Use this article when you want to understand the daily loop your estimators run for routine single-product quotes. After this you will know what each stage of the loop does, what Estimator handles for you, and where to push back into Estimate Setup if the result is wrong.
What everyday quote creation is
Everyday quote creation is the routine workflow your estimators use once your shop's substrates, machines, and product categories already exist in Estimate Setup. They open a new estimate, enter the customer's spec, Calculate a price, refine the result, and save the quote — usually in under a minute for a familiar spec.
The work is split into two layers that stay separate:
Quote-time changes belong on the quote itself. Quantity, finished size, version count, finishing add-ons, and any one-off custom cost are set per estimate.
Setup-time changes belong in Estimate Setup. Adding a new substrate, a new press, a new product category, or default markups changes how every future quote calculates — never edit setup to fix a single quote.
The cluster covers the daily loop only. It does not cover the onboarding "first estimate" walkthrough, AI Configurator setup, or multi-product tender uploads.
The everyday loop
The full loop has five stages. Estimator handles the math at each stage; your estimator handles the spec and the judgement.
Start. Open the quote workspace and click Create new estimate, or open an existing draft.
Specify. Pick the product category that matches the job, then fill in the quantity, finished size, substrate, colours, and finishing options. You can type, paste customer text into the chat, or upload a PDF or screenshot of the RFQ.
Calculate. Click Calculate. Estimator returns one or more priced options, each representing a complete production route.
Refine. Edit any spec field, add a finishing operation from Additional Options, or layer in a one-off charge. Click Recalculate after changes that affect production.
Review and save. Open See price breakdown to confirm the cost makeup, and use View estimation path to see the route Estimator picked. Save the quote when the total and the breakdown match what you expect.
A worked example
Northgate Press receives an RFQ: "2,500 A5 folded leaflets, Silk 115gsm SRA1, 4-over-4, single fold." The estimator opens the quote workspace, clicks Create new estimate, and picks the Folded Leaflets category.
The form prompts for quantity (2,500), finished size (A5), substrate (the 115gsm SRA1 row in Northgate Press' substrate table — Silk 115gsm SRA1), colours (4/4), and the fold step. The estimator clicks Calculate.
Estimator returns two priced options: one routing the print step to XL105 (sheet-fed offset, the shop's primary press) and one routing to HP Indigo (digital, used for short runs). The estimator selects the XL105 option because 2,500 sits inside Northgate Press' offset band. They open See price breakdown to confirm the make-ready, run, paper, and fold lines look right, then save the quote.
If the customer later asks for shrink-wrap, the estimator opens the saved quote, scrolls to Additional Options, picks the shrink-wrap add-on (configured upstream as a price model with conditional steps), and clicks Recalculate. The quote total updates with the added finishing line.
What this affects
Quote totals and the price breakdown. Every spec change recalculates the cost basis. The breakdown shows the production steps, machine selections, substrate cost, make-ready, run, finishing, markups, and any applied rebate.
The selected route. Each option you choose binds the quote to a specific sequence of machines. The selected option drives the total the customer sees and the route the production team will use.
Downstream exports. The saved quote feeds the quote letter PDF and any MIS export. Both reflect the final option and any quote-time edits you applied.
What this does not affect
Estimate Setup records. Changing quantity, size, or finishing on a quote does not modify the underlying substrate, press, category, or pricing-rule records. To change setup, edit those records and apply the change.
Other open quotes. Edits on this quote stay on this quote. A second estimator working a different RFQ at the same time will not see your changes.
The customer's standing rebate. Quote-time edits do not alter the rebate value stored on the customer record.