How do I track contractor and vendor estimates in MONA?

Quick answer: In MONA, an estimate is the bid a contractor, trade or vendor gives your studio, not the document you send your client. Open Finance, then Estimates, click Log estimate, and track each bid until the number is in. When it arrives, click Convert to proposal line to put it on the project’s draft proposal with your markup, then send the proposal to your client.

If you came here looking for a client-facing estimate or quote, that is a proposal in MONA. See Proposals and contract signing. This page covers the other half: the plumber, electrician, millwork shop or general contractor you asked for a number.

Who can use this?

• Every plan. Estimates is not gated by plan.
• Every role. Members keep the Estimates tab even when the rest of Finance is hidden from them. Deleting an estimate is limited to the owner and admins by default; a custom role can change that. See custom roles and permissions.

Where do estimates live?

There are two views of the same records:

1. Finance, then Estimates. The studio-wide bid ledger: every number you have asked a trade for, across every project. Filters along the top: All, Waiting, Unfiled (bids with no project yet), plus All statuses, All trades, All vendors, All projects, and a Show declined switch.
2. A project’s Estimates tab. The same bids, limited to that job. Opening a bid from the studio list takes you here, because this is where the proposal it converts onto lives.

How do I log an estimate?

1. Click Finance in the sidebar, then the Estimates tab (or open a project and click Estimates).
2. Click Log estimate. The Log an estimate window opens.
3. In Project (optional), pick the job, or leave it on No project yet. A bid often arrives before the job is decided, and you can attach it later.
4. Pick from Pick a saved vendor (optional) or type the name in Vendor. Vendor is the only required field.
5. Fill in Trade, Space, Amount and Scope. Trade suggests Plumbing, Electrical, Tile, Carpentry, HVAC, General contractor and Other, but you can type anything. Amount is the vendor’s number including their tax; your own sales tax goes on the proposal. Leave it blank while you wait.
6. Add Notes if you want a reminder for when you chase it, then click Log estimate.

You can also add a bid straight from the list: the table has a quick-add row with + Vendor, project, Trade, Space and Amount cells.

How do I move a bid through its statuses?

Open the bid. The buttons at the top only offer moves that make sense from where it is:

• Requested can go to Mark waiting, Mark received or Mark declined.
• Waiting can go to Mark received or Mark declined.
• Received can go to Mark revised or Mark declined, and to Priced through Convert.
• Revised can go to Mark declined, take another New revision, or go to Priced through Convert.
• Priced and Declined are final.

The detail also shows Request sent and Received dates you can edit, and a Waiting count. A bid still out after 7 days reads Aging, and after 14 days Stale.

What if the vendor sends a new number?

1. Open the bid and click New revision.
2. Enter the New amount, what changed in Scope, the Received on date and Notes.
3. Save it. The bid updates in place and its earlier numbers stay under Revision history, with the change between each version.

How do I put a bid on the client’s proposal?

1. Open the bid. It needs an amount and a project. If it has no project, click Attach to project first.
2. Click Convert to proposal line.
3. Enter a Markup %, or leave it blank to use the project’s default markup.
4. Enter a Line title, or leave it blank and MONA names it from the vendor, trade and space.
5. Click Convert. MONA adds the line to the project’s newest draft proposal, or starts a new draft if none exists, and shows Cost, Markup, Client price and Proposal total.
6. Click View proposal to open the draft.

The estimate moves to Priced. Converting the same bid twice does nothing; MONA tells you it is already on a proposal line rather than adding it again.

How do I check what the contractor actually charged?

1. Open the bid and click Check variance.
2. Enter What they actually charged and a Source, such as the vendor’s invoice number.
3. MONA shows Bid, Actually charged, Difference and Off by, with a verdict of Overcharged, Under bid or Matches. Any difference counts; there is no built-in tolerance.

Can MONA keep the list for me?

Yes. Connect your mailbox in Settings, then Integrations, and ask MONA in chat, for example: log the tile bid from Hudson Tile on the Riverside project. The agent and your scheduled tasks can read bids in your inbox, file each one to the right project and vendor, attach the files, and link back to the original email. Use Add file on a bid to attach more documents yourself, and Ask MONA about this from the bid’s menu to point the agent at one bid.

What it does not do (yet)

• No client-facing estimate document. Send your client a proposal instead.
• No direct estimate to invoice. A bid becomes a proposal line; approved lines are invoiced from there.
• No bid requests sent from Estimates. Logging a bid records that you asked; it does not email the trade.
• Online quotes behind a client sign-in cannot be pulled in automatically. Download the PDF and attach it with Add file.

Want a hand?

Book a 30-minute setup call and we will walk through your bid process and your first proposal together.

Related articles

• Proposals and contract signing
• Invoices and purchase orders as PDFs, tracked in a database
• How do I enter vendor bills and track what my studio owes in MONA?
• How do clients pay me online through MONA, and when does the money land?

Frequently asked questions

Can I send an estimate to my client from MONA?

Not from Estimates. In MONA an estimate is the bid a contractor or vendor gives you. The document your client sees is a proposal. Price each bid onto the project’s draft proposal with Convert to proposal line, then send the proposal for approval and signature.

What do the estimate statuses mean?

Requested means you asked for a number. Waiting means you chased it and it is still outstanding. Received means the number is in. Revised means the vendor sent a new number. Priced means the bid is on a client proposal line. Declined means the trade passed or you dropped them. Priced and Declined are final.

Can I turn an estimate into an invoice?

Not directly. A bid becomes a proposal line first. Once your client approves the proposal, you bill those approved lines through invoices.

What happens when a vendor sends a revised number?

Open the bid and click New revision. Enter the New amount, what changed in Scope, the Received on date and a note. The bid updates in place and the old number stays in its Revision history with the difference between each version.

Can MONA log estimates from my email for me?

Yes. With your mailbox connected, the MONA agent and your scheduled tasks can read bids in your inbox, file each one against the right project and vendor, and link back to the original email. A bid that arrives as a link to Jobber, Billdu, QuickBooks, Housecall Pro or Square can be pulled in with Pull into MONA when the link does not need a sign-in.

How do I check whether a contractor charged what they quoted?

Open the bid and click Check variance. Enter What they actually charged and a Source such as the invoice number. MONA shows the Bid, Actually charged, Difference and Off by percentage, and labels it Overcharged, Under bid or Matches.

Who can see and delete estimates?

Everyone on the team sees the Estimates tab, including members who cannot see the rest of Finance, because chasing bids is design work. Deleting an estimate is limited to the owner and admins by default.

How do I know which bids are overdue?

Click the Waiting pill on the Estimates list. Each outstanding bid shows how many days it has been waiting since the request went out. After 7 days it reads Aging and after 14 days it reads Stale.