How to Create an Estimate

Steps:

Building the estimate

• In the relevant job, navigate to Estimates on the left-hand side.

• Select New Estimate.

• Select the location. For example, a room like Laundry or Bathroom. Enter the correct dimensions for the location, then click Add.

• Add the cost centre or trade type for that location, for example, Cabinetry.

• Select Add again, then type in your line item description.

• Add the appropriate material and labour quantities and rates for that line item.

Adding Line items

You have two ways to add a line item under a cost centre:

• Add Line Item: add a blank line item and fill in the description, quantities, and rates yourself.

• Add Standard Line Item: if you've created standard line items in the system under this cost centre, choose from a list and it will populate all the fields — description, quantities, and rates — automatically.

• You can continue adding cost centres and line items under a location, or create a new location and repeat the process. Use the category expansion bar at the top of the screen (Insurances, Preliminaries, Preliminaries at Cost, Provisional Sums, Prime Costs) to add categories to your estimate as needed.

Editing and rearranging your estimate

• To delete a line item, click the three dots next to it and select Delete.

• To edit, clone, or delete an entire location, click the three dots next to the location and choose the relevant option.

• Use the drag handle (the bars on the left of each row) to rearrange your estimate — by line item, by cost centre, or by location.

Margins, breakdown, and saving

• You can review and adjust your margin percentages under Margins, and see your estimate broken down by cost centre under Breakdown, at the bottom of the estimate.

• As you work through your estimate, be sure to save your changes regularly. If you try to leave the estimate screen without saving, Loop will show a warning that your changes will be lost unless you save.

Locking, submitting and authorising

• Once your estimate is complete, select Lock to prevent further changes.

• Select Submit as Quoted and confirm. The estimate's status changes to Quoted.

• Once the client has accepted the estimate, select Authorise, then Authorise All Items to confirm.

Creating a variation

• Once an estimate has been created and authorised, you can create a variation if required. Select New Estimate and choose Variation from the dropdown (alongside Scope, for a new location-based scope).

FAQ

What's the difference between Add Line Item and Add Standard Line Item? Add Line Item gives you a blank row to fill in yourself. Add Standard Line Item lets you pick from line items you've already set up in the system under that cost centre, and it fills in the description, quantities, and rates for you.

Can I change the order of locations, cost centres, or line items? Yes. Use the drag handle on the left of each row to reorder your estimate at the location, cost centre, or line item level.

What happens after I authorise an estimate? The estimate becomes locked in as the authorised scope for the job. From there you can raise an invoice, or create a variation if the scope changes. The video also references generating quote requests and work orders from the authorised scope. Loop Logics has separate Quote Requests and Purchase Orders sections in the job menu for this, though the video doesn't walk through that step directly.

What if I need to make changes after locking or submitting? You can unlock an estimate from the Lock/Unlock button, or roll it back to Draft from the Quoted or Authorised stage, depending on where it's at.