What happens when you convert a quote?
When you convert a quote, NorthLine creates an invoice from the accepted quote details. If the quote includes a required deposit, you will be asked whether you want to record that deposit payment right away.
Guide
Quote to Invoice Conversion
Understand how NorthLine turns quotes into invoices, how deposits are recorded, and why revisions are used when financial details need to change later.
If the quote has a required deposit
Choosing Record deposit opens the payment form with the deposit amount already filled in. After you save it, the invoice is created as issued. Choosing Skip deposit still creates the invoice, but without a recorded deposit payment.
Why the invoice is issued right away
Issued invoices are snapshots in time. If a deposit is recorded during conversion, the invoice should reflect that money had already been received at that moment. That is why the invoice is created as issued instead of staying as a draft.
Deposit vs payment
A deposit is the upfront amount tied to the invoice at the time it is created. Later customer payments are tracked separately in payment history. This keeps the invoice snapshot and the payment ledger clear and consistent.
What if the deposit was wrong?
Issued invoices are never rewritten retroactively. If a deposit needs to be corrected after issue, NorthLine creates a revision so the latest invoice version can reflect the corrected deposit while the original issued invoice stays unchanged.
Real-world scenarios
Kitchen remodel with an upfront booking deposit
- A contractor sends a $12,000 kitchen remodel quote with a required $2,000 deposit
- The client accepts and pays the deposit to secure the project start date
- The contractor chooses Record deposit during conversion
- Result: the invoice is created as issued and the $2,000 deposit payment is recorded immediately
Branding project where the freelancer waives the deposit
- A designer sends a $3,500 branding quote with a planned $500 deposit
- The client accepts, but the designer decides to waive the upfront deposit to keep the project moving
- The designer chooses Skip deposit during conversion
- Result: the invoice is created without a recorded deposit payment
Wedding photographer fixes a deposit entered incorrectly
- A photographer converts an accepted $4,000 wedding package quote and records a $400 deposit
- Later they realize the client had actually paid $600
- They correct the deposit through the payment workflow instead of editing the issued invoice directly
- Result: the original invoice stays unchanged and a revision is created with the corrected deposit
Why NorthLine works this way
- Issued invoices stay immutable
- Payments stay traceable
- Corrections stay visible through revisions