Use this article when Calculate ends with Unable to calculate estimate or returns no route after the AI assistant has populated every field. After this you will know which missing setup entity blocked the calculation and how to fix it without changing the customer's request.
Symptom table
Symptom | Check (where to look) | Fix (action) | Verify (what you'll see) |
| Open the customer selector on the quote and check which required field is empty | Fill in the missing customer field (typically address or VAT identifier). Save the customer record. | The banner clears. Calculate becomes available. |
| Open the category selector. If you picked a category but no part, the workspace blocks Calculate. | Select the product (part) inside the category. | The banner clears. The AI assistant input area is enabled. |
| Open Issue analysis from the banner. Read the first row for the requested weight, size, and coat. | Open Estimate Setup → Substrates, add a row that matches the requested spec, or pick an existing row that satisfies the request. Select Apply Changes. | Calculate returns a route. The quote header shows the chosen substrate. |
| Open Issue analysis → Excluded machines to see which presses were rejected and why | If exclusion is by tag, add the routing tag to the substrate or the press. If exclusion is by sheet size, edit the press's accepted-sheet rules in Estimate Setup → Print Machines. | The previously-excluded press appears as the assigned print machine after Calculate. |
| Open Estimate Setup → Finishing Machines and search for a machine that performs the named step | Either add the missing finishing machine, or remove the requested finish from the product fields if the shop cannot produce it. | The finishing line appears on the price breakdown. |
Calculate runs but the quoted route looks visibly wrong (digital picked when offset should win, or vice versa) | Open Issue analysis on the quote — even when Calculate completes, Issue analysis lists excluded machines and the reason | Adjust the substrate's tags or the press's sheet-size and rate fields in Estimate Setup. Re-select Apply Changes. | The assigned print machine on the route changes after the next Calculate. |
Worked example faults
Example 1 — Stitched book fails with missing substrate
Northgate Press receives an A4 stitched book request, Silk 90gsm SRA1 cover, 5,000 run. After AI intake, the estimator selects Calculate. The quote returns Unable to calculate estimate.
The estimator opens Issue analysis. The first row reads No substrate matched: weight 90 gsm, size SRA1, coat Silk. Northgate Press' library has 100gsm and 115gsm SRA1 rows but no 90gsm row.
The estimator opens Estimate Setup → Substrates, duplicates the Silk 100gsm SRA1 row, and edits the weight field to 90. Save. Pending Changes shows one staged edit. The estimator selects Apply Changes from the sidebar — the count returns to zero.
Back on the quote, the estimator selects Calculate. The route loads with XL105 as the print machine and the new Silk 90gsm SRA1 substrate selected.
Example 2 — AI added an unconfigured finish
Northgate Press receives a request for a folded leaflet with spot UV. After AI intake, the estimator selects Calculate. The quote returns Unable to calculate estimate and Issue analysis names Spot UV as the missing finishing step.
Northgate Press does not run spot UV in-house. The estimator removes the Spot UV entry from the finishing fields on the quote, selects Calculate again, and the route loads using Folder 1 for fold and Guillotine 1 for cut. The total updates to reflect the simplified job.
If the shop did plan to run spot UV but had not configured the machine yet, the fix would be in Estimate Setup → Finishing Machines → Spot Finishing — add the machine with rate and accepted-sheet rules.
What if this didn't fix it?
If Issue analysis keeps reporting the same missing entity after you have added it in Estimate Setup and selected Apply Changes, the cause is likely a data-sync issue or a calculation-engine bug rather than configuration. Open a support request and include: the estimate number, the category name, the substrate name, a screenshot of the Issue analysis dialog, and the timestamp of the most recent Apply Changes.