Use this article when a user cannot see Manage estimates, cannot open Estimate Setup, or hits permission errors when they try to save changes or run an export. After this you will know which role assignment, customer-record toggle, or session refresh resolves the issue.
Symptom table
Symptom | Check (where to look) | Fix (action) | Verify (what you'll see) |
User sees no Estimator entries in the GelatoConnect sidebar | Open the user's record in GelatoConnect user management and read the assigned role list | Assign the MIS User role (for quoting) or MIS Admin role (for setup). Save the user record. Ask the user to sign out and back in. | Manage estimates appears in the user's GelatoConnect sidebar after they re-authenticate. |
User sees Manage estimates but no Estimate Setup | Open the user's record and confirm whether they have MIS Admin or only MIS User | This is expected for MIS User. If they need setup access, assign MIS Admin. Sign out and back in. | Estimate Setup appears in the sidebar after re-authentication. |
User searches for a customer in Create new estimate and the customer is missing | Open the customer record in GelatoConnect → Customers → Jobs and Estimations | Toggle Estimation Process to on. Save the customer record. | The customer appears in the Create new estimate customer picker on the next refresh. |
User can open a quote but the Calculate and edit controls are disabled | Open the user's record and check whether they are on a read-only variant or whether the quote is in a locked sent state | If the role is read-only and the user needs edit access, assign MIS User with edit permission. If the quote is in a sent state, open a new estimate instead of editing the sent one. | The edit controls and Calculate become active. |
User cannot run an export from a quote | Open Estimate Setup → Settings → Connections and check whether the export connection is configured | If no connection is configured, set one up (MIS Admin role required). If the connection exists, confirm the user has at least MIS User role. | The Export action becomes available on the quote. |
Apply Changes returns a permission error | Open the user's role; confirm MIS Admin is assigned | Assign MIS Admin and ask the user to re-authenticate. MIS User cannot apply staged setup changes by design. | Apply Changes runs and the Pending Changes count returns to zero. |
Worked example faults
Example 1 — A new MIS User cannot see Estimate Setup
Northgate Press' admin onboards Ben as an estimator. Ben signs in and reports that he can see Manage estimates but not Estimate Setup.
The admin opens Ben's user record. Ben has the MIS User role, which is correct for his job — MIS User is intentionally blocked from Estimate Setup. The admin explains that Ben does not need that area; substrate, machine, and pricing edits are Anna's responsibility as MIS Admin. Ben continues with Manage estimates.
Example 2 — A real customer is missing from the estimate picker
Northgate Press' admin migrates a long-standing customer record into GelatoConnect. Ben tries to start a quote against the customer and reports the customer is missing from the Create new estimate picker.
The admin opens the customer record in GelatoConnect → Customers, opens the Jobs and Estimations section, and finds that Estimation Process is off. The admin toggles it on and saves the customer record.
Ben refreshes Manage estimates and selects Create new estimate. The customer now appears in the picker, and Ben can run a quote against it.
What if this didn't fix it?
If a user has the right role, has signed out and back in, and still cannot see the expected Estimator surface, the cause is likely a GelatoConnect platform-level issue rather than an Estimator setup gap. Open a support request and include: the user's email, the role assigned in user management, the screenshot of their GelatoConnect sidebar, and the customer name (if the issue is customer visibility). Note whether the user is on a single-sign-on identity provider or a direct login.