75darren

This is very interesting, I am going to DM you.

** Guys, I am sorry for posting in a self build forum, my mistake. I appreciate your feedback and I will take on board your thought and ideas. Wishing you all well.

My idea is to link directly to the actual shop, so everything would naturally be up to date. Quoting total job price is fine, the Quote feature I am developing has two options "lineitems' or 'total price' and the quote states to the client that the price is only applicable for the next 30 days (this is also editable). "The other issue is merchant terms and prices, which are not available on a generic search." Everything is editable in my platform. "My quotes are all put together in my accounting software too as it makes life much easier for accounting and invoicing purposes." When using my platform, the jobs are all linked to the quotes and invoices so auto-reminders can go out to the client (and you). When a client pays, your accounting software gets updated. Pending jobs are clearly shown on the calendar and everything is synced. All calculations are done automatically. "It's calculating time and risk for each job and also covering contingencies in terms of both labour and materials/products. It's covering your arse on all of these things too!" This is a good point, I will think about this so I can improve my software. To be clear, although I am building a comprehensive builder 'platform', my purpose for posting here was not to advertise, it was to ask advice about the specific quoting feature. I am generally a respectful person and would not spam. I actually emailed the forum admin before posting in the first place,

You are quite right and I am exactly the same. However, when use the word app, I refer to both a website and mobile app. Thanks for pointing that out because I tend to use app as a catch-all phrase which I need to be careful of.

@Alan Ambrose Thank you so much for your thoughts. Despite me being embarrassed that I am pitching to the wrong crowd, my app idea may be useful to self builders and your reply has given me plenty to think about. You made some useful insights so thank you for those.

Oh .. hmm I didn't know everyone here was a self builder. Whoops

@JohnMo I have nothing to sell, I am creating something which will be free to use. I am asking for advice.

Hey everyone, Wasn't sure where to post this, but 'Building Materials' felt like the best spot. I'm reaching out to the experienced builders here because for your insights. Having spent several years in the field, I understand the hassle of pricing jobs, a sentiment echoed by my builder friends. Nowadays I am a skilled programmer looking to address this issue. I have a simple, user-friendly solution which will be free for builders to use (I'll explain more later). Here's the gist. Imagine starting a new quote, and the customer's name and email seamlessly import from your saved clients. You can add line items effortlessly. The 'Product Search' feature lets you explore local suppliers, showing prices and locations (see mock-up image below). A simple click adds your chosen product to the quote. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and any ideas to improve, change or refine this solution. I want to code exactly what real world builder genuinely need. Regarding the decision to offer the app for free, the concept is to provide the tool that allows users to price jobs for free. There's will be an option to unlock additional features through an upgrade to offset any cost I incur on the free tool. Some feature ideas include invoicing, a job timer, office calendar, team management, and more. I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on feature ideas too.

Wow, I never knew concrete accounts for over 7 percent of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Interesting article.

Just joined and saying hello. I am Darren, mostly experienced with plastering although handy in a range of skills. I am a programmer too and working on builder related stuff for myself and others.