Estimates, consent & the price book
Prepare veterinary estimates, check proposed items and price ranges, present them to the owner and track consent before moving to billing.
Updated
On this page
An estimate records proposed work and its cost range. It also provides a consent history for the proposal presented to the owner. It is distinct from an invoice, which records the amount billed.
Prepare the proposal
- Open Estimates and choose New estimate.
- Select the correct care episode and location.
- Add the proposed items, quantities and cost range.
- Choose Create draft and review the document.
- Use Present to owner when it is ready for the owner's decision.
Check patient identity and the episode as carefully as the total. A useful estimate should make the proposed work clear enough for the owner to understand what they are being asked to approve. Follow your practice's process for discussing alternatives and questions.
Use the price book
Practice owners and admins maintain the versioned price book. Review the selected item and its price rather than assuming a familiar name means the same configuration as an earlier visit.
Check quantity, unit, location and any price range before presenting the estimate. If a price-book item needs correction, ask the authorised person to update it. Do not hide a setup problem by choosing an unrelated item with a similar price.
Check consent and changes
Use the owner's consent flow and confirm the recorded consent state before treating an estimate as accepted. Presenting an estimate and receiving approval are different steps.
If the proposed work changes, use the document's available edit or withdraw actions and present the appropriate proposal again. Check the current version and state so the team does not rely on a withdrawn or superseded proposal. Keep the clinical discussion in the appropriate record.
Search and archive views help find earlier estimates. Open the canonical document to check the proposal and its status rather than relying on an old screenshot or exported copy.
Move to billing
When the work is ready to bill, open Billing and review the actual line items and total. Estimate approval does not itself issue an invoice or collect payment. Changes between proposed and completed work need a clear explanation in the relevant clinical and billing records.
The billing guide covers invoices, recorded external payments, refunds, credits, voiding, reissue and reconciliation. Billing's estimate-variance view can help review differences between the proposal and the resulting invoice.
If Estimates or an action is missing, check the enabled module, selected practice and your role with a practice owner or admin.