Quote, estimate and proforma statuses
Every quote, estimate and proforma invoice moves through a series of statuses from the moment you create it to the moment it's accepted, converted or closed. This guide explains each status, what it means, and what you can do while a document is in it.
The lifecycle at a glance
stateDiagram-v2
[*] --> Draft: Create
Draft --> Sent: Send
Draft --> Cancelled: Cancel
Draft --> [*]: Delete
Sent --> Accepted: Accept*
Sent --> Declined: Decline*
Sent --> Converted: Convert to invoice
Sent --> Expired: Valid-until date passes
Sent --> Cancelled: Cancel
Sent --> Superseded: A revision is sent
Accepted --> Converted: Convert to invoice
Accepted --> Cancelled: Cancel
Accepted --> Superseded: A revision is sent
Declined --> Superseded: A revision is sent
Expired --> Superseded: A revision is sent
Converted --> [*]
Superseded --> [*]
Cancelled --> [*]
* Accepted and Declined apply to quotes and estimates only. A proforma invoice is send-only, so it goes straight from Sent to Converted, Expired, Superseded or Cancelled.
What each status means
| Status | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Being prepared. It has no number yet and hasn't gone to the customer. | Edit, delete, send, or cancel it. |
| Sent | Issued to the customer. It now has its number and is locked (no more editing). For a quote or estimate, its online link is live. | Convert it to an invoice, revise it, cancel it, or mark it accepted/declined (quotes and estimates). It expires automatically after its valid-until date. |
| Accepted | The customer accepted it online, or you recorded their acceptance. (Quotes and estimates only.) | Convert it to an invoice, revise it (for example if the customer asks for a change before invoicing), record their purchase order, or cancel it. |
| Declined | The customer declined it, or you recorded a decline. (Quotes and estimates only.) | Revise it to send a new version. |
| Converted | A draft invoice has been created from it. This is final. | Nothing further — open the linked invoice to carry on. |
| Expired | Its valid-until date passed while it was still awaiting a response. | Revise it to send an up-to-date version. |
| Superseded | It was replaced by a newer revision that has now been sent. Its link no longer works. | Nothing further — work with the newer version. |
| Cancelled | You withdrew it. This is final, and its link no longer works. | Nothing further. |
How the status changes
- Send moves a Draft to Sent and assigns its number. See Send a quote or estimate.
- Accept / Decline (quotes and estimates) happen when the customer responds online, or when you record it yourself. See When your customer accepts or declines online.
- Convert to Invoice moves a Sent or Accepted document to Converted and creates a draft invoice. See Convert a quote, estimate or proforma to an invoice.
- Expired is set automatically once the valid-until date passes, while the document is still Sent.
- Revise creates a new draft; when you send it, the previous version becomes Superseded. See Revise a sent document.
- Cancel withdraws a Draft, Sent or Accepted document.
What your customer sees
On the online page, some statuses are shown to the customer in friendlier words: Sent appears as Awaiting Response, Converted as Invoiced, and Cancelled as Withdrawn. Accepted, Declined, Expired and Superseded read the same to you and to them.
Accounting impact
None of these statuses affect your accounts. A quote, estimate or proforma is only reflected in your ledger once it's converted to an invoice and that invoice is issued — see Understand invoice statuses.