Start in the QBO Advanced Sample company by following the link below. Note that you will need to select "I'm not a robot" after clicking the link.\
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<https://qbo.intuit.com/redir/testdrive_us_advanced>

You must be completely logged out of your QBO account prior to opening the Advanced Sample company or it will just load your own QBO account.

In order to track estimate vs. actuals, you need to first create a project. In a real life scenario, you would need to turn this feature on in Account & Settings; however, in the Sample company, it's already turned on, so we can go ahead and get started.

From the left navigation bar, click "Projects"

In the Project name field, type "Outdoor Photo Space".

In the Customer field, select "Gevelber Photography".

Since we are in the Sample company, you will have to close pop-ups.

Now that we have the project created, we can create an estimate for that project.

After taking a look at the space, Craig anticipates this project will require 2 hours of trimming, 1 rock fountain, and 5 packs of lights for the garden.

Let's get an estimate ready based on this information.

We want this estimate to be tied to the project, so we need to create an estimate from the Project center of QBO, **NOT** from the "+ New" button on the main screen.

While in the project that you just created, click "+ add" in the Estimate vs. Actuals section of the screen.

*Alternatively, you can create an estimate by clicking on the drop down arrow on the green "Add to Project" button in the top right corner. Then selecting "Project Estimate."*

Note that when you create an estimate from within a project, the project will be pre-selected by QBO along with billing information.

Now we'll add the details of the estimate in the Product/Service table.

In the Product/Service field, on the first line, select "Trimming".

Notice that the section titled "Your cost" is $0. Since Trimming is a service item, Craig's cost will be related to the employee he has doing the work. For the purposes of this exercise, we will not be worrying about that, so just leave it as zero.

In the Product/Service field, on the second line, select "Rock Fountain".

QuickBooks

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Scenario: Gevelber Photography is expanding their studio to include an outdoor space for photo shoots. They have asked Craig to help get the space photo-ready by doing some trimming, installing lighting, and installing a rock fountain. Craig would like to be able to track and compare the actuals to the estimate. 

Let's take a look at how to accomplish this.

A.5.12 Estimates vs. Actuals

Create the Project

Estimate