Operations FAQ

Answers to common Operations questions about deals, jobs, estimates, notes, tags, deal stages, and calendar management in PaintScout.

Answers to common questions about deals, jobs, estimates, tags, calendars, and other Operations features in PaintScout.

Important: this feature requires the paid Operations add-on.

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Why can’t I add more than one estimate to a deal?

We understand why it might feel convenient to link multiple estimates to a single deal. However, we’ve designed the system so that each Deal has only one Estimate. This keeps your pipeline stages accurate and avoids confusion.

Here’s why:

• Stage Accuracy Imagine creating both an interior and exterior estimate under the same deal. If the customer only accepts the interior proposal, moving the deal to “Won” would reflect the status of the interior work — but not the exterior estimate. Similarly, if both are accepted but production timelines differ, moving the deal to “In Production” could misrepresent which scope of work is actually underway.
• Reporting On the reporting side, you’re covered. Each estimate is tracked individually, so win rates and marketing/lead source reporting remain accurate. The deal itself holds the source, and if you create two deals (one for interior, one for exterior), reporting will show the dollar value and estimate counts tied to that source.

👉 That’s why we recommend creating separate deals for each distinct estimate. It ensures your deal stages reflect the true progress of each scope of work — and keeps your pipeline, communications, and reporting crystal clear.

What is the difference between a sales event and a job?

Use a sales event for customer appointments. Examples include estimate visits, walkthroughs, and follow-up meetings.

Use a job for scheduled production work. Jobs live on the Production Calendar, support crew assignment, and help you manage active work after the deal moves into production.

Both are tied to deals. They serve different parts of the workflow.

How do I schedule a job?

Open the deal and use the Schedule card, or schedule it from the Production Calendar.

Schedule a Job

Why does my event show only the start time?

Sales events in PaintScout are required to be a minimum of 15 minutes. If your scheduled event is less than this, only the start time will show.

Can I edit a scheduled job or reassign a crew?

Yes. Open the job from the deal or the Production Calendar. Then update the dates, crew, or other job details.

Edit or Reschedule a Job

What notifications do customers receive when I schedule a job?

For now, there are no new customer notifications (emails) for Operations. This way, you are able to move jobs around freely without worrying that the customer is repeatedly notified.

User notifications for assigned, updated, or cancelled jobs can be managed in Email Notifications.

How do I edit the deal stages?

You can customize your pipeline stages in your account settings > Deals section.

Deal Stages

How do I adjust the name of a deal?

1. Open the Deal
2. Click the pencil icon in the details card or "..." (More) menu, and select Edit Deal.
3. From here, you can rename the Deal and update other details like owner, stage, location, and source.

   

How do I add a tag to a contact, deal, estimate, or company?

1. Navigate to the record
2. Find the Tags section and click the pencil icon to add a tag.

   
3. You can select from tags created in Settings.

Can I pin notes on deals, contacts, or companies?

Yes. Operations users can pin notes from the Notes feed or the mixed All Activity feed on deals, contacts, and companies.

Pinned notes appear in a Pinned section at the top of that record’s feed. They stay there until you unpin them.

Pins are record-specific. Pinning a note on a deal does not pin it on the related contact or company.

Why can’t I find an estimate when I try to add it to a deal?

If the estimate search shows no results, the deal and estimate are likely tied to different contact records. This usually happens when there are duplicate contacts with the same name - one contact record has the deal; the other has the estimate.

The search uses the contact ID on the deal. It does not match by name or address alone.

To fix it, use Swap Contact on the estimate or on the deal. Make sure both records use the same contact. Once the deal and estimate share one contact ID, the estimate should appear and link normally. Learn more here

How do I remove an estimate from a deal?

1. Go to the deal
2. Find the estimate card and click the "..." Menu and choose Remove Association

   

The Estimate (and any linked invoices) will no longer show on the Deal, but they will still be visible in the Estimates and Invoices pages.

Why can’t I change the deal on a scheduled sales event?

Once a sales event is scheduled, the Deal link cannot be changed. This ensures that activity history stays accurate. If the sales event needs to be connected to a different deal, cancel the sales event and create a new one linked to the correct deal.

Can I get to an invoice from the Production Calendar?

Yes. On any Calendar view, click open a job's details.

Click on the "Total" section and this will bring you to the related invoice.

There's a lock icon on deals on my Calendar. What does this mean?

If jobs on your Production Calendar have lock icons, this means that you don't have access to view or edit those deals. This is tied to your user type and the custom permissions on your account.

If you believe this is a mistake, please reach out to the account owner.

I'm a CRM user. What happens to my automations now that I have Operations?

With Operations, you can now automate deal movement between the Sales and Production pipelines. Review and update your automations in Account Settings>Automations to match your workflow.

I'm a CRM user. How do I update my deal stages with Operations?

Check out this video for helpful tips on how to restructure your Sales and Production pipelines to reflect your workflow.

Don't forget to review your automations to match the updated stages.

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Related articles

PaintScout Operations Guide

Overview of PaintScout Operations features including deals, sales events, jobs, tasks, contacts, companies, notes, tags, and automations.

Automations

Set up workflow automations to automatically move deals through pipeline stages based on estimate or invoice status changes.

PaintScout Glossary

Definitions for key PaintScout terms, user types, estimating concepts, and integrations.