Overview
Commercial quotes in Dirt Face are estimates sent to general contractors, property managers, or other business customers — often with a submission deadline, multiple recipients, and per-recipient tracking on the Submissions tab.
Both fence and generic estimates support commercial workflows. The difference is usually customer type, job site handling, and how many parties receive the bid — not a separate “commercial” estimate type in the create menu.
Open: Estimates
Commercial vs residential (typical patterns)
| Pattern | Residential | Commercial |
|---|---|---|
| Customer type | Homeowner | General Contractor, Property Manager, Developer |
| Job site | Often same as customer address | Separate project job site on the customer |
| Recipients | Usually one homeowner | GC plus owner or multiple bidders |
| Deadline | Optional internal date | Submission deadline for bid due dates |
| Tracking | Single submission row | Submissions tab per recipient |
Create GC customers with Customer Type → General Contractor on Add a customer.
Step 1: Create the estimate
- Open New Estimate — fence or generic
- Select the primary customer (often the GC or project owner)
- Set Job Site to the project location — for commercial work this may differ from the customer’s billing address
- Optional: set Submission Deadline on project details for bid tracking
Walkthroughs:
Step 2: Complete proposal steps
Finish Materials/Services, Totals, and Documents the same as any estimate. See Proposal steps.
Commercial bids often attach extra PDFs on Documents (specs, exclusions, shop drawings).
Step 3: Submissions tab — recipients
Open the estimate detail page → Submissions tab.
| Action | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Add Recipient | Attach another customer (e.g. GC) who should receive this bid |
| Search customers | Pick existing GC records or add new from the modal |
| Per-row status | Pending, Sent, Viewed, Accepted, Declined, Awarded, Lost |
Each recipient gets their own portal link and email trail.
Step 4: Finalize and send
- Finalize the quote when pricing is locked for submission
- Send per recipient — email with PDF and/or customer portal link
- Track Viewed and Accepted status per row
Send flow: Send to customer
Tip: Use Manage Recipients on the Submit step to align with the Submissions tab before the first send.
Step 5: Award the job
When one party wins the bid:
- Open Submissions
- Mark the winning row Awarded
- Other recipients can be marked Lost for reporting
Convert the estimate to a job from the awarded submission path.
Filter commercial work on the list
On Estimates, open Filters:
| Filter | Use |
|---|---|
| Customer type → Commercial / General Contractor | GC and business bids |
| Sort → Submission Deadline | Upcoming bid due dates |
| Deadline → Due this week / Overdue | Pipeline review |
Related
- Customer details — document history across quotes
- Opportunities — capture leads before formal bids