Estimate Templates

Estimate templates let you save a reusable set of line items, currency, discount and description, then spin up a new estimate from that saved structure instead of rebuilding it each time. They are useful when you quote the same package repeatedly — a standard onboarding bundle, a fixed service tier, or a recurring retainer.

A template is a standalone record: it is not attached to a client and it does not carry an estimate number or a Valid Till date. Those are filled in when you turn the template into a real estimate.

Who can use it

• Users whose role grants the add estimates permission see the Estimate Template button and can create templates.
• Editing and deleting a template follow your edit estimates and delete estimates permissions, including the scoped variants (only records you added, or records added by others).

Prerequisites

• Understand how estimates themselves work — see Creating an Estimate — because a template pre-fills the same line-item grid.
• If you want to pick items from your catalogue rather than typing them, add them first under Sales → Products (Adding Products).

How to Access

1. Go to Sales → Estimates (/account/estimates).
2. Click Estimate Template in the toolbar above the estimates list.
3. The template list opens at /account/estimate-template, showing ID, Name, Total and Date columns with a per-row actions menu.

Creating a template

Click the create action on the template list to open the template form.

Step 1 — Name and currency

Step 2 — Add line items

You can add items in two ways:

• From your product catalogue — use the product picker, optionally narrowing it with the product-category filter, or add a new product inline.
• Manually — type directly into the item row.

Each row supports: item name, item description, quantity, unit type, unit price, tax selection (multiple taxes per row), an optional item image, and an auto-calculated amount. An HSN/SAC column also appears if HSN/SAC codes are switched on in your finance settings.

Step 3 — Discount and totals

Enter a discount value and choose whether it is a percentage or a fixed amount. The sub total and total are calculated for you as you edit rows.

Step 4 — Save

Save the template. It appears in the template list and stays available until you delete it.

Creating an estimate from a template

1. On the template list, open the row's actions menu (three-dot icon).
2. Choose Create Estimate. The estimate form opens pre-filled from the template — currency, description, line items (including item images), and the discount type (% or amount).
3. Fill in the estimate-specific fields that a template cannot hold: Client, Project, Valid Till, Calculate Tax, the discount value, and the estimate's Note for recipient and Terms and Conditions.
4. Adjust quantities, rates or rows as needed, then Save or Save As Draft.

The template itself is unchanged by this — editing the estimate afterwards never writes back to the template.

Managing templates

From the row actions menu you can:

• View — open the template's detail page.
• Create Estimate — as above.
• Edit — change the name, currency, description, items or discount.
• Delete — remove the template. Estimates already created from it are untouched, because the estimate is a full copy, not a live link.

Effect on other features

• Estimates — an estimate built from a template behaves exactly like any other estimate: it is auto-numbered in the EST#00 format (configurable under Finance Settings → Prefix Settings) and follows the same accept/decline and conversion flow.
• Conversion — an estimate is only marked converted when you use the Convert button on the estimate itself. Creating a separate invoice manually for the same client or project does not link back and does not change the estimate's status.
• Tax — the Calculate Tax setting (before or after discount) is chosen per document. The template form has no Calculate Tax field, so set it on each estimate you create.
• Notifications — if Slack notifications are enabled for your company, the Estimate event can post to your Slack channel when estimates are created; see Slack.

Limitations

• No "save as template" from an existing estimate. Templates are built in the template form only. Workaround: open the estimate you want to reuse, then re-enter its items once in a new template — after that every future quote starts from the template.
• No template picker inside the estimate form. You cannot switch an in-progress estimate to a template. Workaround: start from the template list and use Create Estimate on the template row, which opens the estimate form already populated.
• Templates do not store client, project, Valid Till, Calculate Tax, note for recipient or terms. Workaround: keep your standard terms text handy (for example in Workspace → Knowledge Base) and paste it in, or put the wording you always use in the template's Description, which does carry across.
• The discount value does not carry over — only the discount type does. Workaround: note the standard discount in the template's Description so whoever builds the estimate re-enters the same figure, or apply the discount as a priced line item instead, which does carry across.
• Editing a template is not retroactive. Existing estimates keep the values they were created with. Workaround: update the template for future quotes, and edit any open estimate individually if the change must apply now.

Troubleshooting

I do not see the Estimate Template button. It renders only for roles with the add-estimates permission. Ask a company admin to review your role's estimate permissions.

Edit or Delete is missing on a template row. Those actions respect scoped permissions — for example, "only records I added". If the template was created by a colleague, ask them or an admin to change it.

The template will not save. Name, and at least one valid line item, are required; quantity, unit price and amount must all be numeric and the item name cannot be blank. Fix the flagged row and save again.

The discount box is empty on the estimate I just created from a template. Only the discount type (% or amount) carries across; re-enter the discount value on the estimate. The sub total and total recalculate as soon as you type it.

The estimate created from a template still shows as open. That is expected until you press Convert on the estimate. See Creating an Estimate.

Related Articles

• Creating an Estimate
• Sending Estimates
• Estimate Requests
• Adding Products
• Proposal Templates