Invoice quote software that turns yes into an invoice

PilotLedger is invoice quote software for small businesses that price work before they do it: designers, contractors, consultants, agencies and anyone else who sends a quote and waits for a yes. You write the quote once, your client accepts it online, and the same lines become an invoice without being typed twice. Because quotes live inside a full accounting system, the invoice that follows posts straight to your books.

Here is how quoting works in PilotLedger, step by step, and where it fits in the way you sell.

Quotes vs. estimates: what is the difference?

People use the words interchangeably, and PilotLedger treats them the same way. In everyday use:

• An estimate is a best guess at the cost, often used when the scope may change (a kitchen repair, a marketing campaign).
• A quote is a fixed price for a defined piece of work, usually valid for a set period.

Whichever you call it, the document has the same parts: your details, the customer, line items, taxes, a total, terms and an expiry date. In PilotLedger you create it under Sales → Quotes and decide in your own wording, on the PDF, whether it is a quote or an estimate. If you just need a blank form for a one-off job, our free estimate templates are a good start.

How to create and send a quote

A quote in PilotLedger is built the same way as an invoice, which is the point: anything you put on the quote can carry over.

1. Choose the customer. Their address, email and currency come from the customer record.
2. Add line items. Pick products or services from your item catalog or type a description, then set the quantity, unit price, any line discount and the sales tax rate.
3. Set a discount on the whole quote if you offer one, as a percentage or a fixed amount.
4. Set the quote date and expiry date. A 30-day validity is common; for materials with volatile prices you may want less.
5. Add terms and notes. Notes are visible to the customer; internal notes are only for your team.
6. Send it. PilotLedger emails the customer using your quote email template, with a secure link to the PDF, and marks the quote as sent.

Quote numbers follow your own numbering settings, and you can clone an old quote to start a similar one in seconds.

How clients accept quotes in the customer portal

On the Starter, Growth and Business plans, your clients get access to a branded customer portal. There they can see every quote and invoice you have sent them, download PDFs, and respond to a quote:

• Accept changes the quote to approved and records when it happened.
• Decline changes it to refused, and the client can add a reason, which is saved in the quote's notes.

A client can only respond to a quote that is sent and not past its expiry date. That protects you from someone accepting last spring's price after your costs went up. If a client replies by phone or email instead, you can update the status yourself.

Convert an accepted quote into an invoice

Once a quote is approved, the Convert to invoice step appears on the quote. One click creates a draft invoice that carries over:

The quote then shows as invoiced and can't be converted again, so a double click never creates two invoices. You review the draft, change anything that shifted during the job, and send it. From there, everything in PilotLedger invoicing applies: partial payments, reminders and credit notes.

Billing a deposit on a quoted job

A common pattern is billing part of the quote upfront. Say you quote $4,800 to renovate an office and ask for 25% before you start. Convert the accepted quote to an invoice and send it. When the client pays the $1,200 deposit, record it as a partial payment; the invoice shows $3,600 still due. When you finish, record the rest and the invoice is marked paid.

If you prefer separate deposit and final invoices, edit the converted invoice to show the deposit only, then create the final invoice later.

Why invoice quote software beats separate tools

Quoting in a word processor and invoicing in another app works until you have a dozen open jobs. Then prices drift between the quote and the invoice, accepted quotes get forgotten, and nobody knows which work is approved but not yet billed.

Estimating and invoicing software that shares one item catalog and one customer list fixes that. In PilotLedger:

• A quote does not touch your books. It is a promise, not a sale, so it creates no accounts receivable and no revenue.
• The invoice it becomes does post to the ledger when sent: receivables, revenue and sales tax, using double-entry accounting.
• Your quote list doubles as a simple pipeline: filter by sent to see what is waiting on a decision, and by approved to see what is ready to bill.

If you are comparing quote software for small business, check whether the tool lets clients accept online, whether conversion is truly one click, and what happens to your books afterwards. You can compare PilotLedger's limits and plans on the pricing page.

Tips for quotes that get accepted

A good quote is clear enough that the client can say yes without a follow-up call. A few habits help:

• Itemize. Break the work into lines the client recognizes (design, development, testing) rather than one lump sum. It also makes partial invoicing easier later.
• State what is not included. Use the terms field for exclusions, revision limits and who supplies materials.
• Set a realistic expiry date. Fourteen to thirty days is typical. It creates a gentle deadline and protects you from cost changes.
• Price with your margin in mind. If you resell materials, our markup calculator shows the selling price for the margin you want.
• Follow up on sent quotes. Filter the quote list by sent each week and check in on anything older than a few days.

What quotes in PilotLedger don't do

• No e-signatures. Acceptance is a click in the portal, not a signed document.
• No deposit collection by card. Clients can't pay a deposit online; you record payments when they arrive.
• No portal on the Free plan. The portal starts on Starter ($14.99/month). On Free you can still create, email and convert quotes (up to 10 quotes a month) and mark acceptance yourself.

For the basics of what makes a clear quote or invoice, read our guide on how to make an invoice.