In this article, you'll learn how to see an estimate or invoice the way your customer will see it, before you send it. It's the quickest way to catch a wrong price, a missing item or a layout that looks off.
Your customers open estimates and invoices in their customer portal, where they can see every document you've sent them. They only ever see what you've actually sent: an estimate shows up once it's no longer Unsent, and an invoice once it's no longer a draft. The preview lets you look first.
To preview an estimate as the customer:
- In the menu, click Estimates and open the estimate.
- Click Actions.
- Click Preview as customer.
Previewing an estimate
The estimate opens in a new tab, inside the customer's portal, the way it'll look to them. You'll see the same Decline and Approve buttons they'll see.
This works even when you haven't sent the estimate yet. An unsent estimate only opens through this preview. It isn't listed in the customer's inbox, so they can't come across it on their own.
Previewing an invoice
To preview an invoice:
- In the menu, click Invoices and open the invoice.
- In the row of buttons under the invoice card, click Preview.
The Preview button only shows when the invoice has a customer on it. Until the invoice has gone out, the same row says Not sent.
This preview works differently from the estimate one. It opens the customer's portal, and the portal only shows invoices that have been sent. So:
- On an invoice you've already sent, the preview opens that invoice.
- On a draft invoice, the preview lands on the customer's inbox, and the draft isn't there.
To check how a draft invoice will look before it goes out, use the template preview further down.
On the phone app
The app has the same previews:
- On an estimate, tap the ⋮ menu at the top right, then Preview as customer.
- On an invoice, tap the ⋮ menu at the top right, then Preview. View as client in the same menu opens the same portal page. Both need a customer on the invoice.
They open the same customer pages as on the web, so the same rules about unsent estimates and draft invoices apply.
Checking the layout with the template preview
Every estimate, invoice and payment receipt is drawn from its template, so the template designer is where you check how the page is laid out: your logo, the headings, where the items list sits. Its preview fills the page with sample details, not a real customer's.
To preview a template:
- In the menu, click Settings, then Documents.
- Click the template's name, for example Estimate or Invoice.
- At the top of the designer, click Preview.
The page opens in a preview window. It shows your changes even before you click Save, so you can try something, look, and undo it if you don't like it. Close the window with the ×.