FFP Guides

ServiceM8 how-to

How do customers accept a ServiceM8 quote online?

Send the quote by email or SMS with the {document} merge field in the message. The customer opens the link, clicks Accept Quote, signs if your template has a signature field and pays any ServiceM8 Pay deposit. ServiceM8 then moves the job from Quote to Work Order and notifies you. Online acceptance is on every plan.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Yes, natively

Yes, natively: the {document} link lets customers accept, sign and pay a deposit online, and acceptance turns the quote into a Work Order automatically.

Step by step

  1. Check your quote email and SMS templates in Settings, Email Templates and SMS Templates include {document} in the message body.
  2. For signed acceptance, download your quote template from Settings, Document Templates, add the image_customer_signature and customer_signature_date merge fields in Word, and upload it.
  3. For deposits, set up ServiceM8 Pay and choose a default deposit percentage in Settings, Preferences, Quotes & Estimates.
  4. Build the quote in the job's Billing tab while the job status is Quote.
  5. Click Send Quote (or SMS Quote from the dropdown). If you use a signature template, pick it when you produce the quote.
  6. When the customer accepts, look for the notification and the job moving to Work Order and onto Action Required.
  7. Schedule the job. For a ServiceM8 Pay deposit, check the Diary shows the payment.
  8. If a customer accepts by phone or email instead, update the job yourself, using Apply to job on the accepted option where you sent options or a proposal.

Gotchas

  • ServiceM8's instructions say the job must be in Quote status when you send the acceptance message. Do not move it to Work Order first.
  • A custom template without {document} sends a PDF with no way to accept online.
  • Client and job deposit settings override the account default. A 0% client setting silently removes the deposit.
  • ServiceM8 Pay deposits on standard quotes are a percentage. A fixed dollar deposit needs a Proposal, which needs the Growing plan or higher.
  • Accepting online stops scheduled quote follow ups. A phone acceptance does not until you change the job's status.
  • Sending from your own domain needs the DNS records verified first, or customer emails may not send as you expect.

What the official help article misses: It covers adding {document} and sending the link, but not signatures, deposits, what to do when a customer accepts by phone, the deposit override chain that stops deposits appearing, or how to test the whole flow as a customer before going live. Read ServiceM8's article.

What the customer sees

Every quote you email or text from ServiceM8 can carry a unique link to an online copy of the quote. The link comes from one merge field, {document}, which ServiceM8's default quote templates already include. On the page the customer can accept the quote, download it or ask a question. Questions land in your ServiceM8 Inbox and on the job card.

What happens after they click Accept Quote depends on your setup:

No signature, no deposit. They confirm, and that is it.

Signature. If the quote PDF was produced from a template containing the customer signature merge field, accepting prompts them to sign. The signed version replaces the PDF in the job Diary.

Deposit. If you use ServiceM8 Pay and a deposit percentage applies to that job, they are asked to pay the deposit by card to proceed.

Either way, ServiceM8 changes the job from Quote to Work Order, adds a Diary note, sends you a notification and puts the job on the Action Required list ready to schedule. Any scheduled quote follow ups stop.

Where the flow breaks

No link in the message. A custom email or SMS template without {document} sends the PDF but no acceptance link. The customer can only reply "yes", and nothing changes status.

The email never arrives. If you send from your own domain, the domain's DNS records have to be verified in the Website and Email setup before ServiceM8 can send as you. Check the Diary entry for the sent email, and ask the customer to check junk mail.

Acceptance does not ask for a deposit. Deposits need ServiceM8 Pay to be set up. The deposit also follows a chain of settings: the default percentage, then the client's Deposit Required setting, then the job's Customise Quote setting. A client set to 0% overrides your default without anyone noticing.

Accepted by phone. A verbal yes changes nothing in ServiceM8. For quote options or proposals, use Apply to job from the Diary; for a single quote, change the status yourself.

Signature missing. The signature only appears if the PDF was produced with the signature template. A quote produced earlier with your standard template will not ask for one.

Test it as a customer

Create a test client with your own email and mobile, add one cheap item and send the quote both ways. Open the link on your phone as a customer would, check the branding and the totals, then accept it. Confirm the job moved to Work Order, the Diary shows the acceptance, and the notification reached the right person. If you use deposits, run the test on a job that asks for one, remembering that a ServiceM8 Pay deposit is a real card payment.

Sources

  1. Adding {document} to an email or SMS template creates the online quote acceptance link; the job must be in Quote status; acceptance changes the job status to Work Order and records it in the Diary. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. When a customer accepts online you receive a notification by email and in ServiceM8, the job changes from Quote to Work Order and it is added to the Action Required job list. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. Remote signature requires the image_customer_signature (and optionally customer_signature_date) merge field in the quote template; accepting prompts the customer to sign, and the PDF is updated with the signature. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. ServiceM8 Pay deposits use a default percentage set in Preferences, Quotes & Estimates, overridable per client (Billing Details, Deposit Required) and per job (Customise Quote). Proposals accept a fixed dollar deposit and need the Growing plan or above. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. Quote follow up messages are cancelled when the customer accepts the quote online or the job status is changed manually. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. Sending ServiceM8 emails from your own domain requires adding the DNS records shown in the Website and Email setup and verifying them. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  7. On ServiceM8's Australian pricing, Online Quote Acceptance, Electronic Signature and Remote Client Signature are included on every plan. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.