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.
Sections in Quotes
We love Jobber and generally have few complaints. However, one big update that would make our estimates much clearer and easier to navigate would be sections. I know that we can add text to a label and then add line items under it, but this is not the best solution. If we could have clear sections that we could group line items under, be able to move whole sections, and be able to move line items from section to section, this would solve so many problems and make editing quotes much faster. Please please please can we make this happen. Also, the new format for the line items makes it way harder to navigate.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.
