Draft quotes and estimates for home service jobs

Plumbers, cleaners, landscapers, painters and other home service businesses lose jobs because quotes go out days late. The owner writes each estimate in the evening from photos, notes and a price sheet, and customers book whoever answered first.

When a quote request comes in, the agent gathers what it needs: the job type, address, photos, measurements and the customer's answers to your standard questions, asking follow-up questions if something is missing. It applies your own price sheet, minimum charges, travel zones and material markups to build a line-item draft estimate, and notes every assumption it made (for example, the square footage it used or that it assumed standard access). Jobs your price sheet does not cover, or that need a site visit, are flagged instead of priced. The owner reviews the draft in the quoting tool, adjusts it, and sends it; the agent then schedules a polite follow-up if the customer has not replied.

1. Write down your price sheet: services, unit prices, minimums, travel zones, markups and what always needs a site visit
2. List the questions and photos you need for each job type
3. Connect the request channels (web form, email, text) and your quoting or invoicing tool
4. Have the agent produce line-item drafts with an assumptions list, never send them
5. Compare its drafts with the quotes you actually sent for a few weeks and tune the price rules
6. Set the follow-up timing for quotes that get no reply, with your approval on the message

• Jobber
• Housecall Pro
• QuickBooks estimates
• Google Forms + Sheets + an LLM
• Zapier or n8n + an LLM

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Make one of these tools? Feature your tool on every playbook where it is already listed.

The owner or estimator approves and sends every quote. Site visits, unusual jobs, discounts and anything involving safety or permits are decided by a person.

A wrong quote can lose money or a customer, so the agent prices only from your sheet and lists its assumptions for you to check. Photos can hide problems, so keep a 'subject to inspection' line where you normally would. Do not let it promise dates or warranties you have not set. Keep customer addresses and photos in your normal systems.

Track time from request to quote sent, quote acceptance rate, and owner hours spent on estimates before and after. The value is faster quotes from your own pricing, not a different price.