How to Generate an Estimate in Elite Core

An estimate is a customer-facing document created from the information entered in an Elite Core project. It is normally used to present proposed products, quantities, decorations, services and pricing for customer review.

An estimate may include customer and project information, product images and descriptions, variants, quantities, customer pricing, decorations, setup charges, other services, shipping, taxes, dates, terms and notes.

Generating an estimate does not mean the customer has approved the project. Review the project before generation because the resulting document may preserve the information available at that time.

Before you begin

Confirm that:

• The correct project is open and belongs to the correct customer
• The correct customer contact is selected
• Product information, images and descriptions are complete
• Variants, colours, sizes and quantities are correct
• Supplier costs and customer prices are entered
• Margin has been reviewed
• Decorations and artwork status are complete
• Setup charges, shipping and other services are included
• Taxes and payment terms have been reviewed
• Required dates are realistic
• All recent changes have been saved

Warning: Do not generate an estimate from incomplete placeholder information unless the document is intentionally preliminary.

What an estimate contains

Customer information

• Company name
• Contact
• Billing information
• Shipping information when applicable

Project information

• Project name and number
• Required date
• Notes and terms

Products

• Product name and description
• Image
• Variants
• Quantities

Pricing

• Unit and extended prices
• Product subtotal
• Decoration charges
• Setup charges
• Services and shipping
• Taxes and total

Internal costs and margin should not normally be shown to the customer unless the document template is specifically designed for that purpose.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Open the project

Open the Sales, Projects or Orders area. Locate the project using the customer name, project name, project number or contact name.

Step 2: Confirm the project is ready

Complete the review checklist in this guide before generating the estimate.

Step 3: Open the estimate or document area

Open the project’s estimate or document area. The exact label may vary and may appear as Estimates, Documents, Generate Documents, Project Documents or Estimate Actions.

Step 4: Select the option to generate an estimate

Select the available estimate-generation action. It may be labelled Generate Estimate, Create Estimate, New Estimate, Build Estimate or Generate Document.

Step 5: Review generation options

Elite Core may ask you to review the customer contact, document date, expiry date, included products, presentation style, notes, terms, pricing visibility, images, shipping display or tax display. Review each option before continuing.

Step 6: Generate the document

Select the generation action and allow the system time to assemble the estimate. Do not click repeatedly while the first request is processing.

Step 7: Open the generated estimate

Open the estimate from the project document list, generated-document page, estimate history or available preview link.

Step 8: Review the complete document

Review the estimate from top to bottom, including all products, charges, dates and totals.

Step 9: Correct errors in the project

Correct information at its source in the project rather than changing only the generated document.

Step 10: Regenerate when required

Save the corrected project information, regenerate the estimate and review the new version before sending it.

Generating the estimate

Generate the estimate only after confirming the correct customer, contact, products, quantities, customer pricing, charges, taxes and dates.

The generation process may create a saved document record connected to the project. Avoid creating unnecessary duplicates by clicking the generation action more than once.

A revised version may be appropriate when products, quantities, pricing, decorations, shipping, taxes or terms change.

Opening the generated estimate

Generated estimates may be available through the project document area, an estimate list, generated-document link, preview action or estimate history.

Confirm the estimate number, project number, customer, creation date, current version and document status. Avoid sending an older version by mistake.

Reviewing the estimate

Header

• Company branding
• Estimate number and date
• Project name
• Customer and contact information

Products

• Correct product and image
• Customer-friendly name and description
• Correct colour, size and quantity
• Correct unit and extended price

Decorations

• Method and placement
• Description
• Customer charge
• Setup charges
• Artwork notes when applicable

Services and shipping

• Clear descriptions
• Correct quantities and prices
• No duplicate charges
• Correct shipping method or description

Totals

• Product subtotal
• Decoration subtotal
• Services and shipping
• Taxes
• Final total

Dates and notes

• Required date
• Estimate expiration
• Customer notes
• Terms
• Special instructions

Previewing the customer-facing document

Review the estimate as the customer will see it. Check page layout, image quality, long descriptions, text wrapping, table alignment, page breaks, currency, totals, spelling and customer-facing wording.

Project data can be technically correct but still display poorly. Review desktop and PDF views when both are available.

Correcting project information

Correct errors in the original project data whenever possible:

• Correct product names in the product record
• Correct quantities in the variant breakdown
• Correct pricing in the pricing area
• Correct decorations in the decoration record
• Correct shipping in the shipping or services area
• Correct customer details in the customer or project record

Editing only the generated document may leave the project and later documents inconsistent.

1. Save the correction
2. Reopen the affected section
3. Confirm the change was saved
4. Regenerate the estimate
5. Review the regenerated document

Regenerating an estimate

Regenerate the estimate when meaningful project information changes, including:

• Products added, removed or replaced
• Quantity or variant changes
• Customer price changes
• Decoration or artwork-note changes
• Setup charge or shipping changes
• Tax changes
• Contact, date or customer-note changes

Saving the project does not always mean that an existing generated estimate updates automatically. Verify the regenerated version before sending it.

Understanding estimate snapshots

A generated estimate may preserve the project information that existed when it was created. Later cart changes may therefore not appear until the document is regenerated.

1. An estimate is generated with 50 black shirts.
2. The project is changed to 60 navy shirts.
3. The original estimate may still show 50 black shirts.
4. The estimate typically requires regeneration to show the current project information.

Snapshots help preserve document history but require users to regenerate documents after changes.

What happens after the estimate is generated

1. Confirm the correct version
2. Preview the customer-facing document
3. Select the correct recipient
4. Prepare the email
5. Send the estimate
6. Record that it was sent
7. Track customer feedback
8. Revise the project when requested
9. Regenerate after changes
10. Advance the project after customer approval

Generating the estimate does not replace the separate sending and approval steps.

Common problems

The estimate will not generate

Check required project information, product records, quantities, customer prices, customer contact, validation messages, network activity, permissions and project status. Do not repeatedly click the action.

The estimate is blank

Confirm products exist, are not deleted, have quantities greater than zero, include customer prices, and belong to the correct project. Save current project changes before regenerating.

The estimate shows old products or pricing

The document may reflect an older snapshot. Save the project and regenerate the estimate.

The estimate shows the wrong customer

Stop before sending. Correct the customer and contact on the project, then regenerate.

The product image is missing

Review the product image, selected variant, catalogue image, custom-product image and file accessibility.

The description is too long

Use a clear customer-facing description and regenerate the estimate.

The quantity total is wrong

Review each product variant against the customer’s confirmed breakdown.

A decoration is missing

Confirm it was saved, has customer pricing, is intended to appear and was followed by estimate regeneration.

A charge appears twice

Review product pricing, decoration pricing, setup charges, services, shipping and included-in-price settings.

Taxes appear incorrect

Review customer tax status and project tax configuration. Ask finance or an administrator to review rather than making an unsupported adjustment.

The total is incorrect

Review quantities, unit prices, charges, shipping, tax, duplicate lines and currency.

The generation action appears to do nothing

Wait for the first request, check loading and validation messages, refresh the project, reopen the document area, confirm whether a document was created, and check browser network or console information when appropriate. Report the project number and exact steps if the issue continues.

The user cannot generate estimates

Confirm the correct instance, role, project status, required permissions and required project information.

The estimate generated more than once

Identify the newest correct version before sending. Do not send duplicate or outdated estimates.

Best practices

• Complete the project review first
• Save all changes before generation
• Generate only once per intended version
• Review every generated estimate
• Check customer-facing descriptions
• Confirm quantities, totals, taxes and currency
• Preview the final layout
• Correct data at the project source
• Regenerate after meaningful changes
• Confirm the newest version before sending
• Keep a clear estimate history
• Record customer feedback on the project

Estimate-generation checklist

Before generation

• ☐ Correct project, customer and contact
• ☐ Products, variants and quantities are complete
• ☐ Customer prices and margin were reviewed
• ☐ Decorations, setup charges and shipping are complete
• ☐ Taxes, terms and dates were reviewed
• ☐ All changes are saved

During generation

• ☐ Correct estimate action selected
• ☐ Correct options, products and contact selected
• ☐ Generation action clicked only once
• ☐ Generation completed successfully

Document review

• ☐ Estimate number, customer and contact are correct
• ☐ Products, images, descriptions and variants are correct
• ☐ Quantities, unit prices and totals are correct
• ☐ Decorations, charges, shipping and taxes are correct
• ☐ Dates, notes and layout are correct

Final

• ☐ Errors were corrected in the project
• ☐ Estimate was regenerated if needed
• ☐ Correct version was selected
• ☐ Customer-facing preview was reviewed
• ☐ Estimate is ready to send

Related Knowledge Base articles

• Getting Started with Elite Core
• How to Create a Project in Elite Core
• How to Add Products to a Project in Elite Core
• How to Enter Product Costs and Customer Pricing in Elite Core
• How to Add Decorations and Artwork in Elite Core
• How to Add Setup Charges, Shipping and Other Services in Elite Core
• How to Review a Project Before Generating an Estimate in Elite Core
• How to Send an Estimate to a Customer in Elite Core
• How to Regenerate an Estimate After Changes in Elite Core

Previous and next guides

Previous: How to Review a Project Before Generating an Estimate in Elite Core

Next: How to Send an Estimate to a Customer in Elite Core

Notes for Future Expansion

Screenshots to add

• Project document area
• Generate Estimate action
• Estimate options and generation progress
• Generated estimate list and number
• Customer-facing estimate
• Product, decoration, charge, shipping and tax sections
• Estimate totals
• Regenerate action
• Estimate history

Interface details to confirm

• Exact generation and document-area labels
• Required fields and included products
• Available estimate options
• Whether generation is synchronous or queued
• How progress and duplicate prevention work
• How estimates are numbered and versioned
• Whether old versions remain accessible
• Whether regeneration replaces or creates a version
• Which roles and statuses allow generation
• Whether validation blocks incomplete estimates
• Whether generated estimates can be edited directly
• Whether PDF generation is automatic

Future articles

• How to Preview an Estimate
• How to Send an Estimate to a Customer
• How to Regenerate an Estimate After Changes
• How to Revise and Track an Estimate
• How to Correct a Blank Estimate
• How to Correct Old Products or Pricing
• How to Convert an Approved Estimate into a Sales Order