Overview
Use the Estimates settings to configure how estimates behave across your account, from attachment handling and margin controls to online Estimate presentation and deposit collection. Each settings page controls a specific aspect of the estimate workflow.
To access Estimates settings, go to the top toolbar and click Settings, then in the side panel, go to Estimates.
Who uses this feature
Office employees
Applies to all business types
Applies to all trades
Feature configuration
Permission is required to access these settings pages. Please contact the account administrator for your team.
Estimates settings pages
Coming ST-80
General
The General page contains the Exclude pricebook images from estimate attachments toggle.
By default, pricebook item images are automatically saved as attachments on estimates when you add those items. If your team does not need stock photos and catalog images on estimate and Job attachments, turn this toggle on.
When the toggle is on:
Pricebook images are not saved as attachment records on new estimates.
Pricebook images still render in Estimate Presentation for customers.
If Copy job/location estimate attachments over to job is enabled in Settings > Operations > Booking Sold Estimate, only non-pricebook attachments carry over to the booked job.
Non-pricebook attachments (site photos, findings, manually uploaded files) are not affected.
The setting applies going forward only. Existing estimates retain any pricebook image attachments that were previously saved.
Sales Margin Control
Set minimum profit margins for estimates to protect gross margin and prevent underpriced jobs. You can define a global minimum margin and override it with role-based limits for specific employee roles.
For more, see Set up and use Sales Margin Control.
Estimate Deposit
Enable deposit collection through online estimates in the Customer Portal. You can set a global deposit percentage that customers must pay when accepting estimates online, and override the percentage on individual estimates when sending.
For more, see Collect payment in online estimates.
Online Estimates
Configure how estimates are displayed in the Customer Portal. You can choose between a PDF-based view and a line-item view that shows services, equipment, and pricebook images directly on the screen.
For more, see Set up Online Estimates View Preferences.
Structures
Set up structures to organize estimate line items by property area for insurance estimate workflows. Structures let you scope damage by area, such as a dwelling or detached garage, and integrate with Xactimate.
For more, see Set up insurance estimates.
Related settings
The following settings are under Settings > Operations but directly affect estimate behavior.
Booking Sold Estimate
Control whether jobs booked from sold estimates automatically inherit the estimate summary and attachments. When enabled, this reduces manual copy/pasting of summaries and reattaching files when converting estimates to jobs.
For more, see Update Booking Sold Estimate settings.