How do I get estimates out faster?
The short answer
Stop starting each estimate from a blank page. Collect the job details and photos on the first call, keep a price list of your common line items, and let an assistant draft the estimate for you to check and send the same day. You still set every price; the drafting is the part that gets fast.
Do this
Ask the same questions every time
Write the five to ten questions you need answered for a typical job, and have every call or form ask them.
Get photos before the visit
Text the customer a link to send two or three photos. Many jobs can be priced, or at least ranged, from good photos.
Keep a price list
Your common line items with your prices, materials and labor. The draft only uses what is on this list.
Let it draft, you approve
The assistant fills in the estimate from the answers, the photos and your list, and you check it before anything goes out.
Send it the same day
A quote that arrives while the customer still remembers the call is the one that gets signed.
Follow up on unsigned quotes
A short nudge after two days and again after a week, which stops as soon as they answer.
Questions owners ask
Will it price jobs wrong?
It only uses prices from your list, and nothing goes out until you approve it. Jobs that don't fit come back to you flagged.
What if I need a site visit first?
Then the assistant books the visit, and the draft is ready right after you enter what you measured.
Can customers sign online?
Yes. Most estimate tools take an online signature, and the assistant can send the link and remind them.
Related answers
General information, not legal, tax or medical advice.