Publish your first moving estimator
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Build a useful calculator by starting with the Moving template, reviewing its questions and testing a known quote. The outcome is a public link that stores customer estimates against a published revision. No customer account is required.
Start in the right organization
Create or open an organization after installing the product. Choose its default currency and language before creating the estimator. This walkthrough uses USD and English; changing currency later does not convert existing amounts.
Open Templates and use Moving Cost Calculator. If onboarding already created it, open that estimator instead. Give it a customer-facing name such as “Estimate your move” and a short description that explains what the result includes.
The template contains example rates. They are not market prices or a recommendation for your business.
Review the three question groups
The template groups its questions into route, home and extra-care steps:
| Group | Inputs | Why they matter |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Origin, destination and distance | Establishes the route; distance is supplied manually |
| Home | Bedrooms, elevator and flights of stairs | Prices capacity and access |
| Extras | Boxes, piano, moving date and packing | Prices optional handling and calendar adjustments |
Keep the distance label explicit about miles. Address inputs do not perform mapping or calculate distance. Removing a field referenced by a price or condition requires updating those references too.
In Questions, inspect each required flag, numeric limit and help text. A bedroom count should be an integer, while distance may be fractional. Preview both elevator answers and confirm stairs appear only when the elevator is unavailable.
Review the price rules
Open Prices. The sample includes a $180 base, $80 per bedroom, $2.10 per mile, $35 per stair flight, $3.50 per box, a $150 piano fee, $90 packing and a weekend percentage adjustment. Its minimum is $350.
Change the amounts to your own rates before publication. Keep the percentage after the charges it should affect. The template's weekend rule uses the supplied moving date; it does not use the day when someone fills in the form.
The worked pricing guide explains each line and provides expected totals. Use those known cases before changing prices, then create equivalent cases for your revised rates.
Decide when to collect contact details
In the result settings, choose a capture mode:
- Before: require contact information before showing the result.
- After: show the result first, then offer contact submission.
- Optional: offer contact without making it a prerequisite for the result.
- Disabled: calculate without a contact form.
Enabled capture requires name and email. Phone, company, address and notes are optional additions. Write consent text that accurately describes your follow-up; OpenQuoteStack does not automatically turn that text into a retention policy.
Add a concise disclaimer and terms. Explain whether the result is an estimate, what is excluded and what the business still needs to confirm. Expiration days affect presentation, not automatic quote cancellation.
Save and test the draft
Save before previewing. Preview offers desktop and mobile widths and uses the customer renderer. It stores no customer estimates or analytics.
Try this case without changing the template rates:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin / destination | Boston / Cambridge |
| Bedrooms | 3 |
| Distance | 22 miles |
| Elevator | Yes |
| Boxes | 0 |
| Piano | Yes |
| Moving date | 2026-10-10, a Saturday |
| Packing | No |
The result is $708.63. Repeat with a weekday, no piano and invalid or missing distance. Correctness includes useful validation, not just one successful total.
Use a keyboard to complete the preview. Test the narrow layout, the contact form and the final call to action. Confirm the breakdown matches the prices you configured.
Publish and verify the public link
Publish the saved draft and open the public URL in a separate browser window. Complete a real test submission using fictional contact details. Unlike preview, this creates an estimate and relevant activity records.
Then open Estimates, inspect the new record and confirm its answers, line items and revision. If contact capture was used, inspect the linked lead. Download its PDF to check the business details and terms.
Only after this check should you share or embed the calculator. A public link is not an editor link, and a working preview is not proof that lead storage or email delivery is configured.
Make the next price change safely
Edit the draft, save and preview, then publish again. Draft edits leave the live revision unchanged. A previous estimate retains its original calculation after the new publication. See revision workflow for rollback and in-progress customer sessions.