Roofing and building envelope
The quote waits for the visit. In the meantime the file collects measurements, slope, access and photos, so pricing takes one evening instead of three.
Assisted estimates
From the need described on the phone to an approved and followed-up estimate, without retyping the same numbers three times.
7 days, 20 answered calls, no card
The task it takes over
In the trades, the estimate is the bottleneck. The call comes in, the visit happens, and the quote waits until evening — then the weekend, then Monday. Meanwhile the customer has asked two other contractors for a price.
This add-on turns a request into an estimate file. It gathers what you need before you sit down to price the work: photos, measurements and their source, a list of what is still missing. It prepares line items from your own price catalogue. You review, adjust, approve — and the version you approved is the one that goes out.
Once the estimate is sent, follow-up is part of the add-on: it chases at the pace you choose, and it stops as soon as the customer answers or signs.
Step by step
- Collect
The documents, not just a message
Photos, a plan, a competitor's quote, an inspection report: attachments are accepted and filed. A checklist says what is still missing.
- Prepare
Line items come from your catalogue
Amounts come from prices you entered. It invents no rate and negotiates nothing: it assembles a proposal from what you already decided.
- Approve
Nothing goes out but your version
Every change creates a version. You approve the one that should go out, and that is the one sent and used as the reference for all follow-up.
- Follow up
The chase, then the stop
The estimate you sent is followed up at the pace you set. An answer, a signature or a refusal ends the sequence. You can stop it at any point.
An add-on, not a base capability
The Trades and maintenance base answers, qualifies and sends you the request. It does not prepare estimates. Assisted estimates are added on purpose, and stay separate: you can remove them without touching anything else.
Follow-up on the estimate is part of the add-on. Two neighbours are not included: lead capture and sales follow-up adds lead sources and attribution; deposits and payments adds the payment request.
What this changes for your business
Renovation and construction
Several line items, several material options. Every approved version stays on file: you know which one the customer received when they call back a month later.
Excavation and landscaping
Projects are priced by zone and by material. The checklist asks for the location certificate before you lose a visit for nothing.
What it receives
- The request qualified on the phone, with the place and the work described
- Attachments sent by the customer or taken on site
- Your price catalogue and your usual line items
- What you noted during the estimate visit
What it produces
- An estimate file with its checklist of missing documents
- A priced proposal built from your rates, ready for review
- An approved version, sent, and kept as the reference
- Follow-up on the estimate that stops as soon as the customer replies
You approve every version before it is sent. No proposal leaves your file without your agreement, and no amount is negotiated on your behalf.
What is metered, and what comes from elsewhere
The add-on carries its own monthly allowance, separate from the calls in the base.
- Estimate files handled per month, reset at each period
- Attachment pages and draft versions per file
- A catalogue of price lines that belongs to you and that you edit
- Calls stay metered on the base, separately from this add-on
Any third-party fees — document delivery, electronic signature from an outside provider — are separate and billed by that provider.
With estimating software
The status shown is technical qualification. With no qualified software, the file lives in Zenvox and nothing is blocked.
- JobberTo qualifyThe quote model and the acceptance event are documented; writing and payment reconciliation still have to be proven.Jobber
- HoverTo qualifyTemplate measurements and estimates: useful to prepare a file, not enough to close without a visit.Hover
- Xactimate / XactAnalysisTo qualifyRestoration and insurance work: the exchange format and the system of record must be settled before any write.Xactimate and XactAnalysis
Questions about this add-on
Does the base already prepare estimates?
No. The Trades and maintenance base answers, qualifies and sends you the request; it prepares no estimate. That is exactly what this add-on adds, and you can remove it without touching anything else.
Does it set the amounts for me?
No. Line items come from the price catalogue you entered: it assembles a proposal out of what you already decided, it invents no rate and it negotiates nothing.
Can an estimate go out before I have seen it?
No. Every change creates a version, and the version you approve is the one sent and used as the reference for all follow-up. No proposal leaves your file without your agreement.
Is the follow-up after sending yet another add-on?
Follow-up on the estimate you sent is part of this one: it chases at the pace you set and stops at an answer, a signature or a refusal. Two neighbours stay separate — lead sources and attribution on one side, the payment request on the other.
Do I need Jobber, Hover or Xactimate for this to be useful?
No. All three sit at 'to be qualified': writing and reconciliation still have to be proven on a live account. With no qualified software the estimate file lives in Zenvox and nothing is blocked.
Where to next
Go back to your trade, or see how the add-on sits beside your base.
Assisted estimates