Price it on site, not at the kitchen table at 10pm
The first quote in the door usually wins. Watch a homeowner with three bids and you'll see it. So the whole estimating flow in CoatHQ is built to finish in the driveway. Pull the package and enter the square footage. Adjust the line items, make the PDF and send the link.
The speed comes from two places. First, quote templates. The floor you sell forty times a year doesn't get rebuilt from scratch each time. Second, a line item library. Your labor, material and add-ons are already in it, with prices on them. So you put an estimate together instead of making one up.
Three options beat one price
One price gets a yes or a no. Three options change the question from "do I buy?" to "which one do I buy?" And you stop fighting the next bidder over a single number.
In CoatHQ, each quote carries up to three packages: good, better and best. Each is a real package with its own line items, discount, tax and total. It's not a percent tacked onto a base price. The customer sees them side by side. You can hide quantity, unit price or tax from the customer view for your whole company. So the proposal shows what you want it to show.
CoatHQ tracks which option they opened. That's handy the next time you build an offer.
Know the margin before you send it
Every line item in the library carries a cost price. That's the whole trick. Since cost sits on the item, the quote shows gross margin and margin percent per option while you build it. Once the job is costed, you see it per square foot, too.
So a discount becomes a choice, not a reflex. When a customer pushes, you see what the push costs before you say yes. That beats finding out at the end of the month.
Watch us build a quote live
Bring a real floor you quoted lately. We'll build it with three options and margin on the screen. Then we'll send you the customer link.
Sign up nowThe customer approves and signs on their phone
Each quote gets its own proposal link. The customer compares the options and approves, declines or asks for changes. Then they sign on their phone. Deposit terms sit on the quote. So the yes and the deposit happen in one step, with no second phone call.
Behind it there's a version history, a resend button and a PDF for anyone who wants paper. Quotes move through ten status states. That sounds like a lot. Then you try to answer "where did that bid go?" from memory.
Change orders, not verbal agreements
The upsell after the job is sold is where coating shops lose money on the quiet. In CoatHQ, a change order has its own line items. It gets its own customer approval and signature, too. So extra scope turns into revenue on paper. Reported revenue follows the invoice, which is the quote plus approved change orders. That way the number in the report matches the one you can defend.
Follow-up is where quotes actually die
Quotes rarely die on price. They die when nobody calls back. CoatHQ keeps a follow-up list with overdue tags and snooze. It runs a set call plan and tracks each try on a lead. And there's a pipeline with a "Call Today" column, so the list builds itself each morning.
Then it reports a number most shops don't know: close rate, figured as quotes approved divided by quotes sent. You see the change from the last period, too. Add the lead source on every inbound call. Now you can see which ads bring in quotes that close, and which just bring quotes.
What this concrete contractor estimating software won't do
Better to say it plainly now than have you find out on a demo:
- No blueprint takeoff. Do you bid plan-and-spec commercial work off drawings? Then you want a takeoff tool. This isn't one.
- No aerial or satellite property measurement. You enter the square footage you measured.
- No equipment or crew bidding for heavy civil. This is for home and light commercial coating work.
What it does is price a floor fast, with your costs in it. And it gets you a signature the same day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best estimating software for concrete contractors?
The one that prices by the square foot from your own line items. It should show the margin before the quote goes out. And the customer should be able to approve and sign on their phone. Speed beats polish. A quote handed over on site beats a prettier one that shows up two days later.
Does CoatHQ do takeoff from blueprints?
No. It doesn't do aerial or satellite measuring, either. You enter the square footage you measured. It's built for work where you walk the slab, not for plan-and-spec bidding.
Can customers sign an estimate on their phone?
Yes. They get a link of their own where they can approve, decline or ask for changes. It captures their signature and shows the deposit terms on the quote. You can see which options they viewed.
How do I handle an upsell after the job is sold?
Write it up as a change order with its own line items and its own signature. The job total updates. Reported revenue follows the invoice, which is the quote plus approved change orders.
Does it integrate with QuickBooks?
A send-only sync to QuickBooks Online is built, but it's not out yet. So think of it as coming later, not something to buy on today. Payments run through Stripe. Each contractor hooks up their own Stripe account, so customer money goes straight to them.