To import estimates into QuickBooks Online, first look under Settings, then Import data, for an Estimates option. If it is there, map a spreadsheet to it. If it is not, your routes are typing each estimate, copying a similar one and editing it, or using an import app. Set up customers and products first, whichever route you take.
Does your Import data screen offer estimates?
Whether you can import estimates depends on what your own Import data screen shows. Intuit's page of common questions about importing data into QuickBooks Online lists estimates among the importable records. The same page limits bill imports to Advanced plans in the US, so the list is not identical on every account. Open the screen and look.
If an Estimates tile is there, the same file rules apply as for other imports on that page: CSV, Excel or Google Sheets, fewer than 1,000 rows, and a first row that holds headings, because QuickBooks uses it for mapping and does not import it. The rest of this post is for the case where no tile appears, or where the importer rejects your file and you need another way.
Routes for estimates when there is no importer
Without an importer, there are three practical routes for estimates: enter each one by hand, copy an existing estimate and change the customer and lines, or use a third-party app that writes estimates into QuickBooks for you. The right one depends mostly on how many estimates you have and how alike they are.
| Route | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Type each estimate | Up to a few dozen, all different | Typos in amounts and customer names |
| Copy and edit | Many estimates with the same lines | Forgetting to change the date or customer |
| Import app | Hundreds, or a regular feed of estimates | Cost, and giving the app access to your books |
Typing them in
For a modest batch, typing is honest work and gives you a check on every estimate. Work from a sorted list, by customer or by date, and tick each one off as it is saved. Keep the estimate numbers from your old system if your QuickBooks settings let you enter your own numbers, so a customer quoting "estimate 512" can still be found.
Copy and edit
Estimates for the same kind of job often share most of their lines. Build one estimate fully, then open it, make a copy, and change only what differs: the customer, the date, the quantities. Check the date on every copy before you save it, because a stale date makes the estimate look older than it is and can set the wrong expiration.
Estimate fields that carry over to each QuickBooks estimate
An estimate in QuickBooks Online holds a customer, an estimate date, an expiration date, an estimate number, and lines with a product or service, a description, a quantity and a rate. A spreadsheet of estimates should hold the same fields, one row per line, so you can type, copy or map from it without guessing.
| Field | Carries over by hand or by import | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | Yes | Must match an existing customer name exactly. |
| Estimate number | Yes | Repeat it on each line of the same estimate. |
| Estimate date | Yes | One date format for the whole sheet. |
| Expiration date | Yes | Leave blank if your estimates do not expire. |
| Product or service | Yes | Must match an existing item. |
| Description, quantity, rate | Yes | The amount is quantity times rate. |
| Status (accepted, declined) | Set in QuickBooks | Change it on each estimate afterwards. |
| Signed copy or PDF | No | Attach it to the estimate after it is saved. |
An estimate does not post to your books. It records no income and no money owed until you turn it into an invoice. That is why getting the lines right matters more than getting them in fast: when the customer accepts, those lines become the invoice.
Which lists must exist before the estimates go in?
Before any estimates go into QuickBooks Online, the customers and the products or services they mention should already exist. Intuit's page recommends lists first and transactions after. A missing customer or item either stops the estimate or creates a bare record you then have to tidy.
Start with the customer list. If you have many customers, importing them is far faster than adding each one from an estimate screen, and importing customers into QuickBooks Online shows the columns. Then set up the products and services the estimates use.
If the jobs on your estimates involve buying materials or hiring subcontractors, set up those suppliers too. Once a customer accepts, you may want to raise purchase orders or bills against the job, and those need vendors. The steps for a vendor list are in importing vendors into QuickBooks Online.
Why an estimate sheet must never go through the bank upload
The bank upload under Bank transactions accepts any CSV with a date, a description and an amount, so a sheet of estimates can slip through it. The result is fake bank lines for money that never moved. If that has happened, undo the upload before categorizing anything, then enter the estimates by one of the routes above.
The tell-tale signs are bank lines dated on estimate dates, with customer names in the description and amounts matching your quotes. If any were already added to the books, they will have changed your bank balance, and reconciliation will stop agreeing with the statement. The post on undoing a bank upload in QuickBooks Online walks through backing out a whole file.
Real bank files belong in that upload, and estimates belong on the estimate form. If you do need to bring in bank lines, for example to match the deposits that arrive once accepted estimates become paid invoices, SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF bank statement into a file that upload accepts.