The problem
After an inspection there are usually several honest answers: patch it for now, re-cover the worst slope, or re-roof. Send only the cheap repair and you leave the bigger job on the table; send only the re-roof and they shop around. On 10 roof quotes a month, if one homeowner picks a $2,394£1,800€2,142A$3,456C$3,384 part re-cover instead of a $599£450€536A$864C$846 repair once they see the options side by side, that's $1,796£1,350€1,607A$2,592C$2,538 of extra work.
What the AI does
ServiceM8's Proposals, on the Growing plan and above, build quotes with images and multiple-choice options. You send several quote options at once by email or text; the homeowner views them online, can ask questions through a built-in form, and accepts the one they want. When they accept online, the job updates to that option.
A worked example
A three-person roofing firm in Gloucester sends about 10 quotes a month after inspections. They start sending every quote as a ServiceM8 proposal with photos of the problem and three options: repair, part re-cover and full re-roof.
Before
10 quotes a month with one price each, usually the repair
After
Three options with photos on every quote; about one a month chooses the $2,394£1,800€2,142A$3,456C$3,384 part re-cover over a $599£450€536A$864C$846 repair
What it's worth
About $539£405€482A$778C$761 a month in profit, at an assumed 30% margin on $1,796£1,350€1,607A$2,592C$2,538 of extra work (one homeowner a month choosing a $2,394£1,800€2,142A$3,456C$3,384 job over a $599£450€536A$864C$846 one). That is against $78£59€70A$113C$111 a month for ServiceM8 Growing, for any number of users.
How to set it up
- Start a ServiceM8 trial and choose Growing ($78£59€70A$113C$111 a month excluding VAT), the first plan with Proposals.
- Build a proposal template with your usual three options for common problems, each with a short description of what's included and the guarantee.
- Take clear photos at every inspection and add the ones that show the problem to the proposal.
- Send the proposal by email or text the same day, and follow up any questions that come through the form.
- After two months, look at which options people chose and adjust your template.
What goes wrong
- If you already run jobs in Powered Now or another app, check whether it can send quote options before adding a second system.
- Growing covers 150 jobs a month, and every quote counts as one, so check the count if you quote a lot of small repairs.
- Options must be honest. If a repair won't last, say so in the option, or the cheap choice comes back to you as a complaint.