1. Podium
  2. Payments
  3. Setting Up Payments

Estimates and Quotes

With Podium, you can send estimates to your customers for approval and get paid for those estimates quickly and easily. See the guide below for how to get started.

How to create estimates in Podium

Option 1:  From the Contact Panel

  1. Create a contact (if the contact does not exist).  For help on creating a contact, view this article.  Contacts Page
  2. Click the b0.pngicon in the contact sidebar to launch the Estimate form              b1.png

Option 2:  From the Estimate Page within Payments

  1. Navigate to the Payment page and click on the Estimate tab in the right side panel.
  2. Click on Create Estimate to launch the Estimate form.                                            clearer.png      
  3. Fill out the form – add products / services, amount for each, and a description to inform the merchant about what’s in the Estimate form.
    -Negative prices can be added as well for discounts or offers by writing it as -$
  4. Click Next and write a message to your customer to send with the Estimate form.              b2.png
  5. Send the estimate to your customer. 
  6. Your customer has the option to Approve the estimate. Once it is approved, you will receive a notification in Podium in the Inbox and via Email.                                                                            b3.png

How to covert estimates into Payments

For an approved estimate

  1. Once an estimate has been approved, you will see notification of that approval in the inbox
  2. Click ‘Convert to Invoice’
    2.png
  3. Make any edits to the Payment Request
    3.png
  4. Send the Payment Request
    4.png

For a sent, but not approved, estimate

  1. Navigate to the Estimates Table by going to Payments → Estimates 
  2. Click on the line item for the Estimate
    2.png
  3. On the Estimate detail page, click 'Create and Send Invoice'
    3.png
  4. Make any edits to the Payment Request
  5. Send the Payment Request

How to manage sent estimates in Podium

  1. Navigate to the Payments Homepage 
  2. On the left side bar, click on the Estimates tab
  3. View the estimates table that contains every estimate that has been sent    n1.png
  4. Click any line item on the estimate table to view details for that estimate.                              n2.png
  5. Filter the estimates table by status 
  6. Cancel a sent estimate by clicking the three dots on the estimate table or from the estimate detail page.
  7. Duplicate an estimate by clicking the three dots on the estimate table or from the estimate detail page.
    7.png

Remind a Customer about a Sent Estimate

  1. Navigate to the Payments Homepage
  2. On the left side bar, click on the Estimates tab 
  3. On the line item for the relevant estimate, click the three dots on the right side.
    3.png     
  4. Click Send Reminder

    4.png
  5. Preview the reminder message and make any edits.
  6. Click Send

    6.png

Notifications & Permissions

  1. Everyone with the “Manage Estimates” permission can create, send, view, and manage an estimate 
    1. You can view your permissions by clicking on this settings icon in the top right corner of your Podium desktop
    2. You can then click on the three dots on the far right and click “Role Permissions”
      b.png                     
    3. Under Payments, you will be able to see the 'Manage Estimates' permissions.  It is default ON for Account Owners, and can be turned on or off for any other role.
      c.png            
  2. Everyone with the ‘Manage Estimates’ permission will receive an email notification for ALL Approved Estimates. If you would like to turn off this notification, you can do so by:
    1. Clicking on your Profile Image on the top right corner and selecting “Notification Preferences”
      a2.png
    2. In the Payments section, you can check or uncheck the “When an estimate is approved” notification.
      b2.png                                                    

FAQs

How do I access an estimate after I send it to the customer?

  • You can view any sent estimate in the estimate table by clicking on Payments → Estimates 

 

Can I make changes to the estimate once I’ve sent it?

  • You cannot make changes to the Estimate after you’ve sent it. You will need to create a new estimate and send it to your customer with any updated information 
  • You can duplicate an existing estimate and edit the form with changes

 

Have additional questions? Please reach out to support@podium.com or by phone at 1-833-276-3486.