Estimates/Quotes in FM Books Connector

[cpot25]

I am trialing FM Books connector as we're currently in a FM and QB environment.  Our sales team is required to input their quotes/estimates into QB and then once it becomes an actual order they have to repeat that data into FM since currently they aren't talking to each other.  This is where FM Books Connector comes in.....

I have watched the videos on how to push information from FM to QB and the one in particular about pushing invoicing/customer data.  I was successful on pushing an invoice from FM to QB but we do not create invoices until the job has been approved -> completed so i'm looking for a way to just push estimates/quotes.  

Is this possible to have FM Books Connector create estimates/quotes and then push those to QB and then once it's an actual order convert that estimate/quote to an invoice?

Thanks for the help.

edit: I myself am not the FM guru at our company.  We have a guy that works for us that makes edits to our system but this is a little over his paygrade.  I'm trying to understand if it's possible and then if so, would potentially work with a consultant to build it for us. 

Edited June 22, 2018 by cpot25

[Geoffrey Gerhard]

It's pretty simple to push an Estimate from FMP into QB, although there's usually not much benefit to doing so. Any reporting on Estimates can often be done in FMP, and Estimates in QB are non-posting transactions that have no impact on the balance sheet or income statement.

I'm unsure if there's any way to "convert" the Estimate into a SalesOrder via the API, and a glance at the OSR ( Onscreen Reference ) does not show any way to create such a link. That said, it's certainly possible to send the same ( or adjusted if the Customer accepts only part of the Estimate/Quote ) transaction from FMP to QB as a SalesOrder record that doesn't point back at the Estimate.

Like an Estimate, a SalesOrder is non-posting. This means that the only reason to pass a SalesOrder from FMP to QB is if the Invoicing is only done within the QB UI. If you are doing the Invoicing in FMP, I'd recommend pushing only Invoices to QB and skipping the process of pushing Estimates and SalesOrders unless there's an accounting/business rule ( or reporting requirement ) that cannot be met from the context of the FMP file.

HTH!

Geoffrey Gerhard
Creative Solution sIncorporated
14000 Creekside Drive
Matthews, NC  28105
704) 184-6852

[cpot25]

This is a great point Geoffrey.  Pushing estimates to QB is unnecessary as they are non-posting.  What we would need to create would be a estimating tool within FM (which we have but not active) and then have a script that would turn this Estimate into a Work Order in the event the customer approved the sale.  At that point, the communication from FM to QB would be necessary for reporting.

Thanks for your insight.