What counts as an estimate

Do you know where your last few estimates came from? Not the names. Not the phone numbers. The estimates: the people who asked you to come out and price the job.

Most owners can't answer that. Not because they don't care, but because nobody in their marketing ever counted that way. They counted clicks. They counted forms. They counted names. So that's what we'll sort out here: what an estimate is, what it isn't, and why it's the only number worth paying for.

An estimate is a person who booked an estimate appointment with you or asked you for a ballpark price. A form fill on its own isn't one.

Lead sites like Angi and HomeAdvisor sell names and phone numbers. Some of those people are real and ready. A lot of them filled out a form three weeks ago, or wanted a price for a different trade, or gave a number that doesn't ring. You pay the same for all of them, and you pay again when the next shop buys the same name.

That's not a knock on the people. It's a knock on counting them as if they were work.

An estimate is somebody who wants you out there to price the job. That person has a project, a place and a date in mind. They picked up the phone or booked a time. From there, you're one step away from a sale: you show up, you give a number, and a good share of the time you get the job.

That's why we count estimates and nothing before them. A click is three steps away. A form is two. An estimate is one.

When the system is running, every estimate lands in your dashboard with where it came from: your website, Facebook, Google search, a referral. The count goes up when a person books an appointment or asks for a ballpark price, not when a form comes in. If a booked estimate turns out to be a no-show, you flag it and it comes off the count.

You see the number yourself, any time you like. So does the person at Xtimates who runs your account. There's no monthly report to wait for and nobody to take at their word.

A set number of estimates a month in your first 45 days, or every dollar you paid us back. That's the promise, in plain words. We don't guarantee clicks, forms or impressions, because none of those pay you. We guarantee the thing that's one step from a sale, and we carry the risk for the first 45 days.

Want the fine print? Read the full refund policy

Each trade has its own number, because a roofing estimate and a coatings estimate aren't the same size of job. You'll see yours on the pricing page before you pay anything.

Next time the report comes in, ask: how many estimates did we get last month, and where did each one come from? Not clicks. Not forms. Estimates, by source.

If the answer comes back fast and matches your calendar, good. Keep them. If it comes back as a shrug, a chart of clicks, or a promise to look into it, you've learned what the report was hiding.

Count your own estimates for one month: every person who booked a time or asked for a price, and where they came from. That's your baseline. Then decide whether what you're paying for is moving that number.

If you'd rather have it counted for you, that's what we do.