Project quotes versus actuals in QuickBooks Online Advanced: where users get stuck

QuickBooks Online Advanced carries the toolset that answers the oldest question in job costing: did the work cost what we estimated? Project cost quotes forecast income and expenses for a single job, then measure both against reality. The accepted walkthrough for the feature is clear enough. What trips people up is everything around it, from a buried settings toggle to a redirect that lands on the wrong page.

The feature, and the tier it sits on

Project cost quotes are documented for QuickBooks Online Advanced, the top plan in the online range. The logic is to price a job before it starts, line by line, with two figures per line: what the item costs you and what you will charge.

From there the software tracks actual expenses against the plan, converts an accepted quote into an invoice, and rolls everything into a quotes versus actuals report. Anyone not on that plan should not expect to find these screens. When the Project quote option is missing from the Add to project menu, the subscription tier is the first thing to rule out.

Two settings to settle first

The walkthrough insists on preparation. Expense forms need their item table switched on before a cost quote will behave. Open Settings, then Account and settings, choose Expenses, and edit the Bills and expenses section. Turn on the option that shows the items table on expense and purchase forms, then save and done.

Next, map each product or service to an expense account. In Products and services, edit the item, confirm that you purchase it from a supplier, and point its expense account at an Expense or Cost of Sales account. Repeat for every item the quote will touch. Skip the step and the cost half of the estimate has nothing to stand on.

Will the customer see your costs?

No. The quote can go to the client straight from the same screen, and the guidance is explicit on one point: the customer’s copy shows prices only. Your rate, the markup, and the profit margin never leave your side of it.

Building the quote itself

Open Projects, choose the job, and use the Add to project menu to start a project quote. Each line takes a product or service, a quantity, and two rates. Your rate is what the item costs you. The customer rate is the sale price. Estimating income only? Leave your rate blank. Estimating costs only? Leave the customer rate blank.

The markup column fills itself from the gap between the two rates. Edit the markup and the customer rate moves with it, which catches out anyone nudging the margin and expecting the cost side to change. It will not. The totals for estimated costs, income, and margin sit at the foot of the form, and from there you save or send the quote on its way.

The redirect that lands on the wrong page

One quirk earns its own note in the guidance. Start creating a quote and the software may deliver you to the Project quote page instead of the Quotes page. Nothing is broken. Go to the Quotes page, open Manage, then Customisation, and switch off Project quote conversion. The next attempt takes the right path. On the international English edition of the help centre the label reads Customisation, so spell the search accordingly.

Keep the statuses honest

Every quote carries a status, and the guidance devotes a section to updating it as the customer decides. The quotes versus actuals report is only as truthful as its inputs. A stale quote inflates the forecast, and a line left unpriced thins out the cost side. Tidy the statuses first, then run the report, and the gap between the plan and the spend is there in black and white.

Our read: none of this is difficult, but three doors have to be open before the comparison works. Confirm the plan, switch on the items table, map the accounts, and disarm the conversion toggle if it redirects you. Work through them in that order and the estimate-versus-actual view in QuickBooks Online Advanced does exactly what its name says.