Start from the lead and make sure the quote is being built from clean site information

The strongest quote starts from the lead because the lead carries the customer details, address and site survey information that shapes labour, access and scope decisions. When you create a quote from the lead, Fencify opens a draft quote and sends you straight into Quote Builder, which keeps the sales trail connected from the first enquiry through to the proposal.

Before you add the first run, review the pricing inputs that matter most:

• client name and site address
• survey details such as ground type, slope, access conditions and removal requirements
• the broad fence type or material the customer expects
• any estimator notes that affect layout, gates or site access

Quote Builder surfaces difficult site conditions from the survey. When the lead carries a non-standard ground type or slope, the page shows a warning so the estimator can pause and review labour before trusting the price. That warning is valuable because it keeps the quote tied to what the team saw on site rather than to a generic fence recipe.

Choose the fence model before you worry about the line items

Fence Models and Model Components do the heavy lifting behind the builder. The model defines the fence type and spacing logic. The component list defines which products are consumed per post, per bay, per metre or per run. Inventory products carry the pricing that those generated line items will use.

A practical estimating sequence looks like this:

1. Open the model list and confirm the model exists for the fence style you are pricing.
2. Open the component recipe when you need to confirm what that model actually consumes.
3. Check that the products linked to the recipe are current and carry the right selling price for your account.
4. Review labour rates before pricing if the job has unusual digging, removal or access conditions.

In Quote Builder, the selected model also controls what the run form can offer. Height options are loaded from the fence type. Supported colours are filtered to that type. Supplier choices are narrowed to suppliers that fit the model context. Gate choices are filtered to available Gate products that suit the selected fence type and run attributes.

This is why model selection comes before fine-tuning the numbers. If the wrong model is chosen, the recipe, gate choices and generated material list all drift away from the job you are actually pricing.

Where your materials catalogue uses height-specific or profile-specific products, that setup matters here as well. Fencify uses the selected height and supplier context when it tries to match the best product for the run, so tidy model and inventory setup produces cleaner quote lines with less manual correction.

Build each fence run from measured boundary length to priced fence length

The run table is the centre of the workflow. Each parent run represents a real fence section on site, and the builder calculates the related materials from that structure.

For each run, enter the job in the order the builder expects:

1. Choose the fence model that matches that boundary.
2. Name the run clearly, for example Left Boundary, Rear Boundary or Pool Return.
3. Enter the measured boundary length as the gross length.
4. Choose the run height if the model offers height choices.
5. Choose the supplier where supplier options are shown.
6. Choose the colour where the fence type supports colours.

Fencify treats the measured boundary as the gross length. If you attach gates that deduct from the parent boundary, the builder reduces the net fence length automatically. The run table then shows the gross measurement, total gate width and the remaining net fence length that will be fenced. That distinction matters in fencing work because the site might measure 18 metres overall while only 16.8 metres becomes actual fence after gate openings are allowed for.

Quote Builder groups attached gates under the parent run, keeps the gate count with that run and recalculates totals whenever you add, update or remove a section. Every run edit saves back into the quote and triggers a fresh total sync, so you can price boundary by boundary while still keeping one live quote value at the top of the page.

Use attached gates and custom items to finish the scope properly

Attached gates belong in the same workflow as the parent run because the opening changes the priced fence length. Fencify lets you stage gates against the run with a gate product, opening mode, width, height, colour and notes.

Two gate approaches matter:

• Deduct from boundary suits openings that replace part of the fence line.
• Additional opening suits gate items you want to add without reducing the parent fence length.

Keep the combined deducted gate width within the measured parent boundary. When that relationship stays realistic, the gross and net figures remain meaningful for materials, labour and installer handoff.

Gate products are filtered from your Gate inventory items, which helps keep the gate choice aligned with the selected fence type and run details. If a gate line shows that a product is required, finish that selection before you rely on the recalculated total.

After the run structure is right, use Add Custom Item for extras that sit outside the model recipe. Good examples include disposal allowances, temporary access work, feature hardware, retaining items, custom capping, site-specific extras or one-off commercial adjustments that deserve their own line. Custom items stay visible in the Bill of Materials with a manual badge, which makes them easier to explain internally and to spot during a review.

Read the Bill of Materials and labour response before you trust the total

Once the runs are in place, the Bill of Materials becomes your commercial sense-check. Fencify generates material lines from the model recipe and adds labour surcharge lines where the survey and labour-rate setup call for them.

The model component logic works in practical fencing terms:

• per post items rise with post count
• per bay items rise with the number of bays
• per metre items scale by run length
• per run items appear once for that run

Labour rates then layer over the survey context. Standard keys such as hard digging, clay drilling, tight access, stair access and removal can feed extra labour lines into the quote. Fixed labour surcharges are applied once where relevant, while per-post and per-metre rates scale with the run they belong to.

When you review the Bill of Materials, check four things:

• the line items match the scope you expected from the selected model
• gate allowances and manual items appear where you intended
• labour additions make sense for the survey conditions on that job
• the sell pricing on the quote aligns with your current inventory and labour setup

The builder surface is focused on quoted prices and the final quote value. If you need to review base costs or refine the sell rate, step back into Inventory, Model Components or Labour Rates, correct the setup, and then recalculate the quote from a clean commercial base.

Review the quote record as if you are handing it to the next person

Once the builder total looks right, open the quote record and review the quote the way an admin, owner or estimator would before it is sent. The quote page brings together the client details, grouped scope, final total and status in one place.

This page is where you confirm:

• the client name, email and address are ready for sending
• the status still matches the current stage of work
• the grouped run summary reads clearly and the Grand Total makes commercial sense
• the proposal details are ready to represent the scope externally

The quote output also carries timing and payment expectations. The proposal PDF includes the quote validity period and payment terms, so a commercial review is more than checking the dollar figure. It is also checking whether the client is about to receive a quote that tells the right time and payment story for your business.

When you send the quote from the quote page, Fencify uses the client email on the lead, applies the selected or default message, and moves the quote into Sent status. From there, the quote can continue through Viewed, Accepted or Declined as the customer responds.

Use commercial snapshots and revision history to keep control of later changes

Fencify keeps two useful commercial records around the quote. Commercial snapshots preserve the state of the quote when it is sent and when it is accepted. Revision history records the quote state after builder changes such as added runs, updated runs, deleted runs and manual item edits.

That matters when the customer changes a gate width, the estimator updates a boundary measurement, or the office needs to explain why a newer total differs from the version that was already issued.

The advanced quote details panel helps you answer practical questions such as:

• what subtotal, GST, total and deposit percentage were issued to the client
• whether the accepted commercial state matches the sent state
• which revision changed the amount or the item count
• how much the quote moved between two saved revisions

Use those records as a commercial audit trail. They are especially useful when more than one estimator or admin user can touch the quote before acceptance, or when a customer revisits the scope after the first send. The goal is simple: every change should be understandable, defendable and easy to follow from draft through to acceptance.

Final pricing checklist before proposal sending

A fencing quote is ready to send when the structure, pricing and client-facing wording all line up. A short final review keeps that standard consistent:

1. Read each run name and length like an installer would and confirm it matches the site layout.
2. Check the chosen model, height, supplier and colour on every run that uses them.
3. Review every attached gate and confirm whether it deducts from the parent boundary or sits as an additional opening.
4. Scan the Bill of Materials for missing products, duplicate extras or labour that does not match the survey conditions.
5. Confirm the total, GST and any deposit expectation are commercially right for the deal.
6. Check the quote validity window and payment terms before sending the proposal out.
7. Open the quote summary one last time and make sure the client record is ready for email sending.

For example, a 24 metre Colorbond side boundary with one 1 metre pedestrian gate, tight access and removal of an old timber fence should leave the builder with a clear parent run, a deducted gate opening, removal labour, tight-access labour, generated Colorbond materials and any custom extras that sit outside the standard recipe. If that story reads cleanly in the run list and the final total makes sense, the quote is ready for the proposal stage.

Your next step inside Fencify is to send the proposal, monitor the quote status after it is issued, and be ready to follow up or revise the scope if the customer comes back with changes.