The estimate task calculates estimated costs for a production order. The estimated cost calculations are based on the production order quantity, the components in the production bills of material (production BOM), the routing operations in the production route, the indirect costs that are applicable to these components and operations, and the active cost data as of the calculation date. With a phantom line item in the production BOM, the calculations reflect the phantom's components and route operations.

The estimate task may be used to recalculate estimated costs to reflect updated information. For example, the updated information could be changes in the production order quantity, the components in the production BOM, the routing operations in the production route, the indirect costs that are applicable to these components and operations, or the active cost data as of the recalculation date.

The estimated cost calculations also suggest a sales price for the production item based on a cost-plus-markup approach.

The estimated cost calculations can optionally apply to reference orders that reflect production orders that are linked to the production order.