An estimate lets your client say yes before any money changes hands — they accept online with a typed name recorded with a timestamp — and a payment schedule then collects the invoice in the right pieces: a deposit up front or milestones with their own due dates.
Send an estimate your client can accept online
- From Invoices → New, pick the Estimate document type. Estimates get their own EST- numbering series, so your invoice sequence is untouched.
- Add the client and line items exactly as on an invoice, and save.
- From the estimate's detail page, share the accept link — over WhatsApp, email or however you like.
- The link opens a hosted page showing the full estimate. To accept, your client types their name — Finocket records that typed-name acceptance with a timestamp, so you always know who agreed and when. They can also decline with a reason, which lands back on the estimate for you.
- Once accepted, tap Convert to invoice. Client, line items and taxes carry over — nothing is retyped — and the estimate stays linked to the invoice it became.
Deposits and milestone schedules
Any invoice can carry a payment schedule: a deposit percentage up front (say 40% to start, 60% on delivery), or custom milestones with their own amounts and due dates. The invoice total never changes — the schedule just says how it arrives. Set it up from the payment-schedule card on the invoice detail page.
How installments get chased
- Payment links always collect the next open installment, never the whole balance — a deposit request can't accidentally charge the full amount.
- Reminders chase the next open installment as its due date approaches and passes (see Getting paid faster for the schedule).
- The client portal shows the schedule and offers a pay action on whichever installment is due next.
- A paid installment ticks itself off; if a payment is refunded, the installment reopens so the balance stays honest.
Access & control
Owners and assistants can create estimates, share accept links and convert them. An invited accountant sees estimates read-only. The accept page itself is public — the link is the key, so share it only with the client.
Related: Client portal & statements, Getting paid faster, Clients & invoices.