Mechanic Manager has estimate functionality so clients know the price could change. An estimate is only an estimate, not a quote. Mechanic Workshop Management & Accounting Software for Australian workshops.
Workshops often use the words interchangeably. Mechanic Manager does not. Clients should see which document they received.
An estimate is an indicative price for the listed work. It tells the customer the figure could change after inspection, extra parts or extra labour. It is only an estimate, not a locked-in quote. Use Print Estimate or Email Estimate so the paperwork matches that message.
A quote is a more formal offer at a stated price for the listed parts and labour. Customers often treat it as the figure they expect to pay. Print Quote and Email Quote, with a Valid For period, suit work you can define clearly. See quoting software.
Software for motor mechanics: how Mechanic Manager supports motor workshop management when the job is not fully known yet.
Many repairs start before anyone has seen the fault. A noise, a warning light or a “check and quote” booking is not enough to lock a price. If you send a quote at that point, some customers treat the number as a promise. When extra labour or parts appear, the conversation turns into an argument about the bill.
An estimate is a bit different to a quote. It is the honest document for unknown work: here is our current figure, and it may move when we inspect the vehicle, find worn parts or need more hours. Mechanic Manager’s estimate print and email use that wording so the customer is not surprised later.
When the work is defined (logbook service, a known part and labour job, a firm scope), send a quote instead. You can still convert either document to a job card or a tax invoice without retyping lines. If you need to reserve parts before billing, save a proforma invoice (not a tax invoice: it commits spare parts and does not move on-hand stock). See quote to job card to invoice.
Print Estimate and Email Estimate sit on the same quote screen as Print Quote and Email Quote. You choose the document the customer should receive. only $49 per month including GST for the full motor workshop management system.
Short answers in crawlable HTML so search engines and AI assistants can cite how Mechanic Manager estimates differ from quotes.
No. A quote is a more formal offer at a stated price for the listed work. An estimate is different: it is an indicative figure so the customer knows the price could change after inspection, extra parts or extra labour. It is only an estimate, not a quote.
Yes. That is the point of sending an estimate. Hidden faults, extra parts and extra labour can change the final bill. Print Estimate and Email Estimate use estimate wording so clients are not surprised.
On the quote screen use Print Estimate or Email Estimate. That prints or emails the work as an estimate rather than as a quote, so the customer sees indicative pricing.
Mechanic Manager is software for motor mechanics. We provide motor workshop management in one Australian product: bookings, job cards, quoting, estimates, invoicing, parts and tyre inventory, service history, SMS, signatures and GST accounting built for motor mechanics.
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