Help Centre › Money

Quotes & estimates

Price up a procedure before it happens, send it to the owner, and turn the one they agree to straight into the consultation or admission — without typing the lines twice.

A quote prices work before it is done. You build the lines, the owner sees what it will cost, and the work starts once they agree. When they do, the consultation or admission is built from the quote, so what they agreed to and what you invoice are the same lines.

Building a quote, with the running total at the top.

Where	What it does
The quote screen	Pick the items, set a validity date, and price it up.
Give it to the client	Print it, or send a link they can open on their phone.
Their answer	They accept or decline online, or you record what they said.
Turn it into work	One button creates the consultation or admission, with every line on it.

Note

A quote charges nothing. It does not appear on the client's account, reserve stock or earn commission. The consultation or admission it becomes is charged when you finish it, as usual.

Switching quotes on#

Who can do this

Practice administrator.

Settings›Practice Settings›Features & Modules

Quotes are off until you turn them on. Switch on Quotes in the Optional Features card and save. The quote screens then appear for your staff. Quotes you send appear on the client's Estimates page in the client portal.

Build the quote#

Who can do this

Doctors, receptionists and groomers.

Client›a patient›Quotes›New quote

A quote is always for one patient. Open the client, press Quotes on the patient, then New quote.

The same list shows every quote for the patient, newest first, with its total and status.

Every quote for one patient, with its total and status.

Fill in What this quote is for. The owner sees this, so be specific — "Ovariohysterectomy — dog 15-25kg" rather than "Quote 3".
Add lines from the price picker, just as on a consultation. Protocols, materials, procedures and lab work all work the same way.
Check Valid until. A new quote is valid for 14 days; change the date, or clear it if the quote should not lapse.
Set an Allowance (%) if the cost could reasonably change — see below.
Press Save.

The total updates as you add lines. It is the figure on the printed quote and on the client's copy.

Note

A protocol is quoted once. The quote shows the protocol charge, with the items it covers listed underneath as included, just as on a consultation.

The allowance, and why you might want one#

The Allowance (%) field prints the total as a range. Enter 15 and a R2,790.00 quote prints as “R2,790.00 – R3,208.50”, with a line saying you will phone before going past the top of the range.

Leave it blank for a single figure. Use an allowance where the cost could change once work starts — a dental where you cannot tell how many extractions are needed until the animal is under.

Tip

Keep the range realistic. Owners remember the lower number.

Give it to the client#

Press Print/Send when the quote is ready. The Send Quote screen offers:

Print — the quote as a PDF, to hand over the counter.
Email or Send text — to the address or number on the client's record.
Send on WhatsApp or Copy link — the owner opens the quote on their phone, with Yes, go ahead and No, not for now buttons underneath.
The client portal — registered clients see it under Estimates.

The Send Quote screen and the ways of sending the quote.

Once the quote has been sent by any of these, its status moves from Draft to Awaiting reply and it appears on the Quotes awaiting reply tile on the home screen. Opening the Send Quote screen without sending changes nothing.

You can still correct a sent quote until the client answers. After that it is locked; if the price has to change, make a new quote.

Note

Changing a sent quote puts it back to Draft, so send it again afterwards. If the client has already opened the link, that link is withdrawn — they see "This link is no longer available" — and sending again gives them a new link with the new figure. Pressing Save without changing anything does neither.

Their answer#

What the owner sees on their phone: the estimate, then the two buttons.

The quote records how the answer arrived:

How they answered	What is recorded
Online, from the link	The name they typed, the date, and the address they answered from.
In the client portal	Their name from their account, and the date.
At the counter or on the phone	The name you type in, the date, and that a staff member recorded it.

To record an answer yourself, open the quote and use the What the client said panel. The name is filled in with the account holder — change it if somebody else agreed — then press Accept or Decline.

Note

The panel appears once the quote has been sent, on the quote and on the Send Quote screen. If the owner is at the desk, print or send the quote first.

A Declined quote is one the owner said no to; an Expired one passed its validity date without an answer.

Turn it into the work#

Who can do this

Doctors, receptionists and groomers, on an accepted quote.

Once a quote is accepted, two buttons appear: Start consultation and Admit to hospital. Either creates the record with every quoted line already on it.

Start consultation creates a consultation for the patient. Finish and charge it as usual.
Admit to hospital admits the patient and puts the quoted work on the first day of the stay.

Note

Nothing is charged until the consultation or admission is finished. A quote can be converted only once.

When your prices have moved since you quoted#

Converting prices the lines from today's price list, not from the quote.

If any price has changed, the quote screen lists those lines after conversion — what each was quoted at, what it costs now, and the difference. The list stays on screen.

After converting: the lines whose price changed since the quote.

To honour the quoted price, apply a discount on the consultation for the difference. Otherwise, phone the owner before you finish the invoice. If nothing has changed, no list appears.