Your first estimate in 5 minutes

This tutorial walks through one end-to-end example: you create a project, build an estimate from line items, calculate the timeline and price, then publish a version and send the link to your client.

Before you start

Sign in at app.deadpoint.app: the sign-in link arrives by email. After you sign in, the workspace dashboard opens: your projects, estimates and a hint on where to start.

Dashboard

The first screen after sign-in is called Work overview. It shows the projects and estimates of the current workspace and leads to the next step.

• At the top are the All projects and New estimate buttons. Until you have a project, New estimate is unavailable, with the hint "Create a project first"
• Get started: a checklist of three steps, Create a project, Add line items to an estimate and Publish the estimate. A step is ticked by itself once the workspace has a project, an estimate with line items, and a published or approved estimate. The button sits on the first unfinished step, the counter reads "1 of 3 done"
• Continue where you left off: up to six latest estimates and projects without estimates, newest first. A row shows the name, the project or description, the date, the status and the estimate amount. Clicking a row opens the estimate or the project, and the Show all activity button leads to the project list
• Quick actions: the block appears once the workspace has projects or estimates. It holds Open projects, most often together with New estimate

An empty workspace shows only the buttons at the top and the checklist with the Create project button.

You can remove the checklist with the cross button Dismiss checklist. When all steps are done, it hides by itself. The choice is remembered in the browser for each workspace separately.

Step 1. Create a project

An estimate always lives inside a project, so start there.

1. Open the project list and click New Project
2. Enter the Project Name and, if you like, a description
3. Click Launch Project

Tip

If you already have a project, open it and go to the next step

Step 2. Create an estimate

1. In the project, click Create Estimate
2. Choose how to start: Blank estimate or Start with an example for your niche (see Estimate templates)
3. The estimate editor opens with three tabs: Estimate, Compare and Settings. Version history is on the Compare tab
4. Give the estimate a name in the header

Step 3. Choose the estimation unit

An estimate is counted in hours or in points. Set the unit on the Settings tab, in the Calculation mode section.

Changes on the Settings tab do not apply right away: until you save them, a bar at the bottom shows Save changes and Discard. Discard brings back the saved values. If saving fails, the bar shows "Not saved" with the reason, and the values you entered stay in the fields so you can try again.

Hours

Hours mode: effort is counted in hours, and the cost comes from an hourly rate or the "month + days" scheme

Points

Points mode: effort is estimated on a scale (linear, Fibonacci and others), and the cost is derived from team throughput

Caution

After you publish, the calculation mode and the currency are fixed, other settings stay editable. For a different unit or currency, create a new estimate draft

Default team cost

A new estimate starts with a monthly team cost in the workspace currency. It is roughly the same amount everywhere, about 8,000 EUR a month:

Currency	Team cost per month
EUR	8,000
USD	9,000
GEL	23,000
KZT	4,000,000
CNY	60,000
BYN	27,000
RUB	120,000

Adjust it for your team in the estimate settings, or set your own default in workspace settings, the Estimation tab. Saved estimates do not change.

Step 4. Add line items

An estimate has two kinds of line items. You add both in the Quick add block.

1. Pick the item type with the toggle: Effort (work in hours or points) or Fixed costs (a fixed price: licenses, hardware, subcontractors)
2. Fill in the Name and the estimate, then click Add

On a phone the block is collapsed into an Add item button: it opens a short form with the same fields.

Rows are edited right in the table and have no separate save: a value is saved with Enter, Tab or when you pick it from a list.

A fixed cost can be in another currency: for example, a state fee in lari in an estimate in dollars. The total is converted at the official rate (see Currencies and rates).

Tip

Enter adds the line item, Ctrl/Cmd + Enter adds it and keeps the values. All keys: the section Quick add and keyboard shortcuts

Step 5. Check the calculation

The calculation runs by itself after every saved change to a row or to the settings. Dead Point combines effort and fixed costs, applies tax and the working-day calendar, and shows effort, duration in working days, end date and total cost in the total card.

• Calculated: the total matches the latest data
• Recalculate: the button appears when the total is out of date
• Retry: the button appears when the total could not be updated; the last calculation stays on screen

Step 6. Publish and send to your client

1. Click Publish version: the calculation is saved as a numbered estimate version
2. Click Configure client link. The editor opens: settings on the left, a preview of the client page on the right
3. Go through the Before sending checklist: timeline, payment details, approver, item names
4. Click Create link, copy the link and send it to your client

Note

You can close access at any time with Revoke share

Done: your client opens the estimate by link with no sign-up, sees the Dead Point date and the timeline calendar, and can approve and pay. This is what a finished demo link looks like.

Quick add and keyboard shortcuts

Line items are added in the Quick add block, cells of the estimate table can be edited from the keyboard, and two shortcuts work on any screen.

Where	Keys	What happens
Any screen, cursor not in an input field	N, then W	Workspace creation opens
Any screen, cursor not in an input field	N, then P	Project creation opens in the first workspace of the list
Quick add	Enter	The line item is added, the form returns to defaults
Quick add	Ctrl or Cmd + Enter	The line item is added, the values stay, the name is selected
Estimate table, cell selected	Enter	Editing of the cell starts
Estimate table, cell being edited	Enter	The value is saved, the cell stays selected
Estimate table, cell being edited	Esc	Editing is cancelled
Estimate table, cell being edited	Tab or Shift + Tab	The value is saved, the next or previous cell is selected
Estimate table, cell selected	Arrow keys	The neighboring cell is selected

Note

In the N, W and N, P shortcuts the keys are pressed one after another, not together. You have one second for the second key

See also

Client link editor Presets, color, section order and preview

Share with a client by link Protect the link with a password and revoke it

Estimate versions and compare What gets published and how to compare versions