The Sales Hub gives you two ways to put a quote (also called an estimate or a proposal) in front of a customer. Same outcome — a customer gets a real document they can accept or decline — different starting points.
Built quotes
You build the quote line by line inside the Sales Hub. Each line has a description, quantity, unit, unit price. We do the math, apply the tax rates you selected, and generate a clean PDF.
- Best for: repeat work where line items barely change between customers. Hourly rates × hours. Equipment day-rates × days. Per-unit work like welds or pipe lengths.
- Pros: fast to update if a price changes. We auto-recompute taxes and totals. Customer gets a tidy professional PDF without you opening a separate program.
- Cons: the PDF looks like our template — there's no custom logo placement, custom font, or branded background today.
Uploaded PDFs
You make the quote in whatever you normally use — Word, Excel, your accounting software, a PDF designer — export it as a PDF, and upload it. We attach it to the deal, give it a quote number, and let your customer accept or decline through the same shareable link as a built quote.
- Best for: complex one-off quotes, scope-heavy proposals with diagrams or photos, anything that needs your existing branded template, or quotes where the line items don't fit a simple table.
- Pros: total control over how the document looks. Use the template you already have. Drop in maps, photos, T&Cs.
- Cons: if a number changes, you have to edit the source document and re-upload. Tax rates aren't applied (the total you type in is the total).
Both flows share these things
- A unique quote number per workspace (EST-0001, EST-0002, ...).
- A shareable customer link — they don't need a CrewFinder login. See Sending a quote to a customer.
- Accept / decline workflow with a typed-name + email + “I agree” checkbox.
- A Certificate of Acceptance appended to the PDF when accepted, with the customer's typed name, email, IP address, and timestamp. See When a customer accepts (or declines).
- Confirmation emails to the customer, the quote owner, and the workspace owner on accept.
Picking the right one
If you're not sure, try a built quote first — it's faster. If you find yourself wishing you could just put your existing template in, switch to uploaded for that one. You can have a mix of both styles in the same workspace; nothing locks you in.
Hybrid approach
Some teams use built quotes for routine line-item work (vac trucks, hourly crews) and uploaded PDFs for big proposals where a project manager wants to add a cover letter, a methodology section, and a schedule. Same Sales Hub, two tools.
Where to start
Open the Estimates tab in the Sales Hub and click + New estimate. The new-estimate page has three tabs: Build from scratch, Upload PDF, and Import from Aimsio (a sister product — early access only).
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Building a quote line by line
How to add line items, apply tax rates, and turn an empty quote into a polished PDF you can send to a customer.
Uploading your own quote PDF
Got a quote already prepared in your own template? Upload the PDF and let the Sales Hub handle the customer-facing accept / decline link.
Tax rates — Canadian, Australian, and custom
How to set up sales tax rates for your quotes. One-click presets for Canada and Australia, plus how to add anything custom.
Sending a quote to a customer
What happens when you click Send — what your customer receives, where the link goes, and how to track responses.