimate, you can edit the invoice before saving the conversion.

Industry: Interior Design — A Bangalore interior design firm sends estimates to clients before every project. Each estimate has a 15-day validity. When the client accepts, the team converts it to a Sales Order in Zoho Books to track material procurement against the project, and later raises milestone invoices from the same order.
What is an Estimate in Zoho Books?

An estimate in Zoho Books is a formal price quote sent to a customer before a sale is confirmed. It lists items, quantities, rates, applicable taxes, and total amount, and can be converted into a sales order or invoice once the customer accepts.

How do I convert an estimate to an invoice in Zoho Books?

Open the accepted estimate, click Convert to Invoice, review the details, and save. Zoho Books creates a new invoice pre-filled with all items and amounts from the estimate and links both documents.

Need help implementing this in Zoho?

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