Estimate Requests
Estimate requests are a separate document type in PMSuite, tracked alongside estimates. They have their own auto-numbering sequence — the default prefix is ESTRQ#001 — so an incoming request keeps its own reference number independently of the estimate (EST#001) you eventually raise from it.
Who can use it: Company Admin and any user with access to the Sales module and estimate permissions.
Prerequisites
- The Estimates module must be enabled for your company (Estimates is one of the toggleable modules in Module Settings).
- To change the request numbering format, you need access to Settings → Finance Settings → Prefix Settings.
How to Access
- Estimates:
/account/estimates(Sales → Estimates) - Numbering for estimate requests: Settings → Finance Settings → Prefix Settings
- Notifications for estimate activity:
/account/settings/notifications(Notification Settings)
Numbering estimate requests
Estimate requests are numbered independently of every other document type. In Finance Settings → Prefix Settings you can customise each sequence separately:
| Document | Default format |
|---|---|
| Invoice | INV#001 |
| Credit Note | CN#001 |
| Estimate | EST#001 |
| Estimate Request | ESTRQ#001 |
| Order | ODR#001 |
| Proposal | Proposal#001 |
Changing the estimate request prefix does not affect estimate, invoice, or order numbering — each is set on its own.
Turning a request into an estimate
Once you have the request details, raise the estimate itself from Sales → Estimates. The estimate form covers:
- Header fields: Estimate Number, Valid Till, Currency, Client, Project, Calculate Tax.
- Line items: Product, Description, Quantity, Unit Price, Tax, Amount.
- Additional fields: Note for recipient, Terms and Conditions (free text).
- Save options: Save (finalized) or Save As Draft.
The Calculate Tax toggle lets you decide, per document, whether tax is calculated before or after the discount is applied.
See Creating an Estimate for the full walkthrough.
Staying informed
Estimate is one of the event types you can switch on in Notification Settings, so estimate activity can be routed to your team's notification channels — including Slack, which connects through an incoming webhook on the Slack tab of Notification Settings (one-way, PMSuite → Slack).
Effect on other features
- Estimates: requests and the estimates raised from them carry distinct reference numbers (
ESTRQvsEST). - Invoicing: use the Convert button on the estimate to turn it into an invoice, so a request that ends in an agreed estimate can move straight to billing.
- Conversion tracking: an estimate is only marked converted when you use the Convert button on the estimate itself.
Limitations
| Limitation | Workaround |
|---|---|
| Creating an invoice manually for the same client does not mark the originating estimate as converted, so a fulfilled request can still look open. | Always use the Convert button on the estimate to produce the invoice, so the status updates. |
| Client-facing custom statuses are not available — every viewer sees the same status values. | Use the estimate's Note for recipient and Terms and Conditions fields to add context, and log the need as a feature request via the roadmap page. |
| The client portal layout cannot be rearranged by drag and drop to give requests more prominence. | Use notifications (in-app, email, or Slack) to surface new estimate activity to your team, and submit the layout need as a feature request. |
Troubleshooting
New estimate requests are not numbered the way I expect.
Check Settings → Finance Settings → Prefix Settings; the estimate request sequence (ESTRQ#001 by default) is set independently of the estimate sequence.
An estimate raised from a request still shows as not converted. It was almost certainly billed with a manually created invoice. Only the Convert button on the estimate links the two records and updates the status.
Nobody on the team notices new estimate activity. Enable the Estimate event in Notification Settings, and — if you use Slack — configure the Slack webhook on the Slack tab there, then use Send Test Notification to confirm delivery.
A client cannot open the estimate you sent them. Check that the client record has Login Allowed and Receive Email Notifications set appropriately, and that Estimates is enabled for the Client user type in Module Settings. See Sending & Accepting Estimates for the delivery steps.