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Help Center › Admin screens, field by field › Quote builder: customer, design and estimate lines
Quote builder: customer, design and estimate lines
Every box in the first half of the quote: project name, customer, design pictures, sections and cost lines.
On this page
Contractor Hub → Quotes → new quote (or the + menu → Quote, or Start a quote from a customer or measurement). The quote has steps: 1. Customer & property, 2. The design (before & after), 3. Estimate → two quotes. Roles need the quote rights; a signed quote is locked.
The estimate step makes two views from one set of numbers: Job cost (internal) for you, and Customer proposal for the customer. This article covers the project name, customer, design pictures and the Job cost lines. The proposal text, payments and terms are in the next article.
Before you start
- Add the customer first (the quote will not save without one). Your labor rate, markups, overhead, tax and deposit % come from Settings → Costs and markups and Price book.
- Those shipped defaults are placeholders, not approved; set your own.
Fields
Header
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Project name (title) |
The quote title. Used in lists, emails ({project_name}) and on the proposal. | e.g. Front Yard Renovation. If blank when saving it becomes “Landscape project”. | Blank |
| Save | Saves the quote. Disabled once signed. |
1. Customer & property
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Choose customer / Change (client_id) |
Opens a search by name, phone or address. Picking sets the quote’s customer and property. | Type a few letters and pick. Customers with several properties ask which one. | |
| + New customer | Opens the Customer form; the new customer is attached to the quote. | ||
Property (prop_id) |
Shown only when the customer has more than one property. Chooses which property the quote is for (its address, photos, slope and measured plan). | Pick one. | First property |
2. The design (before & after)
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use one of my designs | Opens your saved VisionScaper designs; the chosen design’s pictures, plants and features come into the quote. | ||
Before photo (design.before) |
Uploads the “Before” picture shown on the proposal. | Choose a photo. | |
Design picture (design.after) |
Uploads the design/”after” picture. | Choose an image. |
3. Estimate buttons
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add service | Opens the service picker: from a template, from a previous job, or from scratch. Template sections remember the template and version. | ||
| Create Quote Manually / + Add another section | Adds an empty section with one Material line and one Labor line. | ||
| Quote it with AI | Opens the AI dialog described below. | ||
| Use the Landscape plan’s quantities | Shown only when the property has a measured plan; rebuilds sections from it (asks before replacing). | ||
| Polish wording with AI | Rewrites section titles, scope text and an introduction without touching numbers. |
Quote it with AI (pop-up)
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
What’s the job? (description) |
Your description; the AI lists work and sizes. Prices always come from your own price book. | Write 1-2 sentences with sizes, what to remove, build and plant. | Filled from the request brief when there is one |
Use the measurements (useM) |
Appears when the property has measurements; the AI uses the exact square footage. | Tick to use. | On when measurements exist |
Use the customer’s design (useD) |
Appears when the design has plants; sends the plant list. | Tick to use. | On when a design exists |
| Create the quote with AI | Builds sections (asks before replacing existing ones). |
Job cost (internal) tab – per section
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Section title (title) |
Name of the work section; shown on the proposal. | e.g. Foundation bed. | New section |
Optional add-on (optional) |
Makes the section optional; the customer can pick it when signing and it shows its own price. | Tick for extras. | Off |
Include (included) |
Unticked sections are left out of the proposal and totals but kept in the quote. | On | |
| Move up / Delete section | Reorders or removes the section (delete asks to confirm). | ||
| Save as template / Update template / Unlink | Turns the section into a service template, updates the linked template, or removes an AI match. | ||
Type (kind) |
Cost category of the line; each category has its own markup. | Pick one. Choices: Material; Labor; Equipment; Subcontractor; Disposal; Delivery; Other. | Material |
Item (name) |
What the line is. | e.g. Boxwood 3 gal. | |
Qty (qty) |
Quantity. Lines marked as needing a quantity glow until filled. | Number. | 1 |
Unit (unit) |
Unit label. | e.g. ea, hr, sq ft. | ea |
Unit cost (unitCost) |
Your cost for one unit. For Labor lines the crew rate button replaces it: tapping the “$/hr” button lets you set a different rate for just that line. | Your cost, not the customer price. | 0 (Labor uses your labor rate) |
| Remove line / + Add line | Deletes or adds a line. | ||
Price (per section) (priceOverride) |
The customer price for this section. Starts at the calculated price; change it to set your own; a “reset” link returns to the calculated one. | Type the final price you want. | Calculated |
Discount $ (discount) |
A dollar discount taken off the estimate total. | Whole dollars, e.g. 250. | 0 |
Totals strip (read-only)
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your cost / Price / Gross profit / Tax / Customer total / Deposit / Crew hours | Live numbers worked out from the lines, your markups, overhead, tax and deposit %. Gross profit turns red under 25%. A minimum job charge adds a note. | Nothing to enter; change rates in Settings → Costs and markups. | Placeholder defaults, not approved |
Steps
- Open a new quote. Press Choose customer, search, and pick the person and property.
- Type the Project name.
- Add the Before photo and Design picture, or press Use one of my designs.
- Press Add service (templates), Create Quote Manually, or Quote it with AI.
- On the Job cost (internal) tab, set each section Title, then each line’s Type, Item, Qty, Unit and Unit cost.
- Tick Optional add-on for extras. Change a section Price only if you want your own number.
- Add a Discount $ if needed and check the totals strip.
- Press Save. Then continue with the Customer proposal tab.
If something goes wrong
- “Choose a customer first.” means the quote has no customer yet.
- If lines glow, a price or quantity is missing; fill it or the total will be low.
- A “changed since you opened” message means someone else saved the quote; it reloads. Re-apply your edit.
- A signed quote is read-only; make a copy or a change order instead.