Creating and Sending Estimates in the QuickBooks Mobile App

The estimate does not have to wait until you are back at a desk. The QuickBooks mobile app runs the whole quoting workflow on iOS and Android. You build the estimate on site, email it to the customer from a preview screen, and convert it to an invoice when the job is won.

Before you start

Install the QuickBooks mobile app on your phone and sign in to your company. The manual flow below works the same way on iOS and Android. One shortcut does not: the AI autofill option is limited to QuickBooks Online Advanced subscriptions. Delivery runs through email, so the customer receives the estimate as a message in their inbox rather than an in-app notification.

Create an estimate on iOS

You select the customer and the items from records already in your books rather than typing them from scratch. From there the tap sequence is short.

1. Open the app, tap the plus icon, and choose Estimate.
2. Tap Add customer, then find and select the customer receiving the quote.
3. Tap Add product or service, find the item, and tap Add. The Add another product or service button stacks on more lines.
4. Tap the plus beside attachments, message, or other details if you want any of them on the estimate.
5. Tap Review and send to reach the Preview and send page.
6. Tap Preview to adjust the estimate’s appearance or your company information. Tap Close to return.
7. Tap Send via email, edit the message body if needed, then tap Send.

Create an estimate on Android

1. Open the app, tap the plus icon, and choose Estimate.
2. Tap Add customer and select the recipient.
3. Tap Add product or service, choose the item, and tap Add. Repeat for each additional line.
4. Add attachments, a message, or other optional details through their plus buttons.
5. Tap Review and send.
6. Tap Download to save a copy on your device, or Share for other destinations.
7. Tap Send via email, adjust the body text, then tap Send. The Estimate preview option also gives you a PDF copy to view or download.

Where do the two apps differ?

The core sequence is identical on both platforms; the fork appears at the end. iOS gives you an appearance editor. From the Preview and send page, tap Preview to rework how the estimate looks and to correct your company details before anything goes out. Android leans toward the file itself. Download saves a copy to the phone, Share hands it to other apps, and Estimate preview produces a PDF you can keep or forward.

Both platforms let you edit the email body before sending. The note to the customer can say what the form cannot, which is worth the extra ten seconds.

Autofill an estimate with Intuit AI

Advanced subscribers can cut the typing on iOS. Start the same way, with the plus icon and Estimate, but tap Autofill next. Then choose your input. Image opens the camera, where you can photograph a paper estimate or pull one from your gallery. Keep the entire document inside the frame while you shoot. Voice is the alternative, taking your spoken details instead of a picture.

Intuit reserves this helper for QuickBooks Online Advanced, and the autofill path described here is the iOS one. On an Android phone, plan on the manual steps above.

From estimate to invoice

An estimate is a promise, and the app keeps the follow-through close. The More menu on either platform includes a command that turns a sent estimate into an invoice. The won job becomes a billable one without rekeying a single line. Our suggestion is simple: quote in the field, send before you leave the site, and convert the moment the customer says yes.