There are five categories of tools we need to think about for estimating: - Take-off software - Estimating software - Document management - CRM and bid tracking - AI tools Some platforms do all of them, some only do one small, specific thing. Do I think you need five expensive construction-specific platforms? No. A smaller contractor could cover most of this with a purpose-built take-off tool, Excel, SharePoint or Google Drive, a simple CRM, and Claude or ChatGPT. As your team grows, dedicated estimating software or an all-in-one platform might make more sense. The important thing is choosing tools that suit your process and let you export your data. I broke down the different options in this video: https://youtu.be/AyL3tXCtz18 What does your current estimating stack look like? Which tools would you recommend?

Hi all, This is a great community. I just sold my first project, an AI phone assistant who will take calls, gather information, answer questions, and schedule appointments. I’ve used ChatGPT and Claude to plan out this project. But I still have two important questions for this great community. 1) What should I charge for this first project? If it goes well, it could lead to several others with the same Contractor. 2) For any of you who have built something similar, what tech stack did you deploy? Thank you.