Estimate template or estimate app?

You don't need software to send a good estimate. A clear template, filled in carefully, does the job. An app starts to earn its fee when you're sending enough estimates that retyping, chasing, and digging for old jobs costs you real time. Here's how to tell which side of that line you're on.

Full disclosure: we make Pencilslip, an estimates and invoices app that's in development and not available yet. We also publish free templates, and we think they're the right choice for a lot of people.

When a free template is enough

You send a handful of estimates a month and can keep track of them in your head or a folder.
Your jobs are similar enough that you're not hunting for old prices.
You're happy to retype the estimate as an invoice when the job is done.
You'd rather not pay a monthly fee, especially through a slow season.

If that's you, start with our free printable estimate template. You fill it in on screen, it adds up the totals, and you print it or save it as a PDF. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

When an app starts to pay for itself

You keep retyping. The same customers, the same line items, and then the whole estimate again as an invoice.
You lose track. You're not sure which estimates were approved, which are still waiting, or which invoices are unpaid.
You want photos on the page. Before-and-after or problem-area photos attached to the estimate, without emailing them separately.
You want to get paid from the invoice. A payment link on the invoice the customer can tap from their phone.
You need old jobs fast. A customer calls back a year later and you want to see what you charged last time.

A quick way to decide: estimate how much time you spend each month on retyping and looking things up, put a value on that time, and compare it with the monthly price of the app. If the app costs less than the time it saves, it's worth a trial.

What to check before you pay for an app

Document limits. Some entry plans cap how many estimates or invoices you can send each month. Count your busiest month, not your average.
Which tier has photos. Photos are often on a higher plan than the advertised starting price.
How payments work. Some apps run card payments through their own processor and fees. Others let you use your own Stripe, Square, or PayPal account. Know which one you're signing up for.
The slow season. If you stop paying or stop logging in for a few months, can you still see your records?
Exporting your data. Make sure you can download your customers, price list, and past documents whenever you want.

We compared the prices and limits of several popular options, from each company's own pricing page, in our Joist alternatives guide. Already on Joist and thinking of leaving? Our Joist export guide shows what you can download first.

Either way, the estimate itself matters most

A template or an app only helps if the estimate is clear: a plain-words scope, line items the customer can follow, what's not included, how long the price is good for, and how and when you get paid. Our guide on how to write a contractor estimate walks through each part, and how to ask for a deposit covers getting paid up front.

What we're building

Pencilslip is planned as one low-priced plan for solo tradespeople: photos on estimates, your own payment link on invoices, estimates that turn into invoices without retyping, a winter pause that doesn't delete or lock anything, and free export anytime. It's not available yet, and features and price may change before launch. Join the list to hear when it's ready.