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Your first proposal

This walks you from a new project to a link your client opens on their phone. Have the estimate for the job handy. A PDF, a spreadsheet or an export from your estimating software all work.

  1. Start a project

    A project is the job. The proposal goes inside it, and so does anything else you send this client later. Go to Projects and click New project.

    The New project form, filled in for a kitchen remodel
    1. 1A name you’ll recognise in your list.
    2. 2Your client, the person the letter is addressed to.
    3. 3A sentence or two about the job.
    4. 4Click to create it.

    You only have to fill in the name and the sentence about the job. We use that sentence to name the job on the cover (“Your kitchen remodel proposal”) and to set the tone of anything we write for you. It doesn’t change any prices and it isn’t printed.

  2. Create the proposal

    Your new project is empty. Click Create the proposal. If more than one person should get the proposal, like a spouse or the architect, add them with Add a person.

    A new project with no documents yet and a Create the proposal button
    1. 1Start the proposal.
    2. 2Add anyone else on the job.

  3. Choose how to start

    There are four ways to start a proposal.

    The New document page with four ways to start
    1. 1Upload your estimate. Most people start here.
    2. 2Copy a proposal you sent before.
    3. 3Type or paste notes about the job.
    4. 4Start with your usual pages and no prices yet. Once you save a template, this says Start from your template.

    For your first one, click Import an estimate, choose your file, then click Upload and read it. It takes about half a minute to read.

  4. Check what we read

    Before anything goes into the proposal, you get three short screens showing what we read from your file. The first one is the money. It lists your line items in the same groups your estimate used, with the total at the top. That total should match the total on your estimate.

    The import's money screen: eleven lines that come to $87,220.00, every price read from the estimate
    1. 1The total, which should match your estimate.
    2. 2Every price is copied from your file. We don’t guess prices.

    Untick a group if you don’t want it in this proposal. If we couldn’t read something clearly, it’s flagged here so you can check it.

    Click Next. The second screen shows notes from your estimate that aren’t prices, like exclusions or a deposit, and lets you add them. The third screen lists the pages your proposal will have. Turn off any you don’t need for this job and click Make the proposal.

    The list of pages the proposal will have, each with a tick box

  5. Make it yours

    Now you’re in the editor, and the proposal looks the way your client will see it. Click on any text to change it, including prices. Everything saves as you go, and ⌘Z undoes a change.

    The editor: the page list on the left, the cover in the middle, the total and the check at the top
    1. 1Your pages in order. Click one to jump to it, or drag to reorder.
    2. 2The total, which always adds up your lines.
    3. 3The check before you send.
    4. 4See the PDF.

    Grey text is sample text. It won’t print until you type over it, or choose Print the sample text as is from its ⋯ menu. Read through every page before you send your first proposal. After that most pages will already say what you want.

  6. Run the check

    When you’re happy with it, click Send… at the top right. It also shows how many things are worth a second look, like Send… (2 to check). Clicking it opens Check and send.

    The Check and send sheet: everything checks out, an optional AI check, and Make the link
    1. 1Optional. AI reads it for typos and things that don’t match.
    2. 2Go on to your client’s link.

    Some problems have to be fixed before you can send, like a line with no price or sample text you forgot to replace. Those are listed first. Click one to go straight to it. When it’s clear, click Make the link…

  7. Make the link

    You can add a short message that your client sees when they open the link. You can also pick when the link expires and whether your client can ask questions about a line. Then click Make the link.

    The Make the link dialog with a message on the page, an expiry date and a questions tick box
    1. 1An optional message from you.
    2. 2Let your client ask about a line.
    3. 3Make the link.

  8. Send it

    The link is copied for you, and you land on the proposal’s page with it near the top. Paste it into a text to your client, or send it by email from the same card.

    The proposal's page: Your client's link is live, the link with a Copy link button, and the email form below
    1. 1Whether your client has opened it yet.
    2. 2Copy the link again if you need it. The email form is just below.
    3. 3Link settings.

  9. What your client sees

    Your client opens the link on their phone. They don’t need to log in or download anything. They can read the proposal, download the PDF, and tap a button to tell you they’re ready to go ahead. You’ll see when they open it.

    The client's link opened on a phone, in the contractor's brand

What’s next