The visual estimate builder — big buttons instead of a long list

The classic line editor is fast at a desk with a keyboard and a long price list. It's slow on a tablet in a driveway, with a customer watching and a part name you can't quite spell. The visual builder swaps the list for big picture tiles: tap Engines, tap Outboard, tap Fuel pump, and it's on the estimate at your price-list price.

It works for both estimates and invoices, and you turn it on per type of work. Your crew doing installs on tablets can use it while the office keeps the classic editor for everything else.

When you'd use this

Field quoting on a tablet or phone. Techs building estimates at the job.
A customer at the counter. Turn the screen around and build the estimate together.
New staff. Tiles with pictures are easier to learn than SKUs.
A price list organized into categories. The builder is only as good as your categories. If everything sits in one big bucket, fix that first (see below).

Keep the classic editor for long, detailed documents typed at a desk, custom line descriptions, and anything that's mostly free-typed text.

How it fits together

Categories become tiles. The builder walks your price-list categories, sub-categories and all. Each category can have a picture. Without one, the tile shows the category's initials.
Each job type picks its opening tiles. "Boat repair" might open on Engines, Electrical and Labor, and "Detailing" on Wash, Wax and Interior. You choose which categories appear and in what order.
Items are priced exactly as in the classic editor. Same price, same name, same description, same tax. The builder is just a different way to add lines.
Search is always there. Typing "pump" is faster than three taps when you know what you want. Used lately shows items your team has added recently.
Proposals get tabs. If the estimate is one option of a Good / Better / Best proposal, every option appears as a tab, and Copy items to… copies lines from one option to another.

Setting it up

Get your categories in shape. Six to ten top-level categories with sub-categories under them works far better than forty flat ones. Somebody should find anything in three taps. If your list is a mess, Organize with AI on the Price List Categories page can draft the tree and sort the items for you to review (see Organizing your price list categories).
Add tile pictures. On the Price List Categories page, pick a category and use Add picture. That works for every category, sub-categories included, and the picture shows as a small thumbnail in the category list too. The Estimates & Proposals settings also have a Tile pictures section for the categories you feature. A clear photo of a typical part beats a logo. Square images look best.
Turn it on per job type. Under By job type, pick the type of work, tick Open estimates and invoices in the visual builder, and add the Categories the builder opens with in the order you want them. Everything else covers job types without their own settings. Leave it off there unless you want the builder everywhere.
Try it on a real job before telling the crew. Build an estimate the way a tech would and see where you hunt for things.

Using it day to day

Opening an estimate or invoice on a job type with the builder turned on takes you straight into the builder, as long as the document is still editable.
Tap a tile to add it. To add more than one, use the − and + buttons on the line or type the quantity, rather than tapping the tile again. Tapping again adds a second line. If your role allows price changes, the price on each line is editable too.
On an invoice, pick which warehouse stock comes from. The builder remembers your choice on that device.
Classic editor switches back to the normal screen for that document. On the normal screen, Visual builder brings you back. You can switch either way at any time.
Locked, closed or voided documents open in the classic view as usual. The builder is only for documents you can still change.

The builder follows the same permissions as the classic editor. Someone who can't change prices or remove lines can't do it in the builder either.

Common mistakes

Turning it on before the categories are ready. A builder that opens on one tile called "General" with 300 items in it is worse than the list. Organize first.
Featuring too many categories. The opening screen should fit without scrolling. Pick the four to eight categories that type of work actually uses. Everything else is still one search away.
Pictures that all look alike. Twelve tiles of grey boxes defeat the point. Use distinct, recognizable photos.
Expecting custom one-off lines. Free-typed lines with long descriptions are still best done in the classic editor. Switch, type it, switch back.
Turning it on for everything else by accident. Then every estimate in the company opens in the builder, including the office's. Turn it on per job type unless that's what you want.