5 Contractor Tasks You Can Automate This Week With Handoff

Handoff is built for remodelers, general contractors, and builders  who want to crank out estimates, proposals, change orders, and payments without living in spreadsheets. It generates estimates in seconds (text or voice), converts them to proposals, helps you get paid, and now even reads drawings/photos to build scopes. 

Here are 5 tasks that you do daily you can automate when you start using Handoff.

1) Generate Job Estimates (from notes, voice, drawings, or photos)

What this handles: takeoffs, quantities, labor/material breakdowns, and a clean estimate you can edit. 

Step-by-step

1. Create your account or start the free trial. (You can trial plans before committing.) 
2. Start a new estimate → paste a scope, dictate it by voice, or upload files (site photos, drawings). Handoff’s AI can parse this and draft line items fast. 
3. Review & tweak: edit quantities, swap materials, adjust labor. Use the “Estimate Breakdown” to separate markups for labor/material/subs, manage taxes, and apply discounts. 
4. Save it as a template for similar jobs (bath refreshes, deck rebuilds, etc.).
5. One click to proposal (next section) or export as needed. Handoff’s flow is literally: describe → AI estimate → send proposal → get paid. 

Pro tip: If you’ve got “mystery scope” photos from an initial walk-through, upload them. Contractors are using Handoff’s photo/drawing input to catch missed items and protect profit. 

2) Turn Estimates into Proposals (and send them fast)

What this handles: formatting, scope/terms, pricing presentation—so your bid looks professional without extra typing. 

Step-by-step

1. Open your estimate → Create proposal (Handoff generates a professional-looking doc from the estimate). 
2. Add key details: timeline milestones, allowances, warranties, payment schedule.
3. Insert financing banner (optional—see Task #4) so the client sees monthly payment options right on the proposal. 
4. Send to client directly from Handoff (or download/share). The whole flow is built to “send proposal and get paid” right after the estimate. 

Pro tip: Keep a “master terms” block you reuse—Handoff’s AI can help draft clean language you can standardize across proposals. 

3) Create Change Orders with AI (and collect payment)

What this handles: scope changes mid-job, quick client sign-off, and money collection so you’re not financing surprises. 

Step-by-step

1. Open the project → Change Orders.
2. Describe the change in plain language (e.g., “Upgrade to 10 recessed lights, add dimmer, new switch location”). Handoff’s AI drafts the CO with pricing. 
3. Adjust pricing/markup if needed (stay consistent with how you structure markups in estimates). 
4. Send the CO for approval.
5. Collect payment right from the change order. Handoff highlights low processing fees and fast payouts so you keep cash flow healthy. 

Pro tip: Lock in policy: “No work on changes until CO is approved & paid.” Handoff makes it easy to enforce because approval + payment can happen in the same flow. 

4) Offer Homeowner Financing (built-in via Acorn)

What this handles: removes price friction, helps clients say “yes” to larger scopes, and you still get paid normally. 

Step-by-step

1. Go to Settings → Enable Homeowner Financing. This turns on the Acorn Finance integration. 
2. Handoff auto-adds a financing banner to your estimates and invoices. Clients click to pre-qualify—no credit impact up front. 
3. Client picks an offer, you proceed as usual. For contractors on the Business plan, Handoff notes this financing feature is free (no dealer or subscription fees for offering it). 

Where this shines: upsells (better materials, add-ons) and closing price-sensitive jobs without discounting your margin. 

5) Keep Your Pipeline & Follow-Ups Organized (CRM + AI assist)

What this handles: centralizing leads/clients/estimates in one place and drafting follow-ups or status updates without manual writing every time. 

Step-by-step

1. Add contacts and jobs to Handoff’s centralized CRM so scopes, estimates, and proposals live together—no more hunting through email. 
2. Use Handoff’s AI agent (available across the app) to draft follow-up emails, “next-step” messages, or quick status summaries you can paste into email/text. Example prompt:
   “Draft a friendly follow-up for the Smith Bathroom proposal sent Friday. Mention tile lead time and that financing is available.” 
3. Log notes after calls so the AI has context the next time you ask it to write an update or reminders. 

Mobile bonus: Install the iOS app so you can capture scopes on site, generate an estimate, and send a proposal before you leave the driveway. 

Fast Setup Checklist (do this once)

• Start trial and import one real job you’re quoting this week. 
• Enable Financing in Settings so every estimate/proposal shows monthly options automatically. 
• Save one estimate template (your bread-and-butter scope) with your preferred markups/taxes/discount rules. 
• Create one proposal shell with your standard terms and warranty language. 
• Add your last 10 leads to the CRM and use the AI agent to draft quick follow-ups. 

Why Handoff Is A Game Changer For Contractors

Handoff reduces the time from “first conversation” to “approved job” by automating the boring parts: it turns text/voice/files into estimates, converts them to proposals, supports change orders and payments, and removes price friction with built-in financing—all inside one system. 

If you want, I can tailor the prompts, templates, and a one-page SOP so your team runs this playbook the same way every time.