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Quote follow-up automation for contractors: a practical setup
A quote sent is not a job won. A simple follow-up system can remind a customer about the estimate without asking your office to remember every date.
Start with the quote, not a blast list
The trigger should be a specific estimate successfully sent to a specific customer. Save the quote ID, version, customer, contact preferences, delivery result, expiry date and next action. Start in "awaiting response." A draft sitting on someone's laptop should not trigger customer messages.
Use one source of truth. If the crew books the job by phone, that change needs to reach the same record before the next reminder runs. A spreadsheet can work for a small pilot, but it must be updated reliably. A CRM or job-management system is easier to control when several people touch the job.
A small follow-up sequence to test
| When | Purpose | Suggested action |
|---|---|---|
| Quote sent | Confirm the next step | Deliver the reviewed quote and tell the customer how to ask questions |
| 2 business days later | Check receipt | One short reminder, only if there is no reply or status change |
| 7 business days later | Offer help | One final check-in if it still fits the job and the quote is valid |
| After the final check-in | Stop the loop | Close the sequence and leave a human task if needed |
These are starting settings, not industry averages. A roof leak may need a same-day phone call. A custom gate may need time for a family to choose a design. Do not send an urgent reminder just because the timer says so.
Message templates you can adapt
Receipt check
Hi [first name], this is [name] at [business]. Did the estimate for [job] come through? If you have a question about the scope, reply here and I'll help. [Required opt-out wording for your channel.]
Final check-in
Hi [first name], checking once more on estimate [number] for [job]. Would you like to discuss the scope, move ahead, or leave it for now? [Required opt-out wording for your channel.]
Review every field and the real sending account before enabling these. Do not invent an expiry date, claim a slot is reserved when it is not, or add an automatic discount. Keep a requested estimate follow-up separate from unrelated promotions. SMS provider consent requirements still apply.
The stop rules matter more than the timer
- Any customer reply: pause the sequence and assign a human. Even "next month" or a question should stop the automatic chase.
- Accepted, declined, booked or cancelled: cancel pending reminders.
- Opt-out: suppress the number immediately, including other pending sends covered by the opt-out.
- Quote revised or expired: stop the old sequence. Review the new version before starting another.
- Delivery failure: flag it for the office rather than sending the same message repeatedly.
- Consent unclear: hold the send and ask the office to resolve the record.
Check those rules again immediately before each send. Do not load a week of reminders into a tool that cannot cancel them when the customer answers. Use a unique quote-and-step identifier so a retry cannot send the same reminder twice.
Use what you already pay for first
Check your job-management software before buying another tool. Jobber's help documentation describes automatic quote follow-ups by email or text for quotes awaiting a response, with availability depending on the plan. If that fits, turn on and test the built-in workflow rather than rebuilding it.
A custom workflow makes sense when you need different systems to work together: a proposal generator, a shared inbox, job scheduling and your office's approval process. It also means someone must own monitoring, updates, delivery failures and backups. Custom does not mean maintenance-free.
What does it cost?
There is no useful universal price. Separate setup from monthly software, hosting, messaging, support and staff review time. Ask whether your existing software already includes the feature, whether SMS is charged per segment, and whether registration or carrier fees apply.
Illustrative time calculation: if you send 40 quotes a month, make two manual checks per quote, and spend three minutes per check, that is 240 minutes, or four hours a month. At a chosen labor value of $30 an hour, it represents $120 a month of staff time. These are example inputs, not observed results. Replies still need a person, so you will not necessarily recover all four hours.
Compare that value with the complete cost. Do not count unproven extra sales as guaranteed savings. Track a baseline, then measure staff time, response rate, jobs booked and opt-outs during a small pilot.
Before you turn it on
- Test with internal contacts and reviewed sample estimates.
- Reply between steps and verify the next reminder is cancelled.
- Accept, decline and revise a quote; confirm old reminders stop.
- Test STOP, a plain-language stop request and a failed delivery.
- Set appropriate customer-local sending windows and holiday rules.
- Give one person an error queue and a visible pause switch.
Can the free proposal generator send reminders?
No. Our free contractor proposal generator creates a proposal in your browser; it does not store customers or run an automatic follow-up sequence. It is a starting point for the quote, not a full sales system.
Should I follow up until the customer answers?
No. Set a small, reviewed sequence with a clear end. Silence is not agreement to unlimited messages.
Sources
- Jobber: Automations, updated August 6, 2026, for built-in quote follow-up and plan availability.
- Twilio Messaging Policy, for consent and opt-outs.
- Twilio outbound message status documentation, for delivery-status handling.
Workflow recommendations and example numbers are our proposed starting points. Product details reviewed October 7, 2026.