Quote settings
/admin/settings/quotes holds the defaults and lifecycle rules behind every quote your org sends. Every quote can still override these in the composer; what you set here is just the starting point. The same rules are also editable from the Billing Rules tab on the Pricing page, so tune them wherever you happen to be.
New quote defaults
Default billing mode decides what happens to the money after a client accepts. The composer starts new quotes on whichever mode you pick here:
| Mode | What happens on accept |
|---|---|
| Deposit only | A deposit invoice goes out now; you bill the balance manually later. |
| Bill in full now | One invoice for the full total, immediately. Best for short fixed-scope jobs. |
| Draft for completion | A draft invoice for the full amount is created; you finalize and send it when the work is done. |
| Deposit + completion draft | Deposit invoice now, plus a draft for the balance you finalize at completion. The classic contractor workflow, and the built-in default. |
| Deposit + progress payments | Deposit on accept, then bill the rest in stages from the contract page as work gets done. |
Default deposit (%) pre-fills the deposit percentage on any new quote that takes a deposit. Out of the box it's 25.
Pricing math
These four percentages feed the AI quote drafter and the materials-markup button in the composer. They stack in order: materials cost, plus waste, plus markup, plus overhead, plus profit.
- Materials markup (%): added when you opt a line item into the materials markup rule. Default 15.
- Waste allowance (%): covers offcuts, spillage, and re-dos on materials. Default 10.
- Overhead (%): your cost of doing business, insurance, fuel, tools, software. Default 8.
- Profit margin (%): what the job should earn beyond covering its costs. Default 10.
The AI drafter prices from these numbers every time it turns your notes into a quote. If your overhead is really 12% and you leave it at 8%, every AI draft underprices you by the same amount. Ten minutes with last year's books pays for itself here.
Quote lifecycle
What happens after the quote goes out:
- Acceptance grace period (days): how long past a quote's expiry date a client can still accept it. 0 means the expiry is strict.
- Counter-offer limit: how many times a client can request changes on one quote before that option is disabled. Default 3, so a negotiation can't loop forever.
- Cancel unpaid deposits after (days): an accepted quote whose deposit invoice sits unpaid this many days is voided automatically, freeing you from chasing ghosts. 0 means never.
- Create a project automatically when a quote is accepted: on by default. The new project gets the quote total as its budget, so job tracking and Codex see the work the moment it's won. Turn it off if you prefer to create projects by hand.
Where these show up
The composer reads these defaults every time you start a quote, and you can change any of them per quote before sending. For the full journey from draft to signature to deposit, start with Creating your first quote and Billing modes.