This article covers the advisor’s job: building an estimate on the work order’s Estimate tab and sending it to the customer for approval. For the big picture of how this fits into the full inspection-to-payment cycle, see The Money Loop.
How Estimates Work
An estimate is not a separate thing — it’s the collection of services on a work order while it’s in “Estimate” status. Each service has parts, labor, fees, and a pricing mode. Services start as drafts (not visible to the customer) and get published when you’re ready to send.
Adding Services
You’ll need: a work order with a customer and vehicle attached, in “Estimate” status.
On the Estimate tab, click the Add button. You’ll see a search box with the placeholder “Search packages or type a service name…”
Three Ways to Add a Service
| Method | How |
|---|---|
| From a package | Search for a pre-built package. Selecting one auto-fills the name, category, parts, and labor. |
| Custom service | Type a service name that isn’t in your packages. A bare service gets created — you add parts and labor manually. |
| From a concern | Open the Concerns panel on the Estimate tab. Each concern has an overflow menu (three dots) with Copy to estimate and Add package. |
From Inspection Findings
If a technician has completed an inspection, their findings appear as concerns on the work order. Fair and Poor items become technician findings automatically. You turn these into services the same way — via the concern’s overflow menu.
If the technician selected a preset finding linked to a package, the package’s services are already on the estimate — you just need to price them.
See Inspections & DVI for the full inspection workflow.
Building Up a Service
Once a service exists, add line items to it via the Add line item dropdown:
- Add Labor — enter description, hours, and rate (or use a labor matrix)
- Add Part — search inventory by part number or description, or enter manually
- Add Sublet — for subcontracted work (towing, machine work)
- Add Fee — shop fees (flat, percentage, or per-unit)
- Add Discount — flat or percentage discount
For the full breakdown, see Adding Parts and Labor.
Pricing Modes
Each service has a pricing mode that controls what the customer sees:
| Mode | Badge | What the Customer Sees |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | (none) | Full breakdown — parts, labor, fees listed separately |
| Lump Sum | Hidden (eye-slash) | One total price — internal breakdown visible to staff only |
| Package | Flat (lock) | One total price locked at a flat rate — line items reflow internally |
Switch pricing mode from the service’s overflow menu → Edit → Pricing Mode. You can’t change the pricing mode on an already-approved service.
Draft vs Published
Services start as drafts — they have a “Draft — not visible to customer” badge. The customer won’t see draft services in the portal.
Before sending the estimate, you need to publish each service. Toggle the draft/published switch on the service header. Published services show a “Needs authorization” badge.
💡 Pro Tip
When you click Share Estimate, Wenmar Pro automatically publishes all draft services for you. You don’t have to publish them one by one before sending.
Sending the Estimate
Once your services are built and priced:
- On the Estimate tab, find the Authorize split button in the totals strip
- Click the dropdown caret next to it
- Click Share Estimate (paper-plane icon)
- Confirm the dialog: “Share this estimate with {customer}? All draft services will be published and a link will be sent.”
Wenmar Pro publishes all draft services and sends an SMS (or email, based on the customer’s preferred contact method) with a link to the customer portal.
What the Customer Receives
The customer gets a text message like:
“{Shop name}: Your vehicle estimate is ready. View and authorize here.” [link]
They open the link and see each service listed with Approve and Decline buttons. They choose per service, then tap Authorize (which opens a signature pad) or Decline All.
Sending a Reminder
If the customer hasn’t responded, you can send a reminder. The Share Estimate menu item becomes Send Reminder after the first send. The reminder text: “Your estimate is still waiting for your review.”
Recording an Offline Authorization
If the customer is standing at the counter or calls on the phone, you don’t need to send the portal link. Instead:
- Click the Authorize button (not the dropdown)
- The Record Authorization drawer opens
- For each service, choose Approve or Decline
- Select an Authorization method: Signature, Verbal — In person, Verbal — Phone, Text, Email, or Paper
- If signature: have the customer draw their signature on the pad
- Click Record Auth
You can also use Copy link in the authorization drawer to copy the portal URL and paste it into a manual text or email.
Partial Authorization
Customers can approve some services and decline others in the same submission. Whatever isn’t checked as “Approve” is declined.
This means the loop often continues with a partial estimate. The approved work proceeds; the declined services are preserved and can be resuggested on a future visit via the Previously Declined section on the Estimate tab.
What Happens After the Customer Acts
The moment the customer approves or declines, you get a real-time notification in the app. The work order status updates automatically:
- Any services approved → work order moves to “In Progress,” authorized services appear on the WIP tab
- All services declined → work order is voided
Discounts
Apply a work-order-level discount from the Authorize dropdown → Discount:
- $ Amount — flat dollar discount
- % Percentage — percentage of subtotal
Clear it with Clear Discount. Individual services can also have their own discounts (from the service’s overflow menu).
Troubleshooting
Customer didn’t receive the estimate?
- Verify the customer has a phone number (for SMS) or email (for email)
- Check the customer’s preferred contact method in their profile
- Check if the customer has opted out of SMS
- Try the other channel, or use Copy link and send manually
Estimate total seems wrong?
- Click Total in the totals strip to open the breakdown
- Check that all services have prices
- Look for the Changed badge — it means a line item price has changed since the estimate was last calculated. Click Refresh to update.
Customer wants to change their decision?
- If they approved but changed their mind: use Un-authorize Job from the service’s overflow menu (puts it back to pending)
- If they declined but reconsidered: use Reconsider link in the Record Authorization drawer, or Do it now in the Previously Declined section
Related Topics
- The Money Loop — How sending estimates fits into the full cycle
- Inspections & DVI — How inspection findings become estimate lines
- Adding Parts and Labor — Building services with line items
- Collecting Payments — What happens after the work is done
- Customer Messaging — Following up on sent estimates
Questions? Contact us at help@wenmarpro.com