What Is Estimate Job?
Also known as: estimating job, SyteLine estimate, quote job
Definition
An estimate job in SyteLine is a non-production job used to cost a potential order. It carries materials and routing operations like a real job so SyteLine can calculate a full cost, but it creates no demand, consumes no inventory, and is ignored by planning.
Estimate Job Explained
Make-to-order manufacturers quote parts that do not yet have a bill of material or routing. The estimate job solves that. An estimator builds a job structured exactly like a production job - components with quantities, operations with setup and run times, outside service steps, and any special tooling - and SyteLine costs it using current material costs and work center rates. The result is a defensible cost roll rather than an experienced guess on a spreadsheet.
Crucially, an estimate job is excluded from planning. It generates no gross requirement, so MRP and APS will not order material against it, and it does not appear as supply for any demand. That is the whole point: you can build fifty speculative estimates for a large RFQ package without polluting the plan. It also means an estimate job never posts inventory or cost transactions, so it has no general ledger effect.
When a quote converts to an order, the estimate becomes the seed for the real work. SyteLine supports copying the estimate structure into a production job and, in most implementations, into a permanent bill of material and routing for the newly created item. This is where estimating discipline pays back: an estimate built with realistic operations and accurate times becomes an accurate production standard on day one, rather than something the shop discovers is wrong on the first run.
The common gotcha is stale rates. An estimate job costs at the material costs and work center rates in effect when it is costed, and estimates prepared months before an order lands can be materially wrong after a raw material move or a labor rate change. Disciplined shops re-cost open estimates on a schedule and flag any whose cost has moved beyond a tolerance before the quote is honoured.
Why It Matters
- Estimating inside the ERP produces quotes traceable to real material costs and work center rates rather than spreadsheet assumptions.
- Because estimates generate no demand, sales can quote aggressively without distorting the material plan.
- Converting a good estimate into a production BOM and routing gives accurate standards from the first job.
- Quote-to-actual variance analysis, comparing estimate jobs to the resulting production jobs, is the fastest route to better pricing.
In Practice
Build a recurring comparison of estimate job cost against the actual cost of the production job that resulted from it, grouped by part family. Most job shops discover a consistent under-estimate on a particular operation type - typically setup on low-volume work - and can correct pricing across an entire product line from that single finding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an estimate job affect MRP or inventory in SyteLine?
No. Estimate jobs are deliberately excluded from planning, so they create no gross requirements and are not treated as supply. They also post no inventory or cost transactions, meaning they have no general ledger impact. This lets estimators build as many speculative structures as a quote package needs without distorting the material plan or the books.
How do I turn a SyteLine estimate into a real job?
Once the quote is won, copy the estimate structure into a production job so the materials and operations carry across. Most implementations also promote the estimate into a permanent bill of material and routing for the item, so future orders plan and cost correctly. Review material costs and work center rates at conversion, since they may have moved since the estimate was prepared.
Related Terms
Job Order
A job order in SyteLine is the production work order that authorises manufacturing a quantity of an item. It carries its own copy of the bill of material and routing, collects material, labor, and overhead costs, and moves through a defined status life cycle.
Item Master
The item master in SyteLine is the central record that defines every part the business buys, makes, stocks, or sells - carrying identity, units of measure, planning parameters, costing method, product code, and quality attributes that drive nearly every downstream transaction.
Work Center
A work center in SyteLine is the production location where a routing operation is performed. It carries the labor, machine, and overhead rates used to cost that operation and links to the resource group that APS uses for finite capacity scheduling.
Go Deeper
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