GarageDoorBossPro Blog — Garage Door Software

Garage Door Estimates in the Software: From Service List to Approved Job

Repair calls usually go straight onto the schedule. Bigger work does not. A new door, a new opener, a set of replacement panels or a commercial door repair usually starts with an estimate, and the gap between sending that estimate and getting a yes is where a lot of garage door work gets lost.

Where Estimates Come From

Many estimate requests start in the app covered in The Customer App: What Homeowners See When You Run Garage Door Software, where homeowners request service. Others start with a phone call, a website request or a tech's recommendation after a door safety inspection.

However the request arrives, the estimate lives with the customer and the address in GarageDoorBossPro, not in a separate document on someone's laptop.

Built From Your Service List

Estimates are built from the services you set up. A garage door company's list might include:

• Service call
• Torsion spring replacement and extension spring replacement
• Cables and rollers
• Off-track repair
• Opener repair and opener install
• New door install
• Panel or section replacement
• Sensors, keypads and remotes
• Weatherstripping
• Commercial door repair
• After-hours emergency

Whatever you sell, set it up once with your price, for example a $549 opener install or a $1,895 new door install, and every estimate pulls from the same list. Different people in the office quote the same work the same way.

Services can also be priced off the measurements saved on each property, such as the number of doors or openers, which helps on multi-door houses and commercial buildings.

Equipment Details on the Estimate

Equipment details can be filled in on the estimate. For a new door install, that might be the door size, material and bay. For an opener install, the drive type and HP. If the house already has equipment saved, the From House picker can bring it onto the estimate.

When the estimate is approved and becomes the job, the equipment carries onto the job. The installer sees on the job card exactly what was quoted, and when the job is done, the new equipment is saved on the house.

Templates for Common Jobs

Estimate templates let you save the quotes you send most often. A standard opener install, a two-spring replacement with new rollers, or a new double-bay door with an opener can each be a template. Start from the template, adjust for the house, and send.

Templates also help a newer office person quote like the owner would. Instead of guessing which items go with a new door, they start from the template the owner built and only change what is different about this house, like a single bay instead of a double or a wood door instead of insulated steel.

Online Approval

The customer gets the estimate and approves it online. There is no printing, signing and scanning, and no waiting for the customer to call back with a yes. Once approved, the estimate becomes the scheduled job, ready to put on a van and a day from the dispatch board.

For property managers and HOAs, online approval is especially handy. The manager can review the estimate for a unit when they have a minute, approve it, and the job is ready to schedule.

Follow-Up That Happens on Its Own

Plenty of estimates are not turned down. They are just forgotten. The homeowner meant to look at it, then the week got busy. Estimate follow-up emails go out on their own, so the estimate stays in front of the customer without someone in the office having to remember to chase it.

If the customer has questions, two-way texting from the office makes it easy to answer them quickly.

From Inspection to Estimate

Some of the best estimates come from your own techs. When a tech runs the door safety inspection and marks the door “Repair recommended” with a note about worn rollers or a torn bottom seal, the office can build an estimate from it the same day. The homeowner already has the printed inspection report explaining why, so the estimate makes sense the moment it arrives.

The rest of the billing side, from invoice to paid, is in Billing in Garage Door Software: Invoices, Card on File and Past-Due Follow-Up.

Estimates That Turn Into Work

The point of estimate software is not prettier quotes. It is fewer estimates that go nowhere. Consistent pricing from your service list, equipment details that carry onto the job, online approval and follow-up emails all push in that direction.

To see how estimates connect to dispatch, the tech app and billing, visit the GarageDoorBossPro garage door software page.