New Features and Enhancements in Services Estimator Winter 2026

The following new features have been introduced in the Winter 2026 release of Services Estimator.

If you are upgrading from a previous version, see Upgrading to Services Estimator Winter 2026. This provides a summary of the items that have been added for each feature and details of any required upgrade steps.

If you are upgrading from a version earlier than September 2025, check the documentation for previous releases for upgrade details.

Optimize Resource Planning with New Allocation Metrics

We have introduced two new columns to different estimate types:

  • Target Allocation (%): A manually defined allocation percentage of the estimate templates' role requests. This field is visible and manually editable on estimate templates.
  • Allocation (%): A system-calculated, read-only percentage reflecting the current resource allocation based on the ratio of hours compared to other role requests on the estimate product instance. This field is visible on all non-template estimates if the feature is enabled.

This provides immediate, measurable insight into resource planning. Crucially, you can now apply hours at the Estimate Product Instance level. The Target Allocation (%) on templates automatically splits the estimate product instance hours across the respective roles. Additionally, you can compare the actual and target allocation using visual indicators in the Actual Allocation (%) column on a non-template estimate. This enables you to quickly identify and address over- or under-allocation, leading to improved estimation accuracy and optimized resource control.

For more information, see Estimate Builder Overview.

Manage Resource Staffing with the New Headcount Field in the Estimate Builder

You now have a streamlined way to staff multiple resources for a single role directly in the Estimate Builder using the new Headcount field. This automatically calculates and rolls up the multiplied values across your estimate, saving you time and improving the accuracy of your proposals.

Previously, planning for multiple resources required you to create a separate role request for each individual. Now, the Headcount field acts as a powerful multiplier for the role, updating the entire estimate on save. The default headcount for a role request is one.

Key Enhancements have been implemented to leverage the new Headcount field:

  • When you specify a headcount greater than one, the Hours, Cost, Bill Amount, and Net Bill Amount automatically multiply and roll up to parent tasks. The individual resource's bill rate remains unchanged.
  • The Financial Summary correctly reflects the total billable amount and total cost, factoring in the multiplied headcount value.
  • The new Resource Request Preview shows every individual resource request that will be created, giving you full visibility when adding the estimate to an opportunity or project.
  • In the Hours Breakdown view, scheduling is based on the single resource's effort, but the rolled-up hours to parent tasks reflect the total multiplied effort.
  • Tooltips have been added to the Estimate Builder to clearly display the single resource's hours and financial amounts when a headcount greater than one is applied.
Notes:
  • To support this functionality, we introduced a new Role Resource Request object that stores the relationship between an estimate role request and its corresponding resource request.
  • We recommend that you do not use the Headcount and the Hours Multiplier features concurrently to avoid potential conflicts in calculation.

For more information, see Headcount Overview.

Enhance Financial Accuracy and Project Planning using Custom Billing Schedules

We have now introduced the ability to customize your billing schedule, providing you with the ability to precisely model complex client billing terms directly in the Estimate. This ensures financial accuracy and a seamless transition to project execution. You can create a custom billing schedule in the Delivery subtab by clicking the Manage Billing Schedules button.

Additionally, you can view the milestones generated from your estimate in the Estimate Milestones grid.

For more information, see Estimate Billing Overview.

Manage Resource Grouping for Estimates Earlier in Your Workflow

You now have greater flexibility to configure and preview how resource requests are consolidated. The new Manage Resource Grouping button is accessible directly from the Estimate Builder. It enables you to set and review your grouping criteria earlier in your workflow. Previously, you had to apply grouping criteria when adding an estimate to opportunity or creating a project.

Key enhancements in this improved workflow include:

  • Dynamic Resource Request Preview: Use the new preview in the Manage Resource Grouping window to view how your requests will be consolidated. You can now view and adjust how your resource requests will be grouped while you build your estimate.
  • Simplified Criteria Selection: The design has been streamlined with checkboxes, to enable you to easily select or deselect fields for consolidation. Required fields are detailed in a tooltip for quick reference.
  • Expanded Grouping Options: Gain more control by consolidating resource requests using two new grouping criteria fields, Estimate Line Set and Estimate Task.
  • Greater Flexibility: Apply grouping criteria to any estimate. This removes the previous requirement for it to be set as primary.

To create a more streamlined experience, the Grouping Criteria button and Resource Request section of the preview have been removed from the Add to Opportunity and Create Project windows. All resource grouping is now managed centrally from the Estimate Builder.

For more information, see Manage Resource Grouping Overview.

Configurable Batch Size When Cloning an Estimate

We have added a Clone Estimate Batch Size field in the Services Estimator Process Settings custom setting. Previously, when users cloned an estimate that included a large number of related records, they sometimes faced system resource limitations.

This new field enables you to configure the batch size used during the cloning an estimate process, enabling you to clone large and complex estimates without encountering limits.

Your administrator must replace the previously hardcoded limit with a value customized for your org's performance requirements. For more information, see Services Estimator Process Settings.

Configure Estimate Pricing Methods in the Manage Product Window

We've streamlined how you manage pricing calculations by enabling you to associate an estimate pricing method directly with an estimate product instance. This provides greater control and transparency by ensuring the correct pricing logic is applied as soon as an estimate product instance is added to an estimate.

To give you greater control and transparency over pricing logic, we've introduced these key enhancements:

  • You can now view and update the estimate pricing method directly in the Manage Product window.
  • The editability of the Fixed Price Margin (%) field is now controlled by the selected estimate pricing method rather than the billing type. It is now only editable when the Cost Plus pricing method is selected, providing more accurate pricing controls independent of the billing type.
  • A new, dismissible information message now displays in the Estimate Builder to notify you when an estimate pricing method is enabled. This ensures that you can see at a glance how pricing is being configured in your estimate.

For more information, see Estimate Pricing Method Overview.

Filter Records in the Estimate Builder

The Estimate Builder now includes a powerful new Filters panel that enables you to quickly narrow down and focus on specific data in your estimate. This provides you greater control and visibility, helping you analyze estimate details without having to scroll through large amounts of data.

All filters are applied at the role request level, and they are displayed alongside their related parent records. You can filter using the following fields:

  • Resource Role
  • Date Range: A start and end date must both be specified.
  • Region, Practice, and Group

Applied filters are effective across both the Work Breakdown and Hours Breakdown views. Your selected filter values persist on the panel and keep the grid filtered when switching views or refreshing. Filters are only cleared on a full page reload.

For more information, see Estimate Builder Overview.

Customize the Estimate Product Overview

The Estimate Product Overview table on the Overview subtab of an estimate now offers a new level of customization, enabling you to add custom fields. You can now use the Additional Estimate Product Overview Columns Lightning App Builder configuration to define a field set that controls the additional columns displayed on the Estimate Product Overview. Custom fields display after the default fields in the table.

This provides estimators greater control over the data they see, improving flexibility and getting better insight to an estimate at a glance.

For more information, see Configuring an Estimate.

Ensure Financial Accuracy with Notifications for Out-of-Date Estimate Financial Summaries

We have improved the Estimate Financial Summary to inform users when their data is out of date. You will be prompted to generate a new summary every time a change is made to the estimate. This ensures you are viewing accurate and up-to-date data, providing financial accuracy for reporting.

For more information, see Estimate Financial Summary Overview.

Support PSA Rate Matcher Plugin Interface in Services Estimator

We have enhanced the Services Estimator Rate Card Matcher Plugin to support the updated Rate Card Plugin interface from PSA Winter 2026. This resolves an issue where customers were unable to correctly set bill and cost dated rates using their custom matching logic.

A new field, Use PSA Rate Matcher Plugin Interface, has been added to the Services Estimator Settings custom setting. This enables custom plugins to load and execute that are written against the newer, compatible PSA interface. This grants your custom matching logic full control over setting all rate card types, including bill and cost dated rates.

Deprecation Notice

The following components are deprecated and deactivated in Winter 2026, ensure you no longer use these components:

  • Back To Opportunity Quick Action
  • Create Project Quick Action
  • Create Project Screen Action
  • SCPQ Estimate Summary Bar
  • Push To Opportunity Quick Action
  • Push To Opportunity Screen Action
  • SCPQ Task Manager

Permissions

For information about the changes to permissions in this release, see Permission Sets and Other Technical Documentation.

Fixes

Fixes are listed on the Known Issues page of the Certinia Community. You can access this page from the Community Support Hub. For a brief description of the issues that have been fixed in this version of Services Estimator, see the relevant section of the Known Issues page.