Question

My estimates are automatically creating invoices with pmt due upon acceptance

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
March 14, 2022
4 replies
0 views

I'm a little confused on how the estimate feature is supposed to work. When I create an estimate and send it to a customer, they can accept it. If they do, I expect to have a "confirmed" estimate or something like that. Instead, I get an invoice auto created with payment due. This is not what I would expect from this feature. Can I make the system NOT auto generate an invoice on an accepted estimate? I'd like to create the invoice AFTER the work and not before.

QuickBooks Online

C

CharleneMaeF

Thanks for choosing QuickBooks in managing your sales transactions, alext-pobox-com. I'm here to share some insights about how estimates work.

If your customer accepts your estimate by paying a deposit online, a partially paid invoice will be created automatically. The transaction will default to Net 30 payment terms (even if you have a different global setting like Due on receipt or Net 15).

You can modify the due date to make sure the invoice is accurate. Here's how:

Go to Get paid & pay and select Invoices.
Find and select the invoice, then select Edit invoice.
Select the Invoice date field and enter a date in the future that is close to the time work will be completed.
Click Save.

For more details about this, please see this article: Request and Accept Deposits on Estimates.

If you're not using QuickBooks Payments, you can manually convert the estimates to invoices after the work is done. When the customer accepts the estimate, QuickBooks will automatically update the status for you. However, this won't automatically create an invoice.

To learn more about recording estimates in QuickBooks Online, I'd suggest checking out these resources:

Additionally, I've included these articles that'll help you manage your sales transactions in QuickBooks Online. This way, you'll be able to make sure your record is accurate:

I'm only a few clicks away if you need assistance with your other QuickBooks tasks, alext-pobox-com. It's always my pleasure to help you out again.

A

alext-pobox-comAuthor

My customer did not pay a deposit. All they did was accept the estimate. When they did, QB created an invoice with the amount due. For previous estimates this did not happen, the estimate status was just changed to "accepted" which is what I would expect. I'm not sure why it decided to automatically create an invoice this time. It can't be random, there must be a setting somewhere I changed to make it do this. Any ideas how to undo it?

E

Ethel_A12

Hello there, @alext-pobox-com. I'll walk you through deleting an invoice linked to an estimate and recreating them.

The status of an estimate will not reset to Pending if an invoice linked is deleted. It will, however, show as Accepted. You don't have to be concerned; you can recreate the invoice and link it to the same estimate. I can show you how to go about doing it.

Here's how:

Go to the Sales menu.
Choose the Customers tab.
Double-click on the name of the customer.
Locate the estimate you want to work.
From the Actions column, click the Create Invoice link.
Set the amount to the invoice.
Click the Create Invoice button.
Review the invoice details.
Hit Save and Close.

Once you've tied an estimate to an invoice, the estimate will be Closed. Check for thorough instructions in this article: Set up and send progress invoices in QuickBooks Online.

Always feel free to leave your comments below if you have other questions about managing and converting your estimates.

A

Arif3

Unless I am missing something, I think I have the same question:

am struggling with thinking there has got to be a way for Quickbooks to quickly turn an estimate into multiple purchase orders to multiple vendors (this before you bill the customer because you cannot bill a customer for something that has not shipped). Why select a preferred vendor for a product if you cannot utilize that information by automatically creating a PO to the vendor.

So in case I am not being clear. Say I have an estimate for a customer who wants a bunch of different books from different publishers. I send them the quote. Then they place the order. I would then send POs to as many as ten different publishers. Obviously, these books are not going to all ship at the same time.

I would like to be able to invoice the customer piecemeal when I find out that the items were shipped to the customer.

It doesn't seem like I can do this, but there has to be a way right?

K

Kurt_M

Thanks for joining the thread, @Arif3. I'll share some details about your concern so you can get through this and complete your tasks in your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account.

I understand how important it is to be able to turn an estimate into multiple purchase orders to different vendors in QBO. As of now, the feature you're trying to access in QBO is currently unavailable. However, you can manually create multiple estimates and then copy each of your estimates to your purchase orders so you can select an item you're going to order from a specific vendor.

Refer to this article for more information: Copy an estimate to a purchase order.

If you wish to add this feature to QuickBooks, I'll input the steps below so you can send a feature request to our Product Development Team. This way, they'll see your request and consider adding it to future product updates. To begin, here's how:

Access your QuickBooks Online company.
In the upper-right corner, click the Gear icon.
Under the Profile column, select Feedback.
Enter a brief description of your product suggestion. and then click Next.
Type your email address.
Once done, click Send Message.

Additionally, here's an article in case you'd like to personalized your sales forms to match it with your business here in QBO: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

You can also check this page to learn more about customizing a report in QuickBooks to show you the data you need for your business: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

@Arif3, if there's anything else that you'd like me to help you with, know that you can always post here in the Community. Rest assured, I've got your back, and I'll be there to help you resolve your queries. Take care, and have a good one.

B

Bill TTC

I spoke with someone from QB and they said there was a recent upgrade that causes estimates to automatically convert to invoices even if you have online payments turned off. So now with every estimate that is accepted I have to go in and delete the invoice it created. What a pain. QB needs to fix this "fix" ASAP.

G

GenelleS

Has a solution been found yet for this issue?

We just converted to QBO in Novemeber 2022. This week I found an estimate was converted to an invoice. I spoke to someone at QB and they assured me that a customer would have to contact us to accept an estimate. Furthermore, I would have to change the status to accepted and create an invoice. I did up a test estimate for myself. I was able to accept it and in QB it automatically changed the status to accepted and created an invoice which was emailed to me. We can't email our customers invoices prior to the product shipping. This is a major problem and the rep I spoke to obviously didn't have a clue what they were talking about. Has anyone found a solution to this? Thanks!

J

JamaicaA

Hi there, @GenelleS.

I can see the challenges that you've been through on figuring out how estimates works in the program. I also appreciate you reaching out to our Support Team, and I wish I could help you better.

Accepted estimates with deposits are now automatically converted to invoices using a new feature in QuickBooks. However, it didn't indicate that accepted estimates without deposits will likewise auto-convert to bills. If this isn’t the case, please clarify the issue you mentioned below.

The option to not email the invoice prior to product shipment is currently unavailable. With this, I’d recommend sending feedback request to our product development team. They look through them to determine what we need to implement moving forward to provide the best QuickBooks experience.

Here’s how:

Go to the Gear icon.
Under the Profile column, click on Feedback.
Share your feedback. Then, click Next.

You'll want to track your suggestion through this website. You can also visit our blog to keep up with all of our recent events and developments.

Feel free to read these articles about estimates in the program:

I've also included these resources that'll guide you with managing your sales transactions, so we can ensure that your record is accurate:

In case you have other follow-up questions about estimates and invoices, don’t hesitate to share them with me. I’d be delighted to work with you again. Keep safe.

A

Areid1

I need a call back at XXX-XXX-XXXX

AlverMarkT

Hi, @Areid1. I'm here to help.

I understand this to be an urgent matter. Let me route you again to our support team to ask for updates on your concern. Here's how:

1. In your QuickBooks Online company, go to Help (?).

2. Select either of these tabs:

Assistant tab and type Talk to a human.
Search tab and click on Contact us to connect with a support expert.

3. Choose how you want to reach us (phone or chat).

We are available to provide support from Monday to Friday, starting at 6 AM until 6 PM PT, and on Saturdays, starting at 6 AM until 3 PM PT. Moreover, we offer advanced support that is available 24/7 for your convenience. If you need to have an urgent call or can't access your account, you can browse their phone contact details: QuickBooks Online Support.

It would help us also if you could detail your concern about converting an estimate to an invoice. For now, let me add this guide customizing your estimates and invoices according to the information that matters to you the most: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

Let us know if you have updates on your concern about converting an invoice to an estimate. We'll do our best to assist. Take care.

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