Off the notebook. Off the whiteboard.
Redline is contractor software to replace the spreadsheet, the notebook in the truck, the whiteboard in the shop and the reminders you message to yourself, without retyping all of it on day one.
Where the paper system leaks
Paper isn't the problem on a slow week. It's the gaps between the pieces. The lead is in the notebook in the truck, the job is on the whiteboard in the garage, the price is on a sticky note on the dash, and who owes you is in an Excel sheet you update on Sunday nights when you remember. A job gets erased from the whiteboard before it's billed. A notebook page gets wet. The sheet says the Hendersons paid, but that was the other Henderson.
Moving off paper doesn't mean rebuilding the whole system in software. It means one place where each piece lands as it happens, so nothing depends on you copying it over later.
Where each piece of paper goes
| What you use now | Where it goes in Redline | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Notebook page of leads | Contacts tagged lead, added by one chat message | Free |
| Sticky note with a price or a date | Quick-Sort: grab it now, file it later | Free |
| Whiteboard of jobs | Pipeline: Lead, Quoted, Accepted, In Progress, Paid, Lost | Free |
| Wall calendar | Calendar with suggested times and repeating visits | Free |
| Carbon invoice book | Invoices from finished jobs, with card pay links | Solo |
| Excel sheet of who owes you | Money: Sent, Overdue and Paid, with alerts at day 3, 7 and 14 | Solo |
| Shoebox of receipts | Expenses filed to the job: vendor, typed amount, optional photo | Solo |
First question: can I import my spreadsheet?
No. Redline has no import for spreadsheets or contact lists. That's the honest answer, and it's a fair first question.
Here's how people get started anyway: add this week's customers by chat, the ones you're actually working for. Add the rest as they call. Keep the old sheet for history. Over a few weeks, the customers you're actually working for end up in Redline because they had a reason to be, and nobody spends a weekend retyping five hundred names.
Emptying the notebook into Redline
Two new leads to confirm:
Dave Kim in Ayer, gutter cleaning, $180
Rosa Duarte in Shirley, porch roof leak
Confirm both? Then I can find Rosa a time this week.
Saved both. Thursday at 1 is the first open slot this week for Rosa. Book it?
New contacts and jobs wait for your OK. Calendar bookings go straight on.
What replaces the habits, not just the paper
Capture in seconds
Quick-Sort is a drop box for the field: a photo, a note, a price, a date. Redline suggests where each belongs and one tap files it.
The whiteboard, but it nags
The pipeline shows days in stage on every card, amber at 7 and red at 14, so a quote you forgot about turns color.
No more invoice book
On Solo, a finished job lands in Ready to bill. Two taps and it's an invoice with a pay link; the page the customer pays on is their receipt. See invoicing.
Your data, out whenever you want
Settings has a one-click JSON export of contacts, jobs, activity and calendar. Reports export a CSV and a QuickBooks-format CSV.
Straight answers before you throw out the notebook
Redline does
- Take leads, jobs and visits from one message
- Hold photos and notes on the customer's file
- Turn finished jobs into invoices with card pay links (Solo)
- Export your data any time
Redline doesn't
- Import your spreadsheet or contact list
- Print invoices or make PDFs (the pay link page is the receipt)
- Read receipts for you; amounts are typed
- Work without a connection, except a logged call or note
Questions contractors ask
My customers want a paper invoice. Now what?
Redline doesn't print invoices. Customers get a pay link they can open on any phone or computer, and the page becomes their receipt. If someone needs paper, our free contractor invoice template prints.
Do I have to move everything at once?
No, and you shouldn't. Start with this week's jobs on Free. Keep the old sheet for history.
What does it cost to go paperless?
Leads, jobs and the calendar are free for one person. Invoices, expenses and the who-owes-you list are Solo at $29 a month. See pricing.
Will my crew use it, or keep using the whiteboard?
On Team and up, each tech gets an app with their own day and job notes, so the whiteboard has nothing left to say. See software for small crews.
Not ready to switch? Free paperwork
Templates you can fill in and print today, while you decide.
- Contractor invoice templateLine items, tax and terms
- Contractor estimate templateWith a deposit line
- Work order templateThe tech's copy of the job
- Change order templateAdded or removed work, with a reason
- General contractingSubs, draws and change orders
- ConcretePours and flatwork
- MasonryRepointing, steps and chimneys
- CarpentryTrim, built-ins and repairs
- Job profit calculatorThe spreadsheet formula, without the spreadsheet
Empty one notebook page into it.
Start on Free with the customers you're working for this week.
Keep reading
- Quick-SortA drop box for the field. Capture now, and Redline suggests where it belongs.
- Job pipelineEvery job from Lead to Paid, with cards that turn amber and red as they sit.
- Simple contractor softwareFor people who tried a big system and went back to paper.
- PricingFree to start. Solo $29, Team $129, Team+ $299 a month.