How to Build an Estimate in OpslyFlow
Eight steps. About five minutes. From an empty screen to an estimate sitting in your client's inbox.
Quotes win jobs. Slow quotes lose them.
A clean, professional estimate sitting on the kitchen table beats a hand-scribbled number every time. With OpslyFlow you build one in the time it takes the homeowner to pour a coffee. No double entry. No "I'll email it tonight." No losing the job to the contractor who quoted faster.
Look like the pro you are
Branded PDF estimates with your business name, address, and line items. No more Word documents from 2014.
Quote in the truck
Catalog your common services once. After that, building an estimate is mostly clicking.
One-click to work order
When they say yes, the estimate becomes a work order. Same data, no retyping.
Email straight from OpslyFlow
Send from inside the app. No PDF attachments, no zipped files, no "did you get my email?"
Before you start
- You're logged in to OpslyFlow (any role except Technician can build estimates).
- Have the client's basic info handy: name, email or phone, and the service address.
- If your common services are in the Catalog already, this gets faster. If not, you can save them as you go.
What you'll do
- 1Open the Estimates moduleFrom the left navigation
- 2Start a new estimateOne button, top right
- 3Pick or create the clientNo leaving the form to add someone new
- 4Set dates and PO numberExpiration date plus PO for commercial jobs
- 5Add line itemsFrom your Catalog or build new ones
- 6Apply tax (and discount, if any)Live preview of the totals
- 7Add notesClient-facing and internal
- 8Preview and sendEmail it straight from OpslyFlow
1Step 1 of 8Open the Estimates module
Open the Estimates module
From the left side of the screen, click Estimates. The top of the page shows two numbers worth knowing: total pipeline value (every open estimate added up) and total count (how many are in the system). The list on the left holds your estimates with Activity and All tabs and a search box.
If this is your first time here, you'll see "No active estimates" and a prompt to create one. That's normal.
Estimates
$1,867 pipeline · 3 estimates
The pipeline number at the top is the money you've got coming — every estimate that's still open. Use it to gut-check how much work is lined up before you quote more.
Start a new estimate
Click the blue + New estimate button in the top-right corner. OpslyFlow drops you straight into the Create Estimate form with a Draft tag at the top. There are three sections to fill out: Estimate Info, Line Items, and Notes.
Create Estimate
DraftYou can start an estimate even when you don't have all the info yet. Get the structure down, close the tab (it saves itself), come back later. The pipeline picks up where you left off.
Pick the client (or create one on the spot)
Click the Select Client dropdown and start typing. If they're already in your system, click their name and you're done. If they're new, OpslyFlow shows a + Create option right in the dropdown. No bailing out to the Clients module and coming back.
Click + Create and a Create New Client modal opens with the name filled in for you. Add email, phone, and that's the bare minimum to save. Hit Create Client and the new client is attached to the estimate.
If you're in a hurry, just add the name and phone number. You can fill in the address later from the Clients module. Don't let "needing more info" stop you from getting the quote out today.
Once you create the client, they're saved permanently to your Clients module. Double-check the spelling of the business name — it shows up on every PDF that goes out the door.
Set dates, salesperson, and PO number
In the Estimate Info section, four fields to think about:
- Estimate Date.
- Auto-fills to today. Leave it unless you're back-dating something.
- Expiration Date.
- Set this. Material prices move. An expiration date tells the client "this number is good until X" and protects you from honoring a quote three months later when copper is up 22 percent.
- PO Number.
- Optional. Commercial clients almost always need one, and they'll want it printed on the invoice PDF when the work's done. Property managers, GCs, and facilities teams: ask for it now.
- Sales Person.
- If your business credits a salesperson on jobs, pick them here. Shows on reports and helps you track who's bringing in what.
Default your expiration dates to 30 days unless prices might swing (big material spend, copper- or steel-heavy work). Long enough for the client to decide. Short enough to keep them moving.
Add line items from your Catalog
Click Add Line Item. The modal that opens has a Description field that doubles as a search of your Catalog. Start typing and matching services pop up with their prices.
Click a suggestion and the modal fills itself in: Description, Unit Price, the Taxable toggle, and any default notes. Bump Quantity to whatever the job calls for and the Line Total updates as you type. Hit Add Item to save it onto the estimate. For a one-off, type a fresh description and price; if you'll quote it again, tick Save to catalog before adding.
Spend 20 minutes once and load your top 15 services into the Catalog with your real prices. After that, every estimate is 80 percent done before you've added a single number.
Apply tax (and discount, if any)
Click Add Tax below the line items. The modal shows the subtotal, a Tax Rate field (defaults to 8 percent, edit to your local rate), and a live Tax Amount preview so you can see what's about to land on the bill.
Click Add. The totals area now shows Subtotal, Sales Tax (with a small Edit/Remove control), and Total. Add Discount works the same way; discounts apply to the subtotal before tax.
Only check the Taxable toggle on line items that should be taxed. In a lot of states, labor isn't taxable but parts are. If you mix the two on one line, you can't separate them later without a rewrite.
Add notes
Scroll to the Notes section. Two boxes:
- Client Notes.
- Show up on the PDF the client sees. Use this for terms, scope clarifications, what's included, what's not, payment expectations.
- Internal Notes.
- Private to your team. Site access info, watch-outs, who in the office quoted it, why the price is what it is. Never visible to the client.
Everything is auto-saving. Watch the header for the Saving indicator. No save button to hunt for.
Use Internal Notes to record why a price is what it is, especially for non-standard pricing. Six months later, when the client calls back for a similar job, you'll remember why you quoted what you quoted.
Preview and send
Click Preview Estimate in the top-right. This renders exactly what the client will see: your company in the From block, their info in the To block, dates, the line items table, totals, and the notes you marked client-visible.
Look it over like you're the homeowner getting it. When it looks right, click Send to Client and OpslyFlow emails it from your account. Need to tweak something? Back to Estimate returns you to the edit view with everything still in place.
Henderson HVAC & Plumbing
ESTIMATE
EST-002
Date: Jun 1, 2026
Bill to
Maria Gonzalez
maria.gonzalez@gmail.com
(512) 555-0112
From
Henderson HVAC & Plumbing
contact@hendersonhvac.com
(512) 555-0150
4500 Lamar Blvd, Austin TX
Notes
Estimate for client visit #2
The whole thing, on one page
Pin it above the office monitor. Hand it to a new hire on day one.
Common questions
What if the client wants to negotiate after I send it?
Open the estimate, click Duplicate from the kebab menu, tweak the numbers on the new draft, and send that one. The original stays on file so you have a record of what was originally quoted.
What's the difference between Client Notes and Internal Notes?
Client Notes print on the PDF and show up in the email. Internal Notes are private to your team and stay inside OpslyFlow. Always check before you send.
The estimate looks wrong when I previewed it. Where do I go back?
Click Back to Estimate at the top of the preview. Everything you've entered stays put.
When the client says yes, what happens next?
Open the estimate and click Convert to Work Order. Same client, same line items, same totals — now scheduled and assignable. Run the job, then convert the work order into an invoice with the same one-click move.
When the client says yes
Open the estimate and click Convert to Work Order. Same client, same line items, same numbers. From there you schedule, dispatch, and invoice without re-entering a single field.
Keep reading
The record that follows the truck from the driveway to the invoice — schedule, assign, run, and bill a job from one screen.
The calendar and dispatch board that turns a pile of work orders into a planned week — five views, a drag-to-assign board, and every tech's day in one place.
Turn finished work into a clean, branded invoice with a one-tap pay link — then track what's outstanding, overdue, and paid from one screen.