Quotes can be the wrong tool. Estimates avoid disputes, protect margins, and elevate professionalism
Quotes and Estimates are fundamentally different, and not having both options is genuinely problematic for us. Fudging it by adding exception language to a document labeled as a Quote communicates that we aren’t committed to the quote, that we can’t accurately assess or execute our own services, and that we don't have the basic ability to simply send the correct type of sales form. Every workaround risks the sale and our professional image. How do you protect yourselves when a job clearly requires an Estimate instead of a Quote? Would having the option to create either a Quote or an Estimate, so you can send the correct sales document for each job, help you run your business more effectively? I believe some people are employing entirely different software for quotes and estimates. Considering that the ability to send an Estimate is a critical and basic business requirement, would it make sense for Jobber to add the simple option of changing the word "Quote" to "Estimate" when needed? They could still fall under the heading of "Quotes" in the UI, because only the word on the form being sent to the client, and the word used in the related message, needs to change. That's simply front-end work to implement and not a major feature update. The beauty of web-based applications is that it is programmatically easy to add simple functionality to expand the capabilities of basic features that affect nearly all users, requiring only a willingness to spend a little time improving the product's core functionality: helping us grow and manage our businesses.
Request for Quote building using hidden subtotals
As a handyman/general contractor, I only base my quotes per job/task and not time and materials. I do not want the client to see the price of labor, cost of materials, or other line items except the Job task itself and the price. In order to build an accurate quote, I have to build all of this in a spreadsheet (labor, materials, etc) and copy over the grand total. If I need to make a revision, I have to go back to the spreadsheet and redo the calculations. It would be very helpful to have a way to build a quote with hidden sub line items that can be changed. Quickbooks has a estimate feature called bundling. Example: Tile Backsplash Installation $2,575 (hidden below) Labor 12 $165 $1,980 Tile 1 $350 $350 Mastic 1 $30 $30 Grout 1 $30 $30 Misc 1 $20 $20 Does anyone else struggle with this or have an efficient workaround?Add Category & Subcategory Structure to Pricebook Items for Faster Field Quoting
We’d love to see Jobber’s pricebook evolve to include Category and Subcategory fields that can be used to organize services and products within quotes and invoices. Currently, line items can only be classified as “Service” or “Product.” This flat structure makes it difficult for technicians in the field to quickly find the right line item when quoting or invoicing on site. Other trade service platforms (like Housecall Pro) allow items to be uploaded with a “Category” and “Subcategory,” which can then be used to filter or browse within the app. Adding this capability to Jobber would make a major difference for trades with large or detailed pricebooks — especially electrical, HVAC, and plumbing contractors. Example use case: Our team is building a standardized pricebook with over 1,000 items. If we could categorize items (e.g., Devices → Switches → Single Pole or Breakers → AFCI → 20A), our field techs could easily quote small jobs or extras on the spot without relying on estimators. This would: Reduce office workload by enabling accurate in-field quoting and billing Improve efficiency and consistency across the team Buy back time for company owners and estimators to focus on higher-value tasks Suggested Implementation: Add optional “Category” and “Subcategory” fields to the pricebook import/export template Allow field staff to filter or browse line items by category when adding items to quotes or invoices This would be a huge workflow improvement for growing teams trying to scale quoting in the field while maintaining accuracy and consistency.
