Need a price first? Send the estimate.
Build an estimate in Patcher from your own services and prices, with options if you want to offer a choice, and text it to your customer with a private link. They review it on their phone with no login, approve the option they want, and you turn it into a job and book it.
Estimates sit alongside your schedule, so approved work goes straight to booking.
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Need a price before you book the job? Put the estimate together from your own services.
Then text it to your customer, with a private link.
They open it on their phone. No app, no login.
They compare the options, and approve the one they want.
The approval shows up on your estimate.
Create the job, and pick a suggested time.
From yes to booked, in a few clicks.
Patcher. Make tomorrow easier to schedule.
From a price to booked work.
The estimate uses the same services and prices as your schedule, so there’s nothing to copy over when the customer says yes.
- 01
Build the estimate
Add line items from your price list, or type your own, with a quantity and price for each. Add a second option when the customer has a choice to make.
- 02
Text it to your customer
Patcher sends a text with a private link. You see the message before it goes, and can edit the wording.
- 03
They approve it from their phone
The link opens a page with your logo, the options with their line items and totals, and your note. They approve the one they want, or decline with a reason. No app, no account.
- 04
Book the work
The approval shows on the estimate right away. Create the job and pick from suggested times, or send the customer a link to pick a time themselves.
The details.
What you send
- Line items from your services, with the prices you set, or your own lines.
- One estimate can carry more than one option; the customer approves one of them.
- A note to the customer that shows on their page.
What your customer sees
- One private link, sent by text, with no login. The same link shows the approved work afterwards.
- Each option with its line items, subtotal, tax and total.
- Approve or Decline, and a decline can include a reason.
What to know
- Approving an option doesn’t book anything by itself. You create the job, then schedule it, send a link for the customer to pick a time, or leave it unscheduled.
- If a customer says yes by phone or in person, record the approval on the estimate yourself.
- Estimates go out by text. There’s no payment or deposit step.
Questions about estimates
Do my customers need an app or an account to approve?
No. They open the link in the text and approve on the page, on any phone or computer.
Can I give customers more than one option?
Yes. Add options to the estimate, each with its own line items and total. The customer compares them and approves the one they want.
What happens after a customer approves?
The estimate shows it as approved, with the option and the date. You create the job from the estimate and book it into a suggested time, or text the customer a link to pick a time. Approved estimates also wait in Needs attention until you do.
Can a customer decline?
Yes. They can decline from the same page and tell you why; you see it on the estimate.
Can I take payment or a deposit with the estimate?
No. Patcher doesn't take payments or deposits. The estimate is for agreeing on the work and the price before you book it.
Related features
- Appointment scheduling
Book a caller into a time that fits before you hang up.
- Travel-aware scheduling
When you go to customers, suggested times account for the job, the drive, and your team’s availability.
- Online booking
Customers book work that doesn’t need an estimate from your booking page.
See Patcher with a sample business.
Try the live demo, no signup required. Estimates are included on every Patcher plan.