Create an Estimate from Scratch

Skip the Calculator and build a quick estimate by hand — pick the client and project, add your own line items and prices on the proposal, choose the tax, and send it.

A from-scratch estimate is a quick way to quote a job without the Calculator. Instead of picking work areas and price book items and letting the pricing engine work out the price, you type in each line item and its price yourself, right on the proposal. It’s a good fit for small jobs, one-off work, or anything your price book doesn’t cover.

If you don’t see the From Scratch option when you click New Estimate, it isn’t turned on for your workspace. Proposals also need to be turned on for your branch, because a from-scratch estimate is built on its proposal.

Video: Creating Estimates and Proposals from Scratch (2:46)

Who can create one

Admins, Ops Managers, Sales Admins, Sales Members, and Client Coordinators can create from-scratch estimates and add, edit, and remove their line items. Crew Leaders and Crew Members can’t.

Start a from-scratch estimate

1. Click New Estimate

   Go to Estimates from the main navigation and click New Estimate in the top-right corner. The Create Estimate window opens.

   You can also start from a client or project: open the Create New menu and choose New Estimate. When you start from a project, the client and project are already filled in and the window skips straight to the next step.

2. Choose the client and project

   Pick the Client, then the Project the estimate belongs to. The project list fills in once a client is selected. Click Continue.

3. Choose From Scratch

   You’ll see two cards:

   • From Pricebook — “Use items from your branch workspace.” This opens the Calculator, with the client and project already filled in. See Create an estimate with the Calculator.
   • From Scratch — “Create items from scratch for a quick proposal.”

   Select From Scratch and click Continue. Use Back to change the client or project.

   If your plan doesn’t include the price book and Calculator — for example, on a free trial — the From Pricebook card isn’t shown, so From Scratch is your only option and choosing it takes you straight to the proposal.

4. Land on the proposal

   Menaia creates a blank In Progress estimate for the project and opens its proposal. The Service Breakdown section says No items added yet, with an Add Item button.

From-scratch estimates count toward your branch’s limit on open estimates, just like Calculator estimates. If you’ve hit the limit, wrap up a few open estimates before starting a new one.

Add a line item

Click Add Item to open the Add Item window. From here you can reuse an item you’ve already set up, or create a new one.

Reuse an existing quick item

The list shows your workspace’s quick items, including any items created from scratch on earlier estimates. Type in Search items… to narrow it down, then click an item.

The form opens with the item’s name, unit type, cost, description, image, and Taxable Item setting filled in. Enter the quantity and price for this job. Anything you change here applies only to this estimate — the item in your price book stays the same.

Calculator items don’t appear in this list. They’re priced by the Calculator, so they’re only available on Calculator estimates.

Create a new item

Click Create New to open a blank New Item form. When you add the line, the new item is also saved to your price book as a quick item, so you can pick it again on future estimates.

Fill in the item form

• Image — for a new item, click the image box to upload a picture. It appears next to the line on the proposal. You can’t change an existing item’s image from here.
• Item Name — what the customer sees on the proposal.
• Unit Type — the unit the item is measured in, such as square feet or each.
• Unit — how many units this job needs, for example 300. This is the line’s quantity.
• Costs — what the item costs you.
• Total Price — the price for the whole line, before any discount. It isn’t multiplied by the quantity — the unit price is worked out for you.
• Markup % — your markup over Costs. Total Price and Markup % stay in step: change one and the other updates to match.
• Description — shown under the item on the client proposal.
• Discount — a percentage taken off this line.
• Taxable Item — turn on if tax applies to this line. See Choose the tax.

Click Add Item to add the line, or Cancel to close without saving. You’ll see “Item added” once it’s on the proposal.

To save, a line needs an Item Name, a Unit Type, a Unit greater than 0, and a Total Price greater than 0. If one is missing, a message appears under the field — for example, “Enter a total price greater than 0.”

Each item can only be on an estimate once. If you pick an item that’s already there, you’ll see “That item is already on the estimate” and “Edit the existing line instead of adding it again.” Use Edit Item on the existing line to change its quantity or price.

Edit, remove, and reorder lines

Once the proposal has items, each line shows its image, name, quantity, and — depending on your Client View Settings — its Unit Price and Total. Under each line you’ll find:

• Edit Item — reopens the item form with the line’s values. Change what you need and click Update Item.
• Delete Item — removes the line right away. Any photos or videos attached to that line are removed with it.
• Upload Media — attach photos or videos to that line. If the line has none yet, click Attach photos or videos for this line item.
• Add Item — on the last line, adds another item.

To change the order, drag a line by its handle on the left. Changes save as you go, and the Price Summary updates to match.

Choose the tax

The Price Summary below the Service Breakdown shows the Subtotal, a Tax row, and the Total Price.

A new from-scratch estimate starts with your branch’s default tax rate, or TaxJar if your branch uses it. To change it, open the selector in the Tax row and pick another saved rate, a tax group, or No Tax. Admins, Ops Managers, Sales Admins, and Sales Members can also choose Create new to add a tax rate without leaving the proposal.

Tax applies only to lines with Taxable Item turned on, after each line’s discount. For the full rules, see Sales tax.

When the estimate locks

You can add, edit, and remove lines and change the tax only while the estimate is In Progress and its proposal isn’t signed. After that, the proposal shows a read-only Service Breakdown:

• Sending the proposal moves the estimate to Released, which locks it. To make more changes, move the estimate back to In Progress — see Change an estimate’s status — then resend.
• A signed proposal stays locked. To change the scope after the customer signs, reopen the estimate for a change order — see Handle the customer’s response.

Things that work differently from Calculator estimates

• No Calculator. A from-scratch estimate always opens on its proposal. It can’t be opened in the Calculator, because there’s no Calculator pricing behind it.
• You set the prices. The price is exactly what you enter on each line. Branch pricing settings, multipliers, and factors don’t apply.
• Everything else is the same. You personalize, send, and track the proposal the same way — see Generate a proposal and Send a proposal.

What’s next

Send the proposal

Email the proposal to your customer with a secure link to review and sign.

Quick items

Set up reusable items to add to from-scratch estimates.