Describe the job. Get a priced draft at your rates.
Say or type what the job is and add a few photos. BestMate drafts the line items at your labor rate, your markup and your own rate sheet, with a written scope, in under a minute. You check it, change what's off and send it.
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How it works
Set your pricing once
Tell BestMate where you work and how you price, from Value to Premium. Add your labor rate, your markup on materials and a rate sheet of up to 30 prices you always charge, like a $75 haul-away.
Describe the job
Type it or say it out loud, the way you'd explain it to a helper: "Replace 40-gallon gas water heater, garage install, haul away old unit, add expansion tank."
Add photos
Add up to 10 photos from the camera or your library: the nameplate, the install spot, the damage. They help the draft, and they're saved on the estimate.
Check the draft and the scope
In under a minute you get the line items with quantities and prices, plus a scope: what's included, what it assumed and what's not included.
Change it, then send
Ask for changes in plain English, like "make it a 50-gallon and add a drain pan." Then pick the customer and send it as a normal BestMate estimate.
Priced to your numbers, not someone's national average
The draft prices to the pricing you set: where you work, how you price, your labor rate and your markup on materials. Anything on your rate sheet, like a $120 permit or a $75 haul-away, goes in at exactly that price every time. Materials are local prices plus your markup, so they're the lines to check before you send. It's a draft. You're the estimator.
Quotes stop eating your evenings
The quote you'd normally type at the kitchen table after dinner starts as one sentence and a few photos in the driveway. The draft is ready in under a minute. Check it, fix anything that's off and send it before the next job, while the homeowner is still deciding who to call back.
Change it by saying so
"Make it a 50-gallon and add a drain pan." "Bring the total to $2,000." "Raise labor 10%." Say it and you get a new version, with every line you didn't mention left exactly as it was, including prices you typed in yourself.
A scope that settles arguments early
Every draft comes with a short write-up: what's included, what it assumed and what isn't covered. You spot the gaps before the customer does. Put the lines that matter in the estimate's notes and "I thought that was included" has an answer in writing before the first tool comes off the truck.
Photos catch what you'd forget
Snap the water heater nameplate, the open panel or the stain on the ceiling. Up to 3 photos are read at full resolution, which is what picks up model numbers and small details you'd otherwise forget by the time you write the quote. The photos stay on the estimate too.
It goes out as a normal estimate
Once you send it, it's a regular BestMate estimate. The customer opens it from a link with no login, signs it and can pay a deposit through Stripe, Square or PayPal. When the job's done, it turns into the invoice. No retyping.
How different trades use it
- PlumbingSay "replace 40-gallon water heater, garage install, haul away old unit," add a photo of the nameplate, and get the parts and labor laid out at your rates.
- HVACA photo of the condenser's data plate gives the draft the model details to work from when you're quoting a replacement on a hot afternoon.
- ElectricalPut your panel-upgrade price and per-outlet price on the rate sheet, and every draft that includes them uses your number.
- HandymanA list of small jobs, like a sticking door, two floating shelves and a running toilet, becomes an itemized quote at your hourly rate before you've left the driveway.
- PaintingDescribe the rooms and add photos of the walls and trim, and the scope spells out what's not included, like ceilings or moving furniture.
- RoofingAdd photos of the storm damage, and the assumptions section shows the homeowner what the price takes for granted before they sign.
AI Estimator questions
Where do the prices come from?
From the pricing you set in the app: where you work, how you price (Value, Standard, Standard Plus or Premium), your labor rate, your markup on materials and your rate sheet. A line that matches your rate sheet uses your price exactly. Labor is priced at your hourly rate. Materials are local prices plus your markup, so check those lines before you send. Tax from your settings goes on the saved estimate.
Is the estimate accurate?
Treat it as a first draft from a quick helper, not a final number. It's built from your description, your photos and your pricing, and it lays out what it assumed so you can see where it guessed. You check every line, change what's off and nothing reaches the customer until you send it.
Does it send anything to the customer on its own?
No. The draft stays in the chat until you tap Save to choose the customer, or Send to send it. Before that you can ask for changes in plain English. After that it's a normal BestMate estimate you can still edit by hand.
Can it make an estimate from a photo?
Yes, photos alone work, but a one-line description with them works better. Add up to 10 from the camera or your library. Up to 3 photos are read at full resolution, which is what picks up nameplates and small details. Larger batches are read at lower detail. The photos are saved on the estimate.
Can I talk instead of type?
Yes. Tap the microphone and say the job the way you'd explain it to a helper. It's written out for you to check before the draft starts.
Send tonight's quote from the driveway
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14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime