Estimates in Progress Window

The Estimates in Progress window is open by default when you first open R.O. Writer. If you don't see it, click the Estimates button on the main toolbar The estimates in progress button in the main toolbar. .

The Estimates in Progress window showing a list of estimates.

The Estimates in Progress window displays the following ticket types with a Status of OPEN:

Estimates - Estimate numbers begin with a number.
Phone Quotes - Quote numbers begin with "Q".
Tire Comparison Quotes - Tire Comparison Quote numbers begin with "TQ".
Parts-Only Estimates - Parts-only ticket numbers begin with a number. (*PARTS ONLY* appears in the Status column.)

NOTE: Saved or deleted tickets do not appear on the Estimates in Progress window.

Title Bar

The title bar displays the estimate count and number of hours. These numbers adjust as the list is narrowed by searches.

Estimate count - The number of the selected estimate and the total number of open estimates.
Hours - The total number of billable labor hours on jobs not marked as Finished.

Columns

Click any of the column headers to sort the list by the content in that column.

The following table describes each column on the Estimates in Progress window.
Column	This column displays the:
Est #	Estimate number.
Fleet/Unit No	Fleet or unit number assigned to the vehicle.
Est Authorization	Status of the estimate authorization: Approved (green) means the estimate has been authorized. Approval Needed (red) means the estimate needs to be authorized. $0 Repair Order means that the estimate has been authorized at $0.
Customer	Name of the customer.
Phone	Telephone number of the customer. This is the number that appears in the Phone 1 field of the Edit Customer window.
Vehicle	Year, make, and model of the vehicle. For details, click the following link: Vehicle Information.
License	License plate number of the vehicle.
Appointment	Time and date of customer appointments created in Scheduler. Appointments created in Calendar appear here if those appointments were created from an open estimate.
In	Date and time that the estimate was created.
Promised	Date and time the customer was promised repairs would be completed by. Red means a promised time has been set. "Waiting" in green means the Waiting box was checked and the customer is waiting in the shop.
Writer	Service writer that created the ticket.
Hours	Labor hours remaining before all services can be marked as Finished. This number is the sum of the Billed Time of all labor posted to the ticket.
Comments	Text in the Estimate Notes section of the Notes tab; if no text is entered there, then this column is blank. For parts-only estimates, this column always displays "PARTS ONLY".
Status	The status of each ticket. Only tickets with a Status of Open appear on this window, which means all tickets have "OPEN" in this column.
Primary Tech	Technician with the most billed hours assigned to the estimate.
Profit Center	Selected profit center.
Original RO#	Original repair order number (if the estimate was converted from a repair order).

Searching for Estimates

Type criteria in the Criteria field and click Search.

The search section.

You can enter information in any of the columns visible on the window. For instance, if the License Plate column is displaying, you can search by any characters at the beginning of the license plate numbers.

When R.O. Writer finds the first match, it highlights the selected estimate in the list.

Click Search again to find the next match.
Click Search again to find the next match and so on.

TIP: You can also do a more thorough search using the Estimate Search window.

To Search by Scheduled Appointments

The Show dropdown list allows you to narrow the Estimates in Progress list to include only the estimates linked to appointments.

The Search area of the Estimates in Progress window.

Select an item to narrow the list to matching estimates immediately. You can also use the Criteria field and Search button to narrow the list further.

The matching estimates are those where:

The appointment was created from the estimate.
The estimate was created from the appointment.

If the appointment was created independently of the ticket, the ticket will not appear in the list.

To Refresh the Search Results

Click the Refresh button to Refresh the window. You can also press the F5 key to do the same. This is helpful when Searches are hidden for some reason.

Filtering the Estimate List

The filter options allow you to narrow the list by the selected criteria.

The Filter area of the in progress windows.

To Select Filter Criteria

The Filter dropdown lists use checkboxes.

The Status filter dropdown list expanded with Select All selected.

When Select All is checked, to filter the list

Uncheck one item at a time.
Uncheck Select All and check the items you want.

The list is filtered immediately.

Filter Criteria

The following table describes the filter criteria.
Filter	Description
Service Writer	Select the Service Writer.
Profit Center	Select the Profit Centers.
Status	Select the Status. Show All is selected by default. To select a specific status, de-select the Status at the top of the list and then select the status you want to see.
Promised	Select a date range.
Show All Button	Click Show All to remove the filters applied by the Filters list.
Default Button	Click Default to return the window to the settings saved as the default.

Customizing the Estimates in Progress Window

You can customize the window and save your customizations as the default by clicking Windows menu > Work In Progress Settings > Save As My Defaults.

To Adjust the Columns

You can adjust the columns as follows:

To adjust column widths, hover the mouse to the dividing line between columns until the mouse pointer changes to .
- Click and hold over the double arrow and drag the divider to the width you want.
To change the column order, click and hold on the column name and drag it to the position you want.

To Choose the Content on the Window

Right-click anywhere on the window and a window opens that allows you to customize the content that displays.

The settings for the Estimates in Progress Window.

The following table describes the available settings.
Setting	Description
Visible Columns	Select the columns you want to see.
Show Search and Filters	This option toggles on and off the Search and Filters bar on the progress window. This option is selected by default.
Set Filters	Choose the settings that display as the dropdown lists on the Search and Filters bar on the progress window.
Set Button	When you have selected all settings, click the Set button to apply the settings.

Saving Your Customizations as Defaults

Click Work in Progress Settings to access the side menu that enables you to set your adjustments to the columns, filters, and general appearance of the Work in Progress (WIP) Window and Estimates in Progress Window as defaults.

The side menu items circled on the Work in Progress Settings submenu.

The settings you save apply to both windows at the same time.

Use System Defaults returns the windows to R.O. Writer defaults.
Use My Defaults applies your saved default settings to both windows.
Save As My Defaults saves your customizations as your defaults.
- The next time you click Use My Defaults, your saved default settings apply to both windows.

To Save Your Default Settings

Complete these steps:

Make adjustments on both in progress windows, such as
- Adjust the column width
- Choose the Visible columns
- Tile vertically or horizontally
Click the Windows menu > Work in Progress Settings > Save As My Defaults. Your settings for both windows are saved.
Click Windows menu > Work in Progress Settings > Use My Defaults. A checkmark appears to the right of Use My Defaults.
The next time you open R.O. Writer, both windows appear with your default settings applied.