Residential painting
Rooms, ceilings, trim, the colour wanted. She records the surface as announced and its source, the state of the walls — holes, cracks, stains, wallpaper — the masking needed, and whether the home stays lived in during the work.
Painting, flooring and finishing
A stated area, the condition of walls or flooring, and an occupied home all affect preparation. Your receptionist collects those details, records access and timing, then books a visit so you can assess the work properly on site.
$39 CAD / month · 50 Standard calls · 1 local number
Area, preparation and access before your visit
The estimator receives a request that says what it knows and what it does not: surface estimated from a lease, likely preparation, a hard deadline, photos attached. The visit is there to confirm, and the price comes after.
Read the full conversation
Monday, 9:30 a.m. The painter is up on interior scaffolding. A landlord calls to have a unit painted between two tenants.
ReceptionistPeinture Michaud, good morning. Let me take your name and a callback number first, in case we get cut off.
CallerYves Thibault, 819 555-0117. I have a two-bedroom to repaint, about 800 square feet, before the first of the month.
ReceptionistIs that 800 square feet measured or approximate? And are the walls in good shape — holes, cracks, old wallpaper?
CallerIt is what the lease says, I did not measure. There are picture-frame holes and one living room wall is stained.
ReceptionistRecorded as an estimated measurement, not a confirmed one, with preparation to expect and your first-of-the-month deadline. You can text me two photos of the stained wall; I will attach them to the file before the visit.
For the requests you receive
Flooring
A covering to replace, a subfloor to level, a removal to plan. She records the material being aimed for, the existing covering, the declared surface and whether furniture has to be moved.
Rental turnover and property managers
A unit to restore between two tenants, with a move-in date. She captures the deadline, the local contact and the access — these are requests that repeat and can be planned.
Other requests you can delegate
Small jobs and defined packages
A bathroom refresh, mouldings, a door, a drywall repair. A written work order beats a verbal agreement even on a small package: she lays the groundwork for one during the call.
What she does for you, in painting and interior finishing
Almost everyone calls with a number in mind. She writes down that number AND where it came from, so your estimator knows what he is really holding.
When the customer gives a number over the phone
She takes your name and callback number before the room to paint or the floor to replace even comes up.
The very first reflex, before the conversation drifts to measurements.
She asks for the surface announced AND how it was worked out — tape measure, lease plan, or an eyeball guess.
The documented risk in this trade is a customer’s number becoming a firm commitment; the source of the measurement is written beside the number.
She records the state of the substrate as the customer describes it — holes, cracks, stains, old wallpaper.
That is what separates a refresh from heavy preparation, and it cannot be guessed over the phone.
She labels the measurement "estimated" until someone has verified it, and does not turn it into a price per square foot.
Your estimator confirms the preparation and any extras on site; a measurement stays marked as such until then.
What she adds before the visit
She asks for the finish or covering wanted, and whether any furniture has to be moved.
A matte or glossy finish, a wood or vinyl covering: that changes the preparation, not only the result.
She asks whether the place stays occupied during the work.
A lived-in home needs different masking and scheduling than a unit standing empty between two tenants.
She attaches to the file the photos of the wall or problem surface that the customer texts in.
The estimator sees the stain or the hole before the visit, instead of finding it on site.
She offers the visit in the windows you keep for estimates, without giving a start date for the job.
The start date is set after the estimate, not before.
Rental turnover and property managers
She recognises a unit turnover request between two tenants and captures the move-in date as a hard deadline.
These are requests that repeat, with a date that does not move.
She records the local contact and the access to the unit, so your crew lead does not have to call the manager before going in.
A property manager tracks several units at once; the access and the contact change from one file to the next.
After the visit: the estimate and dispatch
Each of these options is added separately, when it is useful to you.
- Add-on
She prepares your draft priced from your approved rates, with a version per acceptance or refusal, and stops follow-ups the moment it is settled.
A file that gets settled, instead of an estimate redone three times in an inbox. Assisted estimates
- Add-on
She assigns each painting or flooring package to the crew that can take it, within the same week.
Several units, one window before the first of the month: you can see who accepted what. Dispatch and field work
When your customers write, and if you already use software
- Channel
She continues by text the exchanges about furniture, access and permitted hours ahead of the visit.
Optional SMS channel: the context arrives already written instead of being asked again at the door.
- Software
She stays aligned with Jobber for the clients and requests already tracked in your product, once writing is proven on a real account.
The client-request-quote model exists on the product side; writing each object still has to be proven before it is announced. Jobber
- Software
She stays aligned with Housecall Pro for your billing, under the same qualification limit.
The interface key exists at the product’s top tier; the exact write coverage still has to be qualified with the vendor. Housecall Pro
What she does not do, in painting and interior finishing
- She gives no firm price and no ballpark from a measurement quoted over the phone.
- She does not confirm the state of the substrate or the preparation required: that is seen on site.
- She commits to no job duration and no start date.
- She decides on no extra: an add-on is approved before it is carried out.
- She does not recommend a product or a finish as a guarantee of result.
- She confirms neither that a permit has been obtained nor that a work package meets municipal zoning.
- She does not treat a degraded substrate found mid-job as a decision that is hers to make.
What you can ask her yourself
She answers from the calls, requests and business information you are allowed to access. A question about an option only applies once you have switched it on.
The questionWhich finishing jobs involve a home that is still occupied?
She retrieves reported occupancy, rooms and requested dates. An estimated area remains an unverified measurement.
Which requests come from a property manager with a move-in date to meet?
She retrieves the deadline, the local contact and the access noted on the call. She does not confirm the crew is available for that date.
Which painting or flooring estimates sent this month have had no reply?
Add-onWith Assisted estimates: the last follow-up and the current version of each file. Without the option, she does not track estimates.
Which finishing packages are still waiting on a crew?
Add-onWith Dispatch and field work: who accepted each package. Without the option, she passes the request on without tracking its assignment.
What happens to the request
You say what you take and how you price
Your kinds of work, your service area, what you want to know before driving out, and what your receptionist does not say. All of it changes from the app, including in the middle of the season.
She separates the customer's measurement from a confirmed one
Name and callback number first. Then the room and the surface involved, the measurement and its source, the state of the substrate and the likely preparation, the finish or covering wanted, the furniture, the occupancy and the access during the work.
A traceable draft, not a promise
You get a written request with the photos and the measurement labelled estimated or confirmed. Your estimator adjusts, and the agreement is made on a version you approved.
What the Trades and maintenance base covers
A receptionist who answers for you, in both languages, and sends you a written request. No setup fee, and you keep your number.
- Calls answered in French and in English, following the caller
- Name and callback number taken first, so nothing is lost if the line drops
- The work asked for, the place and the wanted timing, written into your request
- An immediate alert when the situation matches your urgency rule
- A written summary after every call, readable in the app, and the option to ask her what happened
She does not confirm the state of the substrate or the preparation required: that is seen on site.
Decisions that stay with you
- She gives no firm price and no ballpark from a measurement quoted over the phone.
- She commits to no job duration and no start date.
- She decides on no extra: an add-on is approved before it is carried out.
- She does not recommend a product or a finish as a guarantee of result.
Ask your receptionist, too
This is included in your base plan. She answers using the calls, requests and business information you are allowed to access.
Talk to your receptionistA question you can ask
Which finishing jobs involve a home that is still occupied?
She retrieves reported occupancy, rooms and requested dates. An estimated area remains an unverified measurement.
What else you can hand to her
Beyond the base plan. Each one is added on purpose, separately from the base. None is switched on unless you choose it.
When your customers prefer to write
You can add a channel so she can continue the conversation with your customers. Any action she takes follows the same rules and the options you have chosen.
Optional customer channel
Customer text conversations
Continue discussing furniture, access and permitted hours to prepare the site visit.
The transactional messages provided by your base plan and your own questions to the receptionist remain included.
Keeping your current software?
Check the actions supported, connection requirements and how to work when your software cannot perform the requested action.
Client, request and quote model documented; writing each object still has to be proven on a real account before it is announced.
Interface key and callback secret are documented at the product's top tier; eligibility and write coverage still have to be qualified with the vendor.
The trap in this trade: a number given by the customer
In painting, flooring and small jobs, almost everyone calls with a number in mind. "Three bedrooms", "about 800 square feet", "just a refresh". The documented risk in this trade is that a surface announced by the customer turns into a firm commitment — and that the preparation, the state of the substrate and the access, which drive the real cost, show up afterwards.
Your receptionist writes down the number AND where it came from. She records the room and the surface involved, the measurement and how it was calculated, the state of the substrate as the customer describes it, the finish or covering wanted, and whether the place stays occupied during the work. Photos are attached to the file by text.
She turns none of it into a price. Your estimator or crew lead confirms the preparation, the constraints and any extras — and an estimated measurement stays labelled as such until someone verifies it.
In the same section
The other lines of work in this section run on the same engine, with their own requests and their own rules.
Trades & maintenanceRenovation and finishing
Painting, flooring and finishing — your questions
Customers give a surface on every call. Is that useful?
Yes, provided you know where it came from. A surface drawn from a lease, a plan or a tape measure are not worth the same, and the documented risk in this trade is a customer's number becoming a firm commitment. She writes the source beside the number.
What if we find a degraded substrate once we start?
That is the prescribed recovery path: produce a documented option or change order, and wait for agreement before doing the extra. Your receptionist opens the request and tells the customer; nobody adds a charge in silence.
I work a lot for property managers.
Those requests repeat, with hard move-in dates. She captures the deadline, the local contact and the access to the unit during the call, and your calendar fills with packages ready to run.
Does she book the estimate visit?
Yes, within the availability you allow and on the windows you keep for estimates. She sends the confirmation and the reminder before the visit.
Can she give a price per square foot?
No. The real cost comes from the preparation, the access and the state of the substrate — not from the surface alone. She captures all of it, and your estimator prices afterwards.
Your rules, before the first call
Start your free trial with your email. Your website can help prepare your business information, but it is optional. Confirm the facts, choose a first task and test your receptionist. You can try options too, starting with the ones you need.
Keep my phone numberPainting, flooring and finishing