Estimate Stages

An Estimate Stage is a customizable category that lets you track where an estimate is in the acceptance process. Stages can be helpful in many ways:

• Consider the stage of current estimates to project revenue
• Find out what Estimates have been won and are now ready to be scheduled
• Build automation triggers based on the estimate stage

Stages apply to the entire estimate, while the Status applies to individual line items.

Four stages come pre-built in SA:

• Closed – Lost
• Closed – Won
• Draft
• Estimate Sent

The system automatically assigns these stages as estimates pass through the process. You can create additional stages to assign to individual estimates. You can also edit the default stages that SA supplies.

For example, you might change the default name from “Closed – Won” to “Won – Needs Scheduling” so that when you win an estimate, it'll automatically be assigned to this stage. This stage serves as a reminder to your team. Once it’s scheduled, it can be changed to something like, “Won and Done.”

Add or Edit Estimate Stages

You can add or edit an Estimate Stage using the same process shown here:

1. Go to Settings > CRM > Estimate Stages.
2. Click the Add Estimate Stage button. This will open the Add Estimate Stage overlay.
3. In the Overlay, fill in a name, such as “Won - Needs Scheduling.” 
   
   
   
   
4. Enter a Status that corresponds to the Stage.
5. Assign a Probability (see below for more information).
6. Use the Event Tags tab if you need to assign any Tags to the Estimate Stage, such as for use with Automations that are triggered by Estimate Stage. 
   
   
   
   
7. Click Save when finished.

After creating new Estimate Stages, when you go to the Estimate List screen, you can filter by any stage.

Assign Probability in Estimate Stages

In the Add Estimate Stage overlay, you can add your judgment on the likelihood that you’ll win the estimate as a percentage using the Probability field. We do not offer any guidelines on how to figure this out as this can vary widely from Member to member.

Here is an example: your client has verbally confirmed they will accept the estimate. Because you have a high confidence level, you might assign a 95 percent probability of winning the estimate. You might label this stage as “Sent – Hot” and make similar stages for different levels of probability, like “Sent – Warm” and “Sent – Cold.” You can then filter the Estimates screen by stage to help with planning.

Pro-Tips for Stages

• Change the “Won” estimate stage to “Won – Needs Scheduling” so you can search these quickly.
• Automations can be triggered by stages. For instance, you might trigger a Ticket for estimates that reach the stage “Won – Follow Up.” For more information, see the Automations User Guide.
• Don’t delete lost estimates. Contact them in a month or a quarter in case they are not satisfied with the company they chose. On the Estimate List screen, you can do a bulk edit on estimates with a “Lost” stage and change that stage to “Lost – Re-contact.”