How to Create, Send, and Approve Estimates

Before you start

• A client with an email address
• Default markup/tax set in Settings → Estimates

Build the estimate

1. Open Estimates → New Estimate and pick the client and project address.
2. Add sections (Demo, Plumbing, Finishes) and line items inside each section. SiteView totals everything, including markup.
3. Attach photos, plans, or scope documents from the Attachments panel.

Send and get approval

1. Click Send and choose how the client receives it — email link or downloaded PDF.
2. The client opens the link, reviews each line, and signs with an e-signature in their browser. No login required.
3. Once approved, SiteView converts the estimate into a project so you can start project costing.

Follow the estimate while the client decides

• The status moves on its own: draft while you build, sent when it leaves, viewed the first time your client opens it, then approved or rejected.
• Every client view is recorded on the estimate, so you know whether a quiet client has actually read it before you follow up.
• Preview as client shows the exact page they will open — sections, selection options, totals, and the approval controls — before you send it.
• You can email the approval link from SiteView or copy it and send it yourself; either way the link belongs to that one estimate and client.

What approval and signing lock in

• The client approves and signs in their browser — no account, no password. When they have already agreed in person, you can record the approval yourself from the estimate.
• Approval captures the signed scope, the totals, and the options the client chose as the agreed contract amount.
• Once approved the estimate locks: line items, pricing, and selections stop being editable so the signed price cannot drift.
• Required selections must be answered before the estimate can be approved, so nothing is signed with an open decision in it.

After approval — the project appears on its own

• Approval creates the project for you. Nothing is re-typed, and the approved estimate stays attached to it.
• The project keeps the sold scope on its own tab; schedule, project costing, change orders, and invoices all measure against it.
• New or changed work after approval goes on a change order, which adjusts the contract amount and leaves the signed estimate intact.
• Build reusable templates in Catalog → Line Item Templates to speed up future estimates.

Troubleshooting

Related guides

• How Client Selections and Allowances Work
• How to Use Project Costing
• How to Create an Invoice and Download the PDF
• Markup vs. Margin: A Contractor's Guide to Pricing Jobs