How to Quote Field Work

The quote is a PDF that nobody can accept

A price in a message is not the lines that get invoiced, so the office retypes them and the totals drift.

Two options are both treated as accepted, and parts are ordered for both.

A quote that expired last week is still accepted because the date lives in a footer nobody checks.

Why this happens

• Estimate lines are never turned into actual lines, so the invoice bills the wrong set.
• Sibling quotes in the same option group stay open after one is accepted.
• Materials are reserved even when the item has no warehouse row.
• The valid-until date is ignored.

Biznsbook addresses this through Field quotes, customer accept link, material reservation when Field Service is licensed. Customers are parties you already keep. The van is a warehouse. The invoice is one sale invoice for the job.

A second dispatcher, a van, and a deposit are where a private list drifts. Making Biznsbook the place that books the visit, issues the part, and raises the one invoice keeps those three on the same job.

Step-by-step: Quote Field Work

Built for owners and dispatchers who send technicians to a customer site in Biznsbook Field Service.

1. Add estimate lines. Lines on the job can be estimates before a quote exists. A template can copy estimate lines onto a new job. Put an item on material lines you expect to reserve.
2. Create and send the quote. The quote number uses the company quote prefix, default FQ-. Sending uses the quote message when that channel is on. The customer link is /service/quote/{token}.
3. Let the customer accept or decline. Accept sets the quote to accepted and stores it on the job. Selected estimate lines become actual lines. Decline sets the quote to declined. A quote past its valid-until date cannot be accepted. Settings default that window to 30 days.
4. Supersede the other option. Other quotes in the same option group that are still draft, sent, or viewed become superseded. Quotes with no group are treated as one group for that rule.
5. Reserve materials. Acceptance reserves quantity on the warehouse row for material lines that are not yet issued, and only when that row already exists. Issue and cancel release the reservation.
6. Let the nightly job expire old quotes. A nightly job marks sent and viewed quotes past valid-until as expired. An expired quote cannot be accepted.
7. Invoice from the actual lines. Create invoice bills actual lines that are billable and customer-selected. If there are no actual lines, it bills the estimate lines instead. That invoice step is a separate guide.

Review results after the first full weekly cycle. Adjust roles, mappings, or approvals where the same exception repeats.

Screen names in this guide match Field Service in the product: Home, Jobs, Dispatch, My day, Quotes, Agreements, and Settings.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Mistake 1: Estimate lines are never turned into actual lines, so the invoice bills the wrong set. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in double-booked visits, van counts, or a second invoice.
• Mistake 2: Sibling quotes in the same option group stay open after one is accepted. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in double-booked visits, van counts, or a second invoice.
• Mistake 3: Materials are reserved even when the item has no warehouse row. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in double-booked visits, van counts, or a second invoice.
• Mistake 4: The valid-until date is ignored. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in double-booked visits, van counts, or a second invoice.

Note each recurring gap in the weekly review. Each one should map to a step in this guide.

Best practices that hold up as you scale

• Add estimate lines — Lines on the job can be estimates before a quote exists.
• Create and send the quote — The quote number uses the company quote prefix, default FQ-.
• Let the customer accept or decline — Accept sets the quote to accepted and stores it on the job.
• Supersede the other option — Other quotes in the same option group that are still draft, sent, or viewed become superseded.
• Reserve materials — Acceptance reserves quantity on the warehouse row for material lines that are not yet issued, and only when that row already exists.

Teams that schedule on the board, issue parts from the van before they invoice, and refuse a second invoice keep the visit and the ledger on the same job.

How Biznsbook supports this workflow

Field quotes is part of Biznsbook Field Service for companies that send a person to a customer site. The customer is a party you already keep, the address you visit is a site, and the visit sits on a job. Parts move through a van warehouse. The bill is one sale invoice, and a deposit taken first is an advance on that same job. Technicians quote, invoice, or collect only when settings allow it.

customer accept link is part of Biznsbook Field Service for companies that send a person to a customer site. The customer is a party you already keep, the address you visit is a site, and the visit sits on a job. Parts move through a van warehouse. The bill is one sale invoice, and a deposit taken first is an advance on that same job. Technicians quote, invoice, or collect only when settings allow it.

material reservation is part of Biznsbook Field Service for companies that send a person to a customer site. The customer is a party you already keep, the address you visit is a site, and the visit sits on a job. Parts move through a van warehouse. The bill is one sale invoice, and a deposit taken first is an advance on that same job. Technicians quote, invoice, or collect only when settings allow it.

Technicians do not quote, invoice, or collect unless those settings are on. Labour cost is for job costing and does not post a wage journal. Email sends through the company’s outbound email and SMS through the company’s own Twilio connection.

Suggested implementation timeline

1. Week 1: License Field Service, add sites on the parties you already keep, and try Field quotes on one real job.
2. Week 2: Create a van warehouse, transfer the stock that is in the van, and issue one part on a visit.
3. Week 3: Schedule on the board, including one forced conflict, and complete a visit with the checklist rules you actually want.
4. Week 4: Create the one sale invoice, apply a deposit if you took one, and turn the public page on if customers should request visits.
5. Ongoing: Weekly review of unscheduled jobs, overdue complete-by times, and van items under minimum, using what the quote does not do.

Related guides

Start with create a field service job, then schedule a field visit and invoice a field job.

Product page: Field Service. Trades: field service trades. Decision: field service software vs spreadsheets.

From estimate to actual

Until the customer accepts, the lines you priced are estimates. Acceptance copies the selected ones onto the job as actual lines. The invoice prefers actual lines. If you never accepted a quote and there are no actual lines, the invoice can bill the estimates instead.

Cancelling the job releases reserved materials. Issuing the part also releases the reservation so the same quantity is not held twice.

Send the quote only when the lines and the valid-until date are the ones you mean the customer to accept. The public page accepts or declines that version. It does not let the customer edit the price. If you need a new price, send another quote and let acceptance supersede the earlier one in the same option group.

Metrics to track monthly

• Jobs still unscheduled past the attention window
• Jobs past their complete-by time
• Van items below the minimum you set
• Visits forced past a conflict
• Jobs completed and not yet invoiced

Start with three metrics; trend direction matters more than a single point-in-time snapshot.

Spreadsheet or paper day sheet vs Biznsbook Field Service

Compare a typical list of jobs with Biznsbook Field quotes and the rest of the field job.

What the quote does not do

The quote is not a CRM quotation. CRM quotations are a different record. Accepting a field quote does not create a CRM lead. It updates this job.

Write this into the way the office hands work to technicians, and revisit it when you add a van or a second dispatcher.

Frequently asked questions

How this differs by industry