Handoff

Where Handoff fits

Handoff is an AI-assisted residential estimating and proposal candidate for contractors who need to turn a walkthrough or written scope into an estimate. Its documented audience includes remodelers, painting businesses, handymen and other trades. Evaluate it for drafting and reviewing work scope, not as evidence that a machine can determine concealed conditions or replace a competent estimator. A service company still needs to verify dispatch and recurring-visit processes separately.

Separate the trial from plan-based takeoff

The pricing page advertises a seven-day trial and separates Flex, Pro and Scale. The rendered annual Flex card shows $119 per month, two users and 50 AI credits; confirm currency, monthly alternative and commitment. Residential plan-based AI takeoff is a Scale capability, not part of Flex, Pro or normal trial access. Official pages describe different maximum plan sizes, including 5,000 and 7,000 square feet. Obtain the applicable written limit rather than choosing the more generous claim. The ordinary trial cannot prove a feature it does not include.

A painting or handyman pilot

Use a fictional room repaint with an unknown patching requirement, two possible coating systems and an excluded ceiling. Give the tool only the information actually established on the walkthrough. Inspect whether it invents dimensions, prep work, product quantities or access assumptions. Replace its pricing with your own labor and material basis. Produce a base option and an alternate, then ask a second estimator to identify the included and excluded scope without having attended the walkthrough. Amend the patching scope after a test approval and prove the original accepted proposal remains accessible. Do not send a real customer message during evaluation.

Invoices and project handoffs

For an accepted proposal, record a fictional deposit, an approved variation and a credit. Ask the office to reconcile the resulting invoice back to the accepted scope. Check how project tasks, time records and subcontractor requests are introduced in the applicable paid tier rather than assuming they come with basic estimating. Confirm approval roles and what a customer sees before authorization. Export a sample record for the accountant and ask which corrections still require manual re-entry. An invoice workflow is not evidence of a complete general ledger or regional payroll system.

Control AI use and rollout effort

Ask how credits are consumed, what happens at the limit and how corrections affect usage. Make a human responsible for reviewing dimensions, units, exclusions and price assumptions before any proposal is issued. Record the version of your pricing catalog used for each pilot estimate. Confirm training, retention, upload permissions and vendor data handling before supplying sensitive plans or customer records. Trial with a small representative set of jobs and define an explicit go/no-go test, including the time spent correcting outputs. A quick first draft may still produce extra review work on unusual jobs.

Alternatives and decision criteria

Compare Exayard for a dedicated plan-quantity evaluation and ArcSite for drawings and field-originated measurements. Compare Jobber or Tradify when scheduling and routine customer administration are the main problem. FreshBooks and Zoho Books are accounting-first candidates, not substitutes for every trade-estimating calculation. Handoff can fill the quoting niche without being described as a dedicated painting production-rate engine. Use the same sample scope and your own pricing in each tool, then compare accuracy, correction effort, customer clarity and the actual paid package required.

PaintScout adds a painting-specific rate and scope evaluation, while LMN by Granum addresses landscape budget and production assumptions. Neither is interchangeable with general AI estimate drafting.

Vendor plans and pricing | Supporting vendor documentation.

Documentation-based evaluation, not a hands-on test or ranked recommendation. Confirm the current country, paid plan, devices, integrations and agreement. Use fictional data for the initial pilot.

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