What are Estimates?
Estimates are detailed cost proposals that your team creates and sends to a client for approval. They can include materials, equipment, and labor. Once a client approves an estimate, it converts into a job and materials can be transferred accordingly.
Video Tutorial
Step 1 - Enable Estimates in Ply
Estimates are not enabled by default. To turn it on:
Go to Settings → Workspace → Integration
Scroll to the bottom and toggle on Estimate Pipeline
After saving, a new Estimate Pipeline tab will appear under Procurement.
Once enabled, you'll see the following configuration options:
Setting | Description |
Default action on approval | Choose whether an approved estimate creates a Draft Purchase Order (order from suppliers) or routes to a Pick List (pull from stock). |
Estimate price source | Which ServiceTitan price is read as the unit cost of each estimate line (e.g., Unit price). Changing this applies to newly synced estimates. Use Sync to recalculate estimates already in the pipeline. |
Materials only | When enabled, only material line items from the estimate are routed. Equipment, labor, and other line items are ignored. |
Preferred supplier | Prefilled as the supplier when an estimate creates a Draft Purchase Order. Can still be changed at confirm time. |
Stock-check locations | Locations that count toward "in stock" when deciding Pick List vs. Purchase Order suggestions. Leave empty to check every location. |
Step 2 - Create an Estimate in ServiceTitan
Open the job in ServiceTitan
Go to Job Actions → Add Estimate
Fill in the estimate details:
Name
Business Unit
Summary
Follow-up date
Sold by (salesperson)
Add materials to the estimate
Note: Only Cost to Business is pulled in automatically. Cost to Client must be entered manually if you want to show a different price to your customer.
Services are not synced to Ply
Equipment sync is not yet available
Once all items are added, calculate the total and send the estimate to your client
⚠️Important: The estimate must be marked as Sold in ServiceTitan for it to sync to Ply. Estimates in any other status will not be sent.
Step 3 - Sync the Estimate to Ply
In Ply, go to Procurement → Estimate Pipeline
Search for the estimate by job number
If it doesn't appear, click the Sync button on the right side to force a manual sync
Once the estimate loads, you'll see the, job details, estimate number, and materials
⚠️ For ServiceTitan, you'll see job details, estimate number and materials, but the customer/address fields won't populate.
Step 4 - Match Materials
Ply will attempt to match each material from the estimate to an existing item in your catalog. This step prevents duplicates.
Click Match next to each material to confirm the match
If a material doesn't exist in Ply yet, you'll need to create it from "Add Custom Items"
Step 5 - Confirm the Estimate (PO or Picklist)
Once all materials are matched, you have two options:
Option A - Create a PO
Select the PO icon next to each material, then click Confirm. You'll be prompted to:
Select the supplier
Set a needed-by date
A Draft PO will be created automatically. From there, handle it like any other PO - mark it as received, reconcile it, and once reconciled, the materials will be reflected in the job.
Option B - Create a Picklist
Select the Picklist option to pull stock that's already available at your selected location. Note: if the materials are not in stock, this option won't be available and you'll need to create a PO instead.
Key things to keep in mind
Estimates must be Sold or Approved in ServiceTitan to sync to Ply
Only estimates approved within the last 24 hours come through to Ply.
Services are not synced to Ply
Equipment line items on an estimate are not routed through the Estimate Pipeline (equipment as a catalog item does sync separately, see Creating Equipment in Ply)
Materials are only reflected in the job once the PO is received and reconciled
Use the Sync button in Estimate Pipeline to force a manual sync at any time
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