# Create a quote

> Start a quote, fill in project details, add line items and save it as a draft ready to send.

- URL: https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/create-a-quote
- Section: [Quotes](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes)

A quote in Tillage is a project estimate priced by the hour. You choose a client, add line items, and Tillage works out the total with your variance and profit margin. This page covers building a quote; [Send and approve](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/send-and-approve) covers getting it to your client.

## Start a quote

1. Go to **Quotes → All Quotes** and click **New Quote**. You can also choose **Quote Generator** in the sidebar.
2. Under **Project Details**, enter a **Project Name**, for example "Website redesign".
3. Choose a **Client**. Start typing to search, or choose **Add new client** to create one without leaving the quote.
4. Check the **Issue Date**. It defaults to today.

Autosave starts once you've chosen a client. Until then, nothing is saved.

### Create a client from the quote

If the client isn't in Tillage yet, choose **Add new client** (or click the person icon beside the field). In **Create New Client**, enter the **Company Name** and, optionally, a contact's name and email, their industry and a **Client Status**. The new client is selected on the quote straight away. You can add more detail later from **Clients**. See [Clients and contacts](https://tillage.ai/docs/clients/clients-and-contacts).

## Fill in the project details

| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| **Issue Date** | The date on the quote. |
| Expiry date | Click the clock icon beside **Issue Date** (**Set expiry date**) to choose the last day the client can respond. Only future dates can be picked. |
| **PO Number** | Your client's purchase order number, if they gave you one. |
| **Discount** | **None**, **Fixed** or **Percent**, then the amount. One discount applies to the whole quote. |
| **Category** | Groups quotes for your own tracking. Clients don't see it. |
| Tax | Appears when **Show Tax on Quotes** is on in your tax settings. It's labelled with your team's tax label. |

The quote uses your team's currency. To change it, update **Currency** in [Business and branding](https://tillage.ai/docs/account/business-and-branding).

The expiry date isn't shown to the client, and the quote's status doesn't change when it passes. Once it's passed, the client can't approve or decline any more and is asked to contact you for an updated quote.

## Add line items

Each line item is one piece of work, priced as hours × rate. In the **Line Items** card you can:

- Click **Add Line Item** to enter one yourself.
- Click **Service** to add a saved service from your [service library](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/service-library).
- Click **Template** to add a set of lines from a [quote template](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/quote-templates).
- Click **AI Generate** (or **Add with AI** once you have items) to draft lines from a project description. See [AI quote drafts](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/ai-quote-drafts).

AI buttons stay disabled until you've chosen a client and entered a project name.

For each line, enter a title and description, the **Qty** (hours), the **Price** (hourly rate) and the **Var %**. Drag lines to reorder them. To reuse a line on future quotes, click **Save to Library**.

[Line items and pricing](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/line-items-and-pricing) explains every column and how the total is calculated.

## Add notes

Use **Additional Notes** for terms, assumptions or anything else the client should read. Notes appear at the bottom of the quote. To show the same introduction on every quote, set **Introduction Text** in [Quote and invoice settings](https://tillage.ai/docs/account/quote-and-invoice-settings#quote-personalization).

## Save and preview

- Autosave runs every 30 seconds by default while you edit. Change the interval with **Auto-Save (seconds)** on the **Quotes** settings tab. The bottom bar shows **Last saved** and the time.
- Click **Save Draft** to save straight away. On a quote that's been sent, the button reads **Update Quote**.
- Click **Preview** to see the quote, or **Print** to print it.

**Clear All** empties the form, but the saved quote stays. To remove a quote, delete it from the quotes list.

## Manage your quotes

The **Quotes** page groups quotes into tabs:

| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| **Drafts** | Quotes you're still building |
| **Sent** | Sent quotes, including ones the client has viewed |
| **Approved** | Approved quotes that still need a contract or invoice |
| **Closed** | Rejected, expired, contracted and invoiced quotes |

Click a draft to keep editing it. Click any other quote to open its details page. Use the row menu for **Edit**, **View Details**, **Preview Public**, **Update Status** and **Delete**.

### Quote statuses

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | You're still building the quote. |
| Sent | You sent the quote or marked it as sent. |
| Viewed | The client opened the link. Set automatically; your own previews don't count. |
| Approved | The client approved, or you marked it approved. |
| Rejected | The client declined, or you marked it rejected. |
| Contracted | You created a contract from the quote. |
| Invoiced | You created an invoice from the quote. |
| Expired | You marked it expired. Tillage never sets this automatically. |

To change a status yourself, use **Update Status** in the row menu or on the quote's details page. This is useful when a client accepts by email or phone.

### Make a new version

To revise a sent or declined quote, open it and choose **Create New Version**. Tillage copies it into a new draft named "(Copy)", with today's issue date and no expiry date. The original stays as it was.

### Delete a quote

From the quotes list, open the row menu and choose **Delete**, then **Delete Quote**.

> **Important:** Deleting a quote also deletes any contract, invoices and payment plans created from it. This can't be undone. If work has started, change the status instead of deleting.

## Next steps

- [Line items and pricing](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/line-items-and-pricing)
- [Send and approve](https://tillage.ai/docs/quotes/send-and-approve)

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