26.1 Moving from Estimate to Invoice

AIUNIFY CRM includes a direct workflow for converting an Estimate into an Invoice.

This allows the billing record to be created from the existing transaction instead of requiring the user to manually re-enter the Estimate as a new Invoice.

26.2 Permission Requirement

The conversion requires access to create Invoices.

If the conversion action is not shown to your account, continue using the functions made available to you rather than trying to bypass CRM access controls.

26.3 Confirm the Estimate Is Ready

Before conversion, verify:

• The correct Customer.
• The correct Project when applicable.
• The Estimate is the intended version.
• Items and descriptions are accurate.
• Quantities and rates are accurate.
• Taxes, discounts, adjustments, and total are correct.
• The Estimate has not already been converted to an Invoice.

26.4 Starting the Conversion

1. Open the correct Estimate.
2. Review its current status and financial information.
3. Select the available Convert to Invoice action.
4. Choose the appropriate conversion behavior presented by the CRM.
5. Open the resulting Invoice.
6. Review the Invoice before sending or recording financial activity.

26.5 Saving the Result as Draft

The Estimate conversion workflow supports creating the resulting Invoice as a draft when the applicable Save as Draft option is selected.

Use a draft when the converted Invoice needs additional review before it should be treated as ready for Customer communication.

26.6 Review the Resulting Invoice

Even though the Invoice is created from the Estimate, review the resulting Invoice carefully.

Confirm:

• Customer relationship.
• Project relationship when used.
• Invoice date and due date.
• Line items.
• Quantities and rates.
• Taxes.
• Discounts and adjustments.
• Total amount.
• Notes and terms where applicable.

26.7 Estimate and Invoice Relationship

When conversion succeeds, AIUNIFY CRM links the Estimate to the resulting Invoice.

This relationship is preferable to manually creating a disconnected Invoice because it preserves the transaction history.

26.8 Avoid Duplicate Invoices

Before converting, check whether the Estimate already has an Invoice relationship.

If the correct Invoice already exists, open and continue working from that Invoice instead of converting again.

26.9 Do Not Delete the History Unnecessarily

The Estimate provides historical context for how the transaction reached the Invoice stage.

Do not remove the Estimate merely because an Invoice was created. Follow the normal transaction lifecycle and your organization's record-retention practices.

26.10 Conversion Best Practices

• Convert only the final intended Estimate.
• Use Draft when additional Invoice review is needed.
• Review the converted Invoice completely.
• Avoid duplicate conversion.
• Continue billing work from the resulting Invoice.
• Preserve the Estimate-to-Invoice relationship.