Carpentry software that puts the scope in writing.
Custom work goes sideways when nobody wrote down what was included. Redline builds the quote with the exclusions on it, remembers what you charged for the last built-in, and bills the rot you found behind the trim.
Built-ins with the fine print
Your Ferris built-in quote last spring came to $3,400. Drafted for Ruth Hadley: built-in bookcases x 2 (36 in, paint grade) $5,600, crown molding 64 linear ft at $14, materials $1,380 (your $1,200 plus 15%). Deposit?
Added two $0 lines to the quote: hardware supplied by owner, painting by others. Deposit set at 50%. Approve it and it saves to her file as a draft.
Quotes are drafts you review before they go anywhere.
How Redline fits carpentry
Consistent prices on custom work
Ask what you charged last time and Redline pulls it from your past quotes. Your day rate and per-foot trim prices are remembered once you mention them. See memory.
Exclusions on the quote
"Painting by others", "hardware by owner", "no electrical". Put them on the quote as $0 lines so scope creep becomes a change order instead of free work.
Deposit for lumber and sheet goods
Hardwood, plywood and molding are bought up front. Invoice the deposit when they agree so you're not floating the material. On Solo and up.
Rot behind the trim
Pull the window casing, find soft sill, snap a photo. Note it on the job with the price, so it's there to add to the final invoice amount when you bill.
Shop drawings on the job
Attach a photo of your sketch or drawing to the job, so the dimensions you agreed on are with the quote when you're cutting.
Day-rate billing
"Invoice the Ruizes, 3 days framing the shed at my day rate, plus $640 in lumber." Redline works out the total with your remembered day rate and markup and drafts one invoice for it. On Solo and up.
A carpenter's week, without the polish
Carpentry jumps between kinds of work. Monday is trim in a new addition, Wednesday a door that won't latch, Friday measuring for a built-in that won't start for a month. Pricing is the hard part: custom pieces don't come from a price list, and two similar jobs quoted six months apart can end up far from each other.
Then there's scope. The customer assumed the built-in came painted, or with hardware, or that you'd move the outlet. Exterior repairs open up rot nobody could see. Every one of those is money if it's written down and a favor if it isn't.
Redline keeps past quotes searchable by chat, puts exclusions and allowances in writing, and keeps change notes on the job until you invoice.
Carpentry fit, honestly
Redline does
- Quote trim by the foot, doors by the each and built-ins by the piece
- Look up what you charged on past quotes
- Bill deposits for material (Solo and up)
- Keep change notes and photos on the job
- Invoice by the day or the job with your markup (Solo and up)
Redline doesn't
- Make cut lists or shop drawings
- Do material takeoffs
- Track your hours (no time tracking)
- Let customers sign the quote online
- Text customers (calling is one tap)
Questions contractors ask
Can I quote materials at cost plus markup?
Yes. Tell Redline your markup once ("materials plus 15%") and give it the cost. It puts the marked-up material line on the quote and adds it into the invoice total.
How do I handle a change order mid-job?
Note it on the job when it's agreed, with the price. When you invoice, ask Redline to include it. A chat invoice is one amount with a one-line description, so the change shows up in the total and the description.
I work alone. What plan?
Free covers the chat, contacts, calendar and quotes. Solo at $29 a month adds invoices, deposits, card payments and expenses. See pricing.
Carpentry paperwork and tools
Keep reading
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.
- Handyman softwareBill the extras added on site, keep your minimum and markup, and pack short jobs into a day.
- Flooring softwareMaterial and labor by the square foot, waste on material, deposits and subfloor change orders.
- Remodeling softwareQuotes with allowances and finish options, long-cycle follow-up and milestone billing.
Run your business by chat.
Redline is free to start. Tell it about the job and it handles the quote, the schedule, the invoice and the follow-up.