Some homeowners want a number before they pick up the phone. Some would rather answer a few questions after work than wait for a callback.
I put an estimator on your website that prices the job from what the homeowner types in, and puts that homeowner in your CRM the moment they see the price.
A Price on the Board Before They Call
Most contractor websites give a homeowner 2 choices, call, or fill out a form and wait for someone to call them back.
An estimator gives them a third. They answer a few questions about the job and see a price or price range right there.
93% of homeowners say an instant estimate influences who they hire.1
- Pricing guidance without waiting on a callback
- Your team learns about the job before the first conversation
- Fewer calls that are only "what does this usually run"
- Every estimate becomes a lead on your customer record, not a stray number nobody follows up on
Tire Kickers Get Their Number Without You
Some people only want to know what a job costs. The estimator tells them on your website, and the ones who never hire you move on without costing you a drive out and an evening writing a quote.
The people who call after that have seen the price and are still interested. The first conversation starts with when they want the work done, not whether they can afford it.
From Estimate to Quote
- The homeowner starts on your website, on a call, or through search, and answers a few questions about the job.
- For work that can be priced from those answers, the estimator shows them a range on the spot, and the lead lands on your customer record.
- When they book a visit or ask for it by email, the quote PDF is built from the latest estimate for each part of the job, with your terms and conditions. Nobody re-enters the customer.
- If you want to confirm the scope first, your team does it with a call, or with an inspection or site visit. Your own answers, price adjustment, and notes for the customer sit beside the homeowner's answers, and the updated quote uses both.
Sometimes the quote stands unchanged. More often your team enters its own answers once it sees the job, and the homeowner's answers stay as they entered them.
See Quotes for what happens once your team knows the real scope.
What You Get
- Online Estimator: prices one or more parts of the job and shows the homeowner the total before they call.
- Your Prices: you set the prices. I build the formulas around the key factors that drive the price in your trade, and update them from your feedback.
- One Record: every estimate the homeowner runs, their answers, and everything after stay on the same customer.
Common Questions
What is the difference between an estimate and a quote?
The estimate comes from the estimator on your website. It prices one or more parts of the job from a few answers the homeowner types in, and shows the total cost in one place.
The quote is a PDF built from the homeowner's answers and emailed to them when they book a visit or ask for it. It holds the details from one or more estimates, any price adjustment, your notes for the customer, and your terms and conditions.
The estimate is useful before the first call. The quote is the specific offer the customer approves. Booking the work is a separate step after the customer approves it.
Can an estimate turn into a quote?
Yes. The quote is built from the homeowner's own answers, with the key cost drivers from each estimate.
A homeowner can run an estimate as many times as they like. Every version stays on their record, and the quote uses the latest one.
A quote can draw on several estimators. To remove one of them from the quote, the homeowner clicks its clear button on your website.
Once your team has reviewed the job and confirmed the scope, it adjusts the quote where needed and sends the updated version.
Is the estimate the final price?
No. An estimate prices what one page of your website covers, from what the homeowner enters. That page's options follow what you market online.
The quote is scoped for signing the deal. Once your team sees the job, it enters its own answers, such as a measurement, a material choice, or a detail that only shows up on site. The homeowner's answers stay as they entered them, and the quote uses yours where you set one.
You can also adjust the price up or down, add notes for the customer, and send the updated version.
Can the online estimator work for my trade?
Yes, for roofing, siding, painting, fencing, landscaping, concrete, windows and doors, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and similar home-service work.
The formulas in your estimator are specific to your trade and capture the key factors that drive your price. You set the prices.
When an estimate misses on a real job, tell me, and I update the formulas.
Are estimator prices the same for every company on a shared site?
Yes. Every company on a shared site accepts what the site shows, including its prices.
Your quote is still yours. You can enter your own answers beside the homeowner's or adjust the price up or down, and send the updated version.
Does the estimator replace an in-person inspection?
It's up to you. Some trades usually need a look in person before they quote. Others skip the visit to save the overhead.
On a shared site, every company accepts what the site offers, so the option to book a visit is either on for everyone or off.
When a job does get a visit, the estimator gives your customer a price while your team gathers information ahead of it.
Does the estimate account for where the job is?
Yes. The estimator multiplies the overall cost by a factor set for the job's postal code, because the same job usually costs more downtown than in the suburbs.
See the Rest of the System
A Price on Their Screen, a Lead in Your CRM
The homeowner sees a real number before they call. You see their name, their number, and their answers before you call back.
Those answers become the quote with nothing retyped, and an open quote gets followed up until they decide.
On an insurance claim, most often roofing and siding, the same quote carries an insurance code on each line item. Insurance Quoting turns that column on for accounts that need it.
Book a 20-Minute Call with Robert and see how an estimator would price a job in your trade.
Sources
- Housecall Pro, Home Service Customer Service Report, survey of 1,040 U.S. homeowners. Retrieved October 2026. ↑