Payment plan cannot be finalized, or the estimate cannot be approved or booked: finalize in order
An estimate goes price first, plan second: the pricing is locked, then a payment plan whose shares add up to 100% is finalized, which requests approval; only an Approved estimate with a Finalized plan can be booked.
Messages this explains
- “Put a payment plan in place first; the estimate cannot be finalized without one”
- “This estimate cannot be finalized until a payment plan is in place. Add one on the Payment plan card below, then finalize the pricing.”
- “Finalize the pricing first.”
- “Finalize the estimate (lock the pricing) before the payment plan”
- “Finalize a payment plan before requesting approval”
- “Add a payment plan before finalizing.”
- “The estimate has no payment plan; draft and finalize one on the estimate first.”
- “Payment plan v<n> is <status>; finalize it on the estimate first.”
- “The estimate needs a Finalized payment plan before it can be booked”
- “Down payment plus <what> percents add up to N%, not 100%”
- “Down payment plus milestone percents add up to N%, not 100%”
- “The rows add up to N%, not 100%”
Payment plan cannot be finalized, or the estimate cannot be approved or booked: finalize in order
You tried to finalize a payment plan, request approval or book a unit, and the app said a step before it is not done yet, or that the plan's shares don't add up.
What you see
On the Estimate page:
- Finalize pricing is greyed out while the estimate has no payment plan at all; hovering it shows "Put a payment plan in place first; the estimate cannot be finalized without one", and an amber banner reads "This estimate cannot be finalized until a payment plan is in place. Add one on the Payment plan card below, then finalize the pricing." (since 2026-10-08).
- Finalize plan on the payment plan card is greyed out; hovering it shows "Finalize the pricing first." If the estimate changed while the page was open, the server answers "Finalize the estimate (lock the pricing) before the payment plan".
- Request approval answers "Finalize a payment plan before requesting approval".
On step 3, Review & finalize, of the estimate wizard, the finalize button is greyed out with the warning "Add a payment plan before finalizing."
On step 2, Payment plan, of the wizard, saving is refused with "Down payment plus milestone percents add up to N%, not 100%" (construction-linked) or "The rows add up to N%, not 100%" (custom rows). The server's own wording is "Down payment plus <what> percents add up to N%, not 100%", where <what> is "milestone" or "row".
In the booking wizard, a red alert, repeated on the greyed-out Continue and Book buttons: "The estimate has no payment plan; draft and finalize one on the estimate first." or "Payment plan v<n> is <status>; finalize it on the estimate first." If the plan changed after the wizard opened, Book answers "The estimate needs a Finalized payment plan before it can be booked".
Why it happens
An estimate is agreed in a fixed order, so the approver always sees the final price together with how it will be paid, and a booking is always built from exactly what was approved:
- Plan drafted. A payment plan is drafted on the estimate first (the wizard's step 2, or Add payment plan on the estimate page): a price is never locked without the terms it will be paid on.
- Price. The estimate starts as Draft (or Sent). Finalize pricing locks the price and the estimate becomes Finalized.
- Plan finalized. The draft plan is then finalized. A plan can only be finalized on a locked price, because its amounts are shares of that price. Finalizing the plan is what requests approval: the estimate becomes Pending Approval.
- Approval. A Sales Manager approves the price and plan together; the estimate becomes Approved. An approval is never requested without a finalized plan.
- Booking. Only an Approved estimate whose current payment plan is Finalized can be booked; the booking's schedule is built from that plan.
A plan must share out exactly 100% of the price, within 0.01%: the On booking share plus every milestone's share for a construction-linked plan, and every row's share for custom rows. Otherwise part of the price would never be demanded, or more than the price would be.
The booking wizard reports a plan that is not Finalized when someone drafted a new plan version after approval (the draft becomes the current plan), or cancelled the plan (Cancel plan leaves the estimate with no plan).
How to fix it
All of these need the Edit permission on Estimates unless noted.
- Lock the price. On the estimate page click Finalize pricing; or, in the wizard's Review & finalize step, use Finalize pricing & plan, request approval, which locks the price and finalizes the plan in one go.
- Add a plan if there is none: Draft payment plan on the payment plan card (or Add plan on the review step) opens the Payment plan step. Choose the plan type, fill it in and click Save & review.
- Make the shares reach 100%. Watch the "Rows total" or "On booking + milestones =" badge while you edit. For a construction-linked plan, Fill from milestone defaults copies the stages' own percentages when the project has them.
- Finalize the plan with Finalize plan on the card, or from the review step. Approval is requested at once.
- Get it approved. A user with the Approve permission on Estimates clicks Approve on the estimate. See Approve or reject an estimate.
- Book from the approved estimate (the Create permission on Bookings).
- If the booking wizard reports a Draft plan drafted after approval: either finalize it (the estimate goes back to Pending Approval and must be approved again with the new terms), or remove it with Delete draft on the card (the Delete permission on Estimates), after which the previously finalized version stands again and the estimate can be booked as approved.
Related
- Edit estimate (estimate wizard)
- Estimate
- Booking wizard
- New estimate
- Finalize an estimate and request approval
- Agree the payment plan
- Approve or reject an estimate
- Book a unit
- Payment plans: lumpsum, cadence, custom and construction-linked
- Estimate versions, price lock, overrides and the approval gate
Related
- Edit estimate (estimate wizard)Screen
Continue an estimate in three steps: edit the draft pricing, draft or re-version the payment plan (lumpsum, installments, custom dates or construction-linked), then review and finalize, which locks price and plan and requests approval.
- EstimateScreen
One estimate version: its charges by group, payment plan, approvals, unit and parking hold and validity, with the lifecycle actions to send, finalize, request approval, approve or reject, extend, cancel, version and book.
- Book <unit> for <name> (booking wizard)Screen
The three-step wizard that turns an approved estimate into a booking: review exactly what was approved, add co-applicants and their shares, set the booking date and book the unit.
- New estimateScreen
Price a unit for a buyer: pick the unit and optional parking slots, load a unit pricing plan or add charges by hand, override rates with a reason, set the validity, and save the draft before moving on to the payment plan.
- Termsheet & scheduleScreen
The buyer's termsheet: the agreed charges and the installment schedule with GST, the TDS the buyer deducts and what is payable to the developer, plus the actions to issue, accept, sign, reopen or regenerate it and to re-date an installment.
- Payment plans: lumpsum, cadence, custom and construction-linkedConcept
A payment plan says how the buyer's total is collected: all at once, in equal installments on a cadence, on agreed dates, or as construction stages are achieved; it lives on the estimate as numbered versions, is finalized with the price for approval, and becomes the booking's schedule.
- Estimate versions, price lock, overrides and the approval gateConcept
Every priced offer to a buyer is a numbered version of the opportunity: a Draft is edited in place, any later price change is a new version that supersedes the current one, the price is locked when finalized, and every estimate must be approved before it can be booked.
- Finalize an estimate and request approvalHow-to
Lock the estimate's price and finalize its payment plan so an approver sees both together: from the wizard's Review & finalize step in one go, or from the estimate page with Finalize pricing and Finalize plan.
- Agree the payment planHow-to
Draft how the estimate's amount is collected (lumpsum, installments on a cadence or on agreed dates, or construction-linked), check the schedule preview and save the plan as a draft version on the estimate.
- Approve or reject an estimateHow-to
Find an estimate that is awaiting approval from the approvals inbox or your task, review its price and payment plan, and approve it so it can be booked or reject it with comments for the team to revise.
- Book a unitHow-to
Turn an approved estimate into a booking: review what was approved, add the co-applicants and their shares, set the booking date and book, then record the agreement details and any co-applicant who joins later.