Optional Work Areas and Services let you give customers choices within one proposal. Customers can select the work they want, see the total update in real time, and submit their selection for approval.
In this article:
Before you begin
Standard and Service estimates require Web Proposals to be enabled.
Service estimates require Service Web Proposals to be enabled.
Standard mobile estimating also supports optionality in the LMN Crew app.
No new role or permission is required. Access depends on your account entitlement and feature flag.
Mark a Work Area or Service as Optional
⚠️ The estimator will not see the optional work areas or service added to their financial summary until the proposal and work has been accepted. This applies to both Desktop and Crew.
From the Web App
Open the Estimate
For a Standard estimate, open the Workareas + Pricing tab
For a Service estimate, open the Services + Pricing tab
Select the Optional checkbox for the work area or service.
Unchecked items are Required
Checked items are Optional
New items default to Required
Save changes
From LMN Crew
When creating or editing a work area:
Open the Work Area Info modal
Select the Optional checkbox
Click Save
Recommend an Option Without Requiring It
You can preselect an optional work area or service in the web proposal draft.
The customer will see it selected when they open the proposal, but they can unselect it.
A preselection is a recommendation, not a requirement.
Choose How Your Client Responds to an Optional Item
Every optional work area or service can reach your client in one of two ways. You decide which approach to use:
Leave it Unselected — your client opts in | Pre-Select It — your client opts out |
The item arrives unchecked, and your client selects it if they want it. | The item arrives already selected, and your client clears it if they do not want it. |
💡Use this for true add-ons: extras you are making available but not specifically recommending. | 💡Use this for work you recommend, such as a mulch refresh the property needs or pruning that should happen this year. |
💡Both options use the same Optional checkbox. The difference is whether you select the optional item yourself in the web proposal draft before sending it.
To Send an Optional Item Pre-Selected
On the Workareas + Pricing or Services + Pricing tab, select Optional for the item.
Open the Estimator Preview page by clicking the Preview & Send button
Select the checkbox next to the Optional Item
Click Send Estimate to send the proposal
💡The client sees the optional item selected exactly as it appeared in the preview.
⚠️ Pre-selecting an item does not commit your client to the work. The item is still labeled Optional on the proposal, and your client can clear it before accepting. Preselection simply makes your recommendation the starting point, so declining it is a deliberate choice rather than an oversight.
What Your Customer Sees
In the web proposal:
Optional work areas and services display a checkbox and an Optional badge.
Required work areas and services do not display a checkbox.
The full work area or service card remains visible whether the customer selects it or not.
The Summary panel adds or removes the selected item and updates the Subtotal, Tax, and Total without a page reload.
Selections persist across sessions, whether or not the customer is signed in.
💡 Nothing is final until the customer selects Approve & Sign, Request Changes, or Decline.
What Happens After Approval
When the customer approves the proposal:
Required work areas and services transfer to the job.
Accepted optional work areas and services transfer to the job.
Declined optional work areas and services are hidden and do not automatically transfer to the job.
Declined items remain in the estimate data so they can potentially be added later as a change order.
⚠️ The add-back workflow is not available yet.
On your Work Areas & Pricing and Services & Pricing tabs, each optional item shows as Approved or Rejected based on your client’s selection, so you always know exactly what work was agreed to. Your financial summary updates automatically to include all required services plus any approved optional ones.
Change Optionality After Acceptance
Optionality remains editable after acceptance, like other estimate fields such as quantity and pricing. If you mark an accepted work area optional after acceptance, it automatically moves to a Declined state. You can unhide it or set it back to Required.
If your company needs stricter control, use the existing setting that locks the entire estimate after approval.
Optionality & Hide / Show
Optionality and hide/show are separate controls. Changing one does not normally change the other.
When a customer declines an optional work area or service, LMN uses the existing hide mechanism. The declined item is not included in totals, the PDF, and job creation.
Optional Items on PDFs
Draft PDFs show the word “optional” beside the item name and include an unfilled checkbox for customers to mark by hand. Required items do not show a checkbox.
The checkbox is to the left of the name on Standard estimates and to the right of the name on Service estimates. Draft PDF totals include all optional work areas and services, regardless of whether a customer has selected them.
After acceptance, the accepted PDF includes only Required and Accepted optional items. The PDF attached to the acceptance email is regenerated at acceptance and shows accepted items as normal rows with the customer’s signature.