FAQ
Straight answers to common questions
If something here isn’t clear, call us and ask. You’ll get a person.
Voicemail asks people to wait. Most of them just call the next contractor instead. Bella talks to them, gets the job details, and books the visit while they’re still interested.
No. An intake bot reads a form out loud and writes down whatever it hears. Bella holds a conversation, knows your trades and your service area, decides what’s urgent, and books into your real calendar. If a caller jumps ahead or changes their mind, she keeps up.
She answers as your office and sounds natural. If anyone asks whether she’s a real person, she tells them she’s an AI assistant. We don’t trick your customers.
Yes. She’s set up per shop, not per trade. General contractors, remodelers, handymen, roofers, painters, concrete, decks, plumbing, electrical, HVAC — the questions change, the job doesn’t.
No. Plans are month to month and you can cancel any time.
No. Every plan is one flat monthly price. She answers as many calls as come in, with no per-call limits, no per-minute meter, and no overage fees.
She can put them through to you or your crew if you want that, or take a message and text you right away. You decide which calls ring your phone.
Usually the same day. Forwarding your number takes a few minutes, and the rest is telling her about your shop.
Yes. She reads your real availability and only offers times you can actually make, then sends the customer a confirmation.
Call recordings and summaries are yours. You can export them or have them deleted whenever you want.
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Advice for contractors
- Raising your prices: how to tell past customers without losing themThe hard part of a price increase is the repeat customer who calls and says "same as last time." How to pick a start date, send a short heads-up, and hold the new price calmly.
- Your workmanship warranty: what to put in writing before the jobA spoken promise turns into an argument months later. How to write a short workmanship warranty: one length, one start date, a plain not-covered list, and an inspect-first rule.
- Allowances in an estimate: how to write them so they don't turn into a fightThe estimate said "tile allowance" and a number. Then the customer came back from the showroom. How to write allowances so the overage, the labor, and the deadline are settled before anyone signs.
- When your sub doesn't show up: how to protect the schedule and the customer's trustThe customer finds the empty house before you hear about it. How to confirm subs, build slack into the schedule, and tell the customer first when a trade misses a day.
- Order the materials before you promise the start dateThe start date you give a customer is only as good as your slowest material. Here is how to confirm lead times, order early, and catch a wrong delivery before it stops the crew.
- Working in a lived-in home: the house rules and daily cleanup that keep the customer on your sideMost mid-job calls are not about the work. They are about the dog that got out, the truck in front of the neighbor's mailbox, and the dust on the dining table. Here is how to stop those calls before they start.
- Job photos: what to shoot before, during, and after every jobThe shop with a before photo of that crack can text it back and the call ends calmly. The shop without one argues from memory. Here is the photo habit that settles it.
- Markup vs margin: why a 20 percent markup is not a 20 percent profit"I put 20 percent on everything" sounds like a 20 percent profit. It is not. Here is the math from the margin you need to the markup you charge, and what a discount really costs.
- Asking for reviews and referrals: when to ask, how to ask, and what not to doThe best time to ask for a review is the final walkthrough, in person, with a link in a text the same day. Here is the full habit, plus the review rules that trip shops up.
- Rain day: what to tell the customer when weather pushes the job backThe customer is almost never upset that it rained. They are upset that they had to call to find out. Here is how to make the weather call first.
- Paying subs in 2026: the 1099-NEC line moved from $600 to $2,000The federal 1099-NEC line for paying subs went from $600 to $2,000 for 2026 payments. You will file fewer forms. You still need the W-9 before the first check.
- What your crew needs to know before the first morning: the handoff from the person who sold the jobThe person who sold the job heard the whole story. The crew lead got part of it. A one-page handoff before day one closes that gap.
- Collecting the final payment: how to get paid in full when the job is doneThe final check rarely stalls because the customer cannot pay. It stalls over one small item nobody wrote down. Here is how to close out a job and leave with the money.
- How long should an estimate stay good? Setting an expiration date when material prices moveA quote with no end date promises your price and your calendar forever. One line on the estimate fixes that, and it keeps you from an awkward call weeks later.
- 'I'm getting three quotes': how to answer the caller who is shopping aroundGetting several quotes is normal homework, not an insult. Ask what was missing from the others, book the visit on the first call, and write a quote that is easy to compare line by line.
- 'Are you licensed and insured?': how to answer it on the phoneThe question often comes right before the caller hangs up. Answer it in one specific sentence, name the coverage you carry, and text proof before they put the phone down.
- The customer wants to buy their own materials: how to say yes without eating the riskCustomer-supplied materials can work, but only with rules set before the job: approve the product, check the boxes before the start day, warrant your labor only, and set a charge for lost days.
- When can you start? How to answer when you're booked weeks outThe hopeful date and the flat 'we're booked out' both lose jobs. Separate the visit date from the start date, tie the range to your real calendar, and tell a wrong-fit caller early.
- Should you give a price over the phone? How to answer 'what will it cost?'Give a range when a few questions and photos can get you close, book a visit when the price hides behind a wall, and write down every number you say.
- The 'my last contractor walked off the job' call: how to take over half-finished workTakeover jobs can be good work. Ask about the old contract, the money, and the permit on the first call, never price them over the phone, and write down what you own.
- The unhappy customer call: how to handle a complaint after the job is doneMost complaint calls are about something small. Silence is what makes them expensive. Call back the same day, sort the problem, and book a real return date.
- The EPA lead paint rule: what every trade needs to know about pre-1978 homesThe trigger is the age of the house and how much paint you disturb, not your trade. Ask what year it was built before you book.
- Why customers stand you up on estimate visits, and how to stop itMost no-shows are booking problems, not customer problems. Fix the booking call and the days before the visit.
- How to turn down a job without burning the leadHow to say no to the wrong job so the caller still remembers you well when the right job comes along.
- While you're here: how to handle extra work requests without eating the costHow to price and write up the small add-ons customers ask for mid-job, so nobody is surprised at the final invoice.
- 3-day right to cancel for contractors: the FTC Cooling-Off RuleThe contractor's 3-day right to cancel: what to hand over at the kitchen table, when you can cash the deposit, and when the rule does not apply.
- How many times to follow up with a lead before you let it goA follow-up schedule that keeps slow leads alive without turning you into the shop that will not stop calling.
- Should you charge for estimates? A straight answer for contractorsWhen charging wins you better work, when it costs you jobs, and how to introduce a fee properly.
- How to spot a tire kicker on the phone, before you drive outThe signals that separate a serious customer from someone collecting numbers, and how to handle both.
- The after-hours call policy every contracting shop needsDecide which calls are worth answering at night, who they go to, and what happens to the rest.
- Voicemail, answering service, or receptionist: what actually fits a contracting shopAn honest comparison of the three ways to handle calls you cannot take, including where each one fails.
- The nine questions to ask on every remodel callGet budget, scope, and timeline out of a first call without making it feel like an interrogation.
- What a missed call actually costs your contracting businessWork out the real number for your own shop, using jobs you have already booked this year.
See it in action
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