Quotes vs invoices — proposals, acceptance, and when money is owed

Sometimes our team proposes work or services before anything is billed. That proposal arrives as a quote — a document that looks like an invoice but isn't one yet. Understanding the difference saves confusion about what you actually owe.

The short version

| | Quote | Invoice | |---|---|---| | What it is | A proposal for services | A bill for services | | Money owed? | No — not until you accept | Yes — by the due date | | Numbering | PLXQ-… | PLX-… | | Status pill | quote | open, paid, and so on | | Reminders & follow-up | None | Due-date reminders apply | | Email button | View & accept quote | View & pay invoice |

Where quotes appear

Quotes live right alongside invoices in the Invoice history table on your Billing tab, wearing a quote status pill. You'll also receive an email when one is issued, with the amount, a summary of line items, and a View & accept quote button that opens the quote on its own secure page.

A quote shows everything a real invoice would — line items, quantities, any discount lines, tax — so you can evaluate the full cost before committing. What it doesn't do is count toward your Open balance or trigger any payment reminders. A quote sitting in your history costs you nothing.

Accepting a quote

Accepting is beautifully simple: paying the quote is accepting it.

1. Open the quote via View & Pay in your Billing tab (or the button in the email).
2. Review the line items and total.
3. Enter your payment details and submit.

Behind the scenes, submitting payment accepts the quote: it converts into a real invoice first — receiving a fresh invoice number (PLX-…) and keeping its original quote number on record for reference — and then your payment is processed against it. When the payment goes through, the document in your history shows as a paid invoice, and its page becomes a receipt you can revisit any time. If the card is declined, the quote has still been accepted — it remains in your history as an open invoice you can pay (or ask us to void if you didn't mean to accept it).

Our team can also convert a quote for you after you've accepted it verbally or by email — in that case it appears in your history as an open invoice with a due date, payable the usual ways.

Tip: Because the quote number is preserved through conversion, you can always trace an invoice back to the proposal it came from — handy when your finance team approves spending against quote numbers.

Declining or questioning a quote

Nothing is required of you to decline — as long as you don't submit payment, a quote simply never becomes a charge. That said, a quick reply to the quote email telling us it's not moving forward (or what you'd like changed) is appreciated and gets you a revised proposal faster. Questions about scope or pricing work the same way: reply to the email or use Help & Support, quoting the PLXQ number.

What quotes are used for

Quotes typically cover services arranged with our team — custom work, one-time projects, or plan changes — where you'd reasonably want to see the full cost in writing before anything is billed. Routine subscription charges don't go through quotes; they're invoiced directly and appear in your history like any other invoice.

Quick answers

Does a quote expire? Quotes don't auto-expire in your portal, but the proposal behind one reflects pricing at the time it was issued — if a lot of time has passed, check with our team before accepting.

Can I get a PDF of a quote? Yes — the PDF action works on quotes just like invoices, so you can circulate the proposal internally.

I paid a quote — where's my invoice? It's the same row: the quote became an invoice at payment. Look for the PLX invoice number, with the original PLXQ number preserved on the document.