An open estimate may be waiting on a question, a second decision-maker, budget approval or a callback your office never assigned. Before buying another tool or sending a bulk reminder, review the quote records you already have. This checklist is for HVAC owners and office teams managing repair, replacement and commercial proposals.
Start with ten open estimates
Choose ten recent quotes that have no recorded final outcome. Include repair, replacement and commercial work separately where applicable. Review the actual quote and conversation; do not treat silence as a rejection or assume every open estimate is still available work.
Record these fields for each quote
- Quote reference and sent date: confirm the estimate was actually delivered.
- Service type: repair, system replacement, maintenance or commercial project.
- Decision-maker: identify who can approve the work and any other reviewer.
- Last customer contact: record the date, channel and what was agreed.
- Unanswered question: equipment, scope, financing, timing, warranty or something else.
- Assigned person: one office or sales team member owns the next step.
- Next action and date: call, answer a question, resend the quote or close the record.
- Outcome: awaiting review, questions pending, won, declined, expired or unknown.
Download the blank estimate review worksheet. Keep customer information in your authorized business systems; the download is an empty template.
Handle different quotes differently
Repair work
Check whether the customer still needs the repair, whether another company completed it, and whether the estimate still reflects the diagnosis. Your technician or office resolves technical and pricing questions.
System replacement
Find out which equipment, scope or installation question is blocking the decision. Reference financing or quote validity only if those terms appear in the real offer. Confirm installation timing with the team.
Commercial proposals
Record purchasing requirements, property-manager involvement, the review date and the person responsible for the decision. Follow the agreed business process instead of sending repeated residential scheduling prompts.
Ask a useful follow-up question
Hi [Name], this is [Company]. What questions can we help answer about the estimate for [project]?
Use your required messaging permission, business identity and opt-out wording. Check the latest status before sending and stop when the customer opts out or the quote closes. More examples are in the HVAC follow-up text template guide.
Verify the software connection before automating
Any automated quote follow-up needs an accurate quote source, delivery status, assigned person, last contact and outcome. Confirm what your estimating or field-service software can supply and how updates stop a scheduled reminder. A web-lead connection does not automatically supply quote records.
Half Hitch's connected inquiry response and follow-up workflow is described in the estimate follow-up guide. A quote-system connection must be checked separately for your business; this checklist does not promise a built-in integration.
Review results every week
Count quotes reviewed, quotes with an assigned next action, customer replies and confirmed won or declined outcomes. Record which questions recur. Use confirmed outcomes from your own records before attributing recovered revenue to follow-up.
See the response workflow first
Try the real product walkthrough to understand the customer text experience, then bring your quote process to a Lead Response Check with Liam.