Estimates and Proposals in HighLevel

Updated: February 4, 2026  | 
Author: Bill Stilwell

This post covers how to build and send proposals and estimates, how payment at signing works, how to use templates, how to track proposal status, and how to automate onboarding when a proposal is accepted.

Reading time: about 8 minutes.

What Are Estimates and Proposals in HighLevel?

Estimates and Proposals are documents you build, send, and get signed inside HighLevel – covering the step between a qualified lead and a paying client.

Before this feature, the workflow typically involved exporting a PDF, sending it via email, waiting for a reply, then manually sending a separate invoice. Every step was a potential delay and a point where the sale could cool off.

In HighLevel, the proposal is built in the same platform as the CRM, sent from the contact record, signed by the client in their browser, and optionally paid at the moment of acceptance. The transition from signed proposal to onboarding can be automated to fire the moment the signature is submitted.

Find it at Payments, then Documents and Contracts.

Building a Proposal

The proposal builder uses content blocks arranged on a canvas – similar to a page builder but for documents rather than web pages.

Content blocks include text sections for introductions, scope of work, and terms, image blocks for your logo and visual elements, a line items table for itemized pricing, a signature block for e-signing, and a payment block if payment at signing is required.

The proposal supports custom values – fields that pull contact information into the document automatically. The client’s name, company, and address can appear in the proposal body without manually typing them for each new document.

Documents are saved in the Documents and Contracts section and assigned to a contact when sent. The assigned contact receives the document via email or direct link.

Line Items and Pricing

The line items table is where the proposal’s financial details are structured. Each line item has a name, description, quantity, and unit price.

HighLevel calculates the subtotal per line automatically.

Additional rows can be added for taxes, discounts, deposit amounts, or any other adjustments to the total. The grand total calculates and displays at the bottom of the table.

Line item rows can be reordered. Service groupings – labor, materials, fees – can be organized into sections for clarity when the proposal covers multiple components.

E-Signature

The signature block is added to the document and assigned to the recipient contact. When the contact opens the proposal link, they can sign by typing their name or drawing their signature with a mouse or touchscreen.

No separate account or software is required. The client receives the proposal link in their email, opens it in any browser, and signs.

The signed document is stored in the contact record and a notification is sent to the business.

Multiple signature blocks can be added to a document – useful for proposals that require both a client and an authorized representative to sign, or for situations where multiple parties need to acknowledge acceptance.

Payment at Signing

One of the most practical features in the proposal system is the ability to collect payment at the moment of acceptance.

When configured, the client signs the proposal and is immediately presented with a payment prompt before the proposal is fully accepted. They enter payment details and complete the transaction in the same browser session – no separate invoice, no follow-up request, no delay between agreement and payment.

The payment amount can be the full proposal total, a configured deposit percentage, or a fixed amount. Payments process through the connected HighLevel Payments account – Stripe, NMI, or Authorize.net.

For service businesses where a deposit is standard practice, this feature eliminates the awkward gap between “the client said yes” and “the client actually paid.”

Proposal Templates

Templates save the structure, content, and line item layout of a proposal for reuse.

Build your standard proposal once – with your branding, your typical scope sections, your standard terms, and your common service line items – and save it as a template. When creating a proposal for a new client, select the template and customize the client-specific details rather than rebuilding from scratch.

Agencies with standardized service packages benefit the most from templates. A web design proposal template, an SEO retainer template, and a social media management template cover 90% of the proposals an agency sends – customized per client in minutes rather than built fresh each time.

Tracking Proposal Status

Every proposal has a status that updates as the client interacts with it: Sent, Viewed, Signed, and Paid (where applicable).

The status is visible in the Documents and Contracts section and in the contact record. When a proposal is viewed, you know the client has opened it.

When it is signed, a notification fires. When payment is collected, the record updates to reflect the payment.

This visibility eliminates the uncertainty of traditional email-attached proposals. You do not need to follow up asking “did you get it?” – the view status tells you whether the document was opened.

If a proposal is sent but not viewed after a few days, that is the signal for a check-in call or message.

Proposals in the Client Portal

For clients who have access to the HighLevel Client Portal, sent proposals appear in the Documents tab of their portal dashboard.

Clients can review and sign proposals from the portal without needing a separate link in their email. This is useful for businesses that route all client interactions through the portal – the proposal is just another document in the same place the client already accesses invoices, courses, and community content.

What Can You Do With It?

• Replace PDF-and-email proposals with a tracked, signable document: Every proposal sent through HighLevel has a view status. You know when the client opened it and when they signed it – eliminating the uncertainty of an emailed PDF attachment.
• Collect a deposit the moment a client accepts: Remove the gap between verbal agreement and payment by requiring a deposit at signing. The client signs and pays in one browser session.
• Automate client onboarding from the moment of signing: The Document Signed trigger in Workflow Builder fires immediately when a proposal is accepted. Welcome emails, task creation, calendar invites, and CRM updates can all happen automatically without any manual action.
• Standardize proposals across your team with templates: Every team member works from the same template structure – consistent branding, consistent scope language, consistent terms – with only the client-specific details varying per proposal.
• Reduce proposal-to-payment friction: The fewer steps between “yes” and paid, the better close rates tend to be. Combining signature and payment into one URL removes two friction points that typically require separate follow-up.
• Give clients one place to access all their documents: Proposals in the Client Portal mean clients never have to dig through their email for the original proposal link – it is in the same portal where they access everything else from your business.

Key Definitions

Use Cases by Industry

Marketing Agencies

An agency sends 8 to 12 new client proposals per month across three service packages: social media management, SEO retainer, and website design. Each service type has its own template with the standard scope language, deliverables, and pricing structure.

When a new client is ready, the account manager selects the relevant template, customizes the scope for that client, and sends. The proposal requires a 50% deposit at signing.

When the client signs and pays, a Document Signed workflow fires – sending a welcome email, creating an onboarding task, and tagging the contact as an active client.

Result: Proposal-to-onboarding is handled in minutes with no manual steps after the client signs. The deposit arrives the same day as the signed agreement.

Home Services

A landscaping company uses estimates rather than full proposals. A field supervisor completes a site visit and builds the estimate directly in HighLevel from a mobile browser – line items for labor, materials, and disposal – and sends it to the homeowner before leaving the property.

The homeowner receives the estimate link, reviews it at home, and signs with a 30% deposit. The signed estimate triggers a workflow that schedules the job, sends a confirmation email, and notifies the operations manager to order materials.

Result: The time between site visit and signed estimate drops from days to hours. Deposits are collected before any materials are ordered.

Consulting and Professional Services

A business consultant sends a proposal covering project scope, deliverables, timeline, and fees for each new engagement. The proposal includes an introduction section, a scope of work with phased deliverables, and a three-line pricing table – discovery, implementation, and ongoing advisory.

Full payment is required at signing for the discovery phase. The client signs and pays in one session.

The Document Signed trigger creates the first project task and books the kick-off call.

Result: The client goes from signed proposal to scheduled kick-off without any back-and-forth between signature and payment or between payment and scheduling.

Real Estate Agencies

A property management company uses HighLevel proposals for management agreements. The proposal includes the property address, management fees, services included, and the terms of the agreement.

The client signs and the signed agreement is stored in the contact record alongside the property details.

The Document Signed trigger fires a workflow that applies a “managed property” tag, adds the property to the management pipeline, and sends a welcome email with instructions for the handover process.

Result: New property management agreements move from proposal to active management status automatically – no manual data entry or workflow initiation required after the signature.

Fitness and Wellness

A personal training studio uses HighLevel estimates for training packages – a three-line proposal covering session count, frequency, and per-session rate with a total. The proposal requires full payment at signing for packages under $500 and a 50% deposit for larger packages.

New clients from the website chatbot, referrals, and walk-ins all receive the same proposal workflow – the front desk sends the proposal link, the client signs and pays, and an automated welcome sequence fires with their login details for the scheduling app.

Result: New client onboarding is consistent regardless of how the client came in – same process, same timing, same first experience from every source.

Who Is This For?

How to Build and Send a Proposal

Step 1: Open Documents and Contracts

Go to Payments in the left navigation, then select Documents and Contracts.

This is where all proposals, estimates, and contracts are created and managed.

Step 2: Create a new proposal or select a template

Click Create Document. Choose Proposal or Estimate as the document type.

Select an existing template if one is available, or build from scratch if this is your first document.

Step 3: Add your branding

Upload your logo and set document colors to match your brand.

The proposal should look like it comes from your business – consistent with your website, emails, and other client-facing materials.

Step 4: Write the proposal content

Add content blocks for the sections relevant to this proposal – introduction, scope of work, deliverables, timeline, and terms.

Use custom values to pull the client’s name and company into the document automatically rather than typing them manually.

Step 5: Add the line items table

Add itemized line items with names, quantities, and unit prices. Add additional rows for taxes, discounts, or deposit amounts as needed.

HighLevel calculates subtotals and the grand total automatically as you add rows.

Step 6: Add a signature field

Add a signature block to the document and assign it to the client’s contact record.

Position the signature field clearly – at the bottom of the document after the pricing and terms sections.

Step 7: Configure payment at signing if needed

Enable the payment option if the proposal should collect payment at acceptance.

Set the payment amount – full total, deposit percentage, or fixed amount – and confirm your HighLevel Payments account is connected before sending.

Step 8: Send to the contact

Assign the proposal to the contact record and send via email or direct link.

The contact receives the proposal, reviews it in their browser, signs, and completes any required payment.

Step 9: Set up post-signing automation

In Workflow Builder, create a workflow triggered by the Document Signed event for this document.

Add the onboarding actions that should fire automatically – welcome email, task creation, tag application, calendar invite, or any other step that currently requires manual initiation after a client accepts.

How Does It Connect to HighLevel?

• HighLevel Payments: Documents and Contracts lives inside the Payments section. Payment at signing connects directly to the HighLevel Payments system – the same Stripe, NMI, or Authorize.net connection used for invoices and other payment types.
• Client Portal: Proposals sent through HighLevel appear in the Documents tab of the Client Portal – clients with portal access can review and sign from one central location rather than navigating back to an email.
• Workflow Builder: The Document Signed trigger in Workflow Builder fires the moment a proposal is accepted – connecting the signing event directly to automated onboarding, tagging, notifications, and task creation.
• Tag-Based Automation: Post-signing workflows in Tag-Based Automation apply tags when a proposal is signed – routing the new client into the appropriate onboarding sequence, pipeline stage, and notification flow based on what they just agreed to.
• Notification Settings: Notification Settings controls how team members are alerted when a proposal is signed – ensuring the right person is notified immediately so any manual onboarding steps can begin without delay.

Common Questions

What are Estimates and Proposals in HighLevel?

Branded, itemized documents built in HighLevel’s Documents and Contracts section that are sent to contacts for review, e-signature, and optional payment at acceptance. The entire process – build, send, sign, pay – happens inside HighLevel without separate tools.

Where do I find Estimates and Proposals in HighLevel?

Go to Payments in the left navigation, then select Documents and Contracts. Both proposals and estimates are created and managed from this section.

What is the difference between an Estimate and a Proposal in HighLevel?

Both are itemized documents sent for client acceptance. Estimates typically focus on pricing and scope for service work.

Proposals include more context – introductions, scope descriptions, terms – and are more common in agency and consulting contexts. Both support e-signature and payment collection.

Can clients e-sign a proposal inside HighLevel?

Yes. Clients receive a link, open the document in their browser, and sign by typing or drawing their signature.

No separate software or account required. The signed document is stored in the contact record and a notification is sent to the business.

Can I collect payment when a client accepts a proposal?

Yes. Enable the payment option when building the proposal.

The client signs and is immediately prompted to pay – full amount, deposit percentage, or fixed amount – before the proposal is fully accepted.

Can I create reusable proposal templates in HighLevel?

Yes. Save any proposal as a template in Documents and Contracts.

Select the template when creating a new proposal and customize the client-specific details rather than rebuilding from scratch each time.

Can I see when a client views or signs a proposal in HighLevel?

Yes. Each proposal has a real-time status – Sent, Viewed, Signed, Paid.

Status is visible in Documents and Contracts and in the contact record. You receive a notification when a client signs.

Does the HighLevel proposal appear in the Client Portal?

Yes. Proposals appear in the Documents tab of the Client Portal for clients with portal access. They can review and sign from the portal without needing a separate email link.

Can I include custom fields and branding in HighLevel proposals?

Yes. Add your logo, set colors, include text sections, use custom values to pull contact information automatically, and add any content blocks relevant to your proposal type – scope, terms, deliverables, and line items.

Can a signed proposal trigger a workflow in HighLevel?

Yes. The Document Signed trigger in Workflow Builder fires the moment a proposal is accepted.

Use it to automate welcome emails, task creation, tag application, and any other onboarding action that should start immediately when a client signs.

To Wrap It Up

The proposal is one of the highest-leverage moments in the client acquisition process – and it is one of the most inconsistently handled.

Proposals created in Word or a PDF tool and emailed as attachments work, but they introduce friction at every step. The client has to open the attachment, figure out how to sign it, scan or photograph the signed page, and email it back.

Then the business has to issue a separate invoice and chase the payment. Every one of those steps is an opportunity for the momentum to stall.

HighLevel’s proposal system removes that friction. One link.

The client reviews, signs, and pays in the same browser session. The moment they do, automation handles what comes next.

The payment at signing feature is underused by most businesses that deploy the proposal tool. If you send proposals and currently have a gap between signed agreement and first payment, enabling that feature closes the gap entirely – no additional follow-up required.

Here is how to get started:

1. Go to Payments, then Documents and Contracts
2. Click Create Document and select Proposal or Estimate
3. Upload your logo and set brand colors
4. Add the content sections your typical proposal includes
5. Build the line items table with your standard service pricing
6. Add a signature block and assign it to the contact
7. Enable payment at signing if a deposit is part of your standard process
8. Save the document as a template before sending the first one
9. Send to a test contact – your own email – and go through the full signing and payment flow
10. Set up a Document Signed workflow trigger for the onboarding actions that should fire automatically

Save the template before sending the first proposal – not after. The first proposal you build correctly is the template.

If you send first and save later, you will end up rebuilding it from the sent version rather than having a clean template ready for the next one.