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Estimates & Pricing

Talk about price
without getting stuck writing the message.

When the customer asks “How much?”, you’ve answered it a hundred times. You just don’t want to stop what you’re doing to type it again.

Trade Reply reads the conversation, understands what they’re asking about, and drafts the response using your services, pricing and preferred tone.

Download Trade ReplySee examples ↓

Trade Reply drafts the reply. You read it, and you send it.

9:41
PPriya S.

Hi! Our AC is 18 years old and struggling.

Roughly how much for a new system?

Message
TRADE REPLYReady

Take a screenshot

So Trade Reply can read the conversation

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Where you are when it lands

The customer wants a number.
You’re underneath a sink.

You know what to say. You just don’t have time to type it.

  • You’re driving between jobs.
  • You’re on a roof.
  • You’re carrying equipment.
  • You’re halfway through another customer’s job.
  • Five leads messaged while you were working.

The problem isn’t knowing your business. It’s stopping your business to answer your phone.

Straight from the thread

These messages sound familiar.

  • Plumbing

    Customer: How much would it cost to replace my water heater?

  • Painting

    Customer: Can you give me a ballpark price?

  • Roofing

    Customer: Why is your estimate higher?

  • Remodeling & General Contracting

    Customer: Does that include materials?

  • Landscaping

    Customer: Can you do any better on the price?

  • HVAC

    Customer: Do you offer financing?

How it works

Customer sent this. Here’s what happens next.

Trade Reply reads the conversation, surfaces the actions that fit it and drafts the reply. You stay in control of what gets sent.

  1. The customer messages.

    By text, email or Facebook, whatever they picked. You’re in the middle of a job.

  2. Take a screenshot.

    Or import the latest one. The keyboard reads the whole thread from it.

  3. It reads the conversation.

    A plain-language read of what they’re asking, at the top of the keyboard.

  4. The right actions come up.

    Ranked for this conversation. Here, Give Price Range and Book Estimate.

  5. It drafts the reply.

    In your tone, using the services, prices and details you’ve set up.

  6. You check it and send it.

    Insert puts it in your message box. Edit anything. Nothing goes until you press send.

9:41
PPriya S.

Hi! Our AC is 18 years old and struggling.

Roughly how much for a new system?

Message
TRADE REPLYReady

Asking for a rough price on replacing an old AC system.

Give RangeBook Estimate

A new system usually runs $5,800–$8,500 installed, depending on the house and unit.

Insert
Try againKeyboard

Before and after

Same answer. Better message.

Your customer says

Customer: How much to replace my water heater?

What you were going to type

yea probably around 1800-2200 depending on what you need

Give Price Range

What Trade Reply drafts

Most replacements fall between $1,800 and $2,200 installed, depending on the unit and what needs to be changed. If you send me a photo of the current setup, I can give you a better idea.

Seconds instead of minutes.

The range is the one set for this service. Trade Reply never makes up a price.

Scenarios

Every way the price question comes up.

A number, an estimate, what’s included, and the push-back that follows. Trade Reply can recognize situations like these and surface actions such as the ones below. Which actions appear depends on the conversation.

Customer asks for a price

Electrical

Customer: How much to install an EV charger in my garage?

Why it’s hard

Give a number too early and you’re stuck with it. Dodge the question and they text someone else.

Trade Reply can surface

  • Give Price Range
  • Ask for Photos

The draftStraightforward tone

EV charger installs usually run $900–$1,600, depending on your panel and how far it is from where the charger goes. A photo of your panel would help me narrow that down.

Quoted from the price range set for EV charger installs. With no range set, it asks for details instead of guessing.

Same reply, another tone

Casual

Usually somewhere between $900 and $1,600, depending on your panel and how far the run is. Send me a pic of your panel and I’ll narrow it down.

Customer wants an estimate

Roofing

Customer: Can you send me an estimate for a new roof?

Why it’s hard

You can’t price a roof from a text, but “I’d need to see it” on its own sounds like a brush-off.

Trade Reply can surface

  • Book Estimate
  • Ask Address

The draftFriendly tone

Happy to. I’ll need to see the roof to give you an accurate number. What’s the address, and which days are best for me to come by?

Same reply, another tone

Premium

Certainly. A roof deserves a proper look before anyone puts a number on it. What’s the address, and which days suit you for a visit?

Customer asks what’s included

Remodeling & General Contracting

You: Quote for the bathroom floor: $3,200 for 60 sq ft of tile, installed.

Customer: Does that price include the tile itself?

Why it’s hard

They’re not objecting yet. But a fuzzy answer here is how an objection starts.

Trade Reply can surface

  • Explain Pricing

The draftStraightforward tone

It does — the $3,200 includes the tile, the underlayment, installation and taking out the old floor. Happy to go through it line by line.

What’s included comes from how the service is described in setup.

Same reply, another tone

Professional

Yes, it does. The $3,200 includes the tile, underlayment, installation and removal of the existing floor. I’m happy to go through the estimate with you line by line.

“That’s more than I expected”

Painting

You: Estimate attached: $2,400 for the exterior, two coats.

Customer: That’s a lot more than I expected.

Why it’s hard

The instinct is to justify every dollar or knock some off. Neither helps.

Trade Reply can surface

  • Handle Price Objection
  • Explain Pricing

The draftFriendly tone

I get it, it’s a real number. That covers full prep, two coats and cleanup. If it helps, I can go through the estimate with you and show you where it all goes.

It names only what the estimate or your service details include.

Same reply, another tone

No-Nonsense

Understood. The $2,400 is full prep, two coats and cleanup. Happy to go through it line by line.

Customer asks for a better price

Landscaping

Customer: Could you do it for a bit less?

Why it’s hard

Say yes and you’ve taught them to ask. Say no badly and you’ve lost the job.

Trade Reply can surface

  • Handle Price Objection

The draftStraightforward tone

I’d rather not take money off by cutting corners on the job. What I can do is walk you through the quote so you can see exactly what you’re paying for.

Same reply, another tone

Premium

I’d rather not reduce the price by cutting corners; the work is what you’re paying for. Let me walk you through the quote so you can see exactly where it goes.

Customer asks about financing

HVAC

Customer: Is there any way to pay for the new furnace over time?

Why it’s hard

Cost is the real obstacle here, and you don’t want to lose the job over when they pay.

Trade Reply can surface

  • Offer Financing

The draftFriendly tone

We do offer financing on furnace replacements, so you don’t have to pay it all up front. I can go over the options when I come out to give you the estimate.

Only if financing is switched on in setup. Trade Reply never quotes rates or terms.

Same reply, another tone

Professional

Yes, financing is available for furnace replacements. I’d be happy to review the options with you during the estimate visit.

Drafts written for this page. Trade Reply writes from the conversation in front of it and the services, prices and details you’ve set up, so yours will read like your business. Nothing is sent until you send it.

Don’t race to the bottom

Hold your price without sounding defensive.

When someone names a cheaper quote, the reflex is to match it. Trade Reply explains what your price includes, from what you’ve told it about your business, and asks what the other quote leaves out.

Your customer says

Customer: Another company is $500 cheaper.

What you were going to type

ok i can probably do 500 off

Handle Price Objection

What Trade Reply drafts

Thanks for letting me know. Before you decide, check what’s in their number. Ours includes the permit, haul-away of the old unit and a one-year labor warranty. If theirs covers the same, I’m happy to look at it with you.

Same job. No discount you didn’t mean to give.

It only names what you’ve set up: your warranty, what each service includes, whether you offer financing. If none of that is set, it asks what the other quote includes instead of making something up.

Your tone

Same situation. Your style.

Pick your business’s tone once, in setup, and every draft comes out that way. On any single reply you can still make it shorter, more formal or more casual.

Your customer says

Can I get a ballpark on a new bathroom fan before you come out?

Every tone quotes the same range, the one this business set for a bathroom fan install. Only the voice changes.

Sure! A new bathroom fan usually runs $350–$600 installed, depending on the ductwork. I can give you an exact number once I’ve had a look.

Warm and approachable. Contractions are fine. Never saccharine.

Why it matters

Why the price reply matters.

  • A range answers without trapping you.

    Customers want to know if you’re in their budget. A range tells them, and leaves room for what you find on site.

  • Explaining comes before discounting.

    A lot of price push-back is really “I don’t see what I’m paying for.” Show them that before you think about taking anything off.

  • Your numbers, not a guess.

    Trade Reply quotes only the ranges you’ve set. If there isn’t one, it asks for what it needs instead of inventing a price.

FAQ

Pricing questions, answered.

How do I respond when a customer asks for a price?

Give a range for that kind of job if you can, say what moves it up or down, and offer to confirm the exact number once you’ve seen it. Trade Reply does this from the price range you set for each service, and asks for details when there isn’t one.

How should a contractor respond when someone says an estimate is too expensive?

Acknowledge it without getting defensive, explain what the price includes, and offer to walk them through it. Don’t knock money off on reflex. Trade Reply drafts that reply using only the inclusions and warranty details you’ve set up.

Should I give customers prices over text?

A range, yes: it answers the question and tells them whether you’re in their budget. A firm number usually needs you to see the job, so put the range in the text and the exact price in the estimate.

Can Trade Reply use my own pricing?

Yes. You add your services and their price ranges in setup, and Trade Reply quotes only from those. It never makes up a price; if nothing is set for what they asked about, it asks a question instead.

Where the conversation goes next.

All scenarios

Answer “How much?” without stopping work.

Your ranges, your tone, a draft in your message box. You decide what gets sent.

Coming soonComing to the App Store
All scenarios

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