- Contractor
- I need to bid a kitchen remodel in Mill Valley. I have the architect's plans as a PDF.
- Bidman
- That's Swerk. He sets up the job from the plans and scopes it, then Taki builds the quantities, Subby names the products and Cosmo costs it. Your company has to be on CraftBuild first. Want to get it set up? It's 60 days free.
- Contractor
- Yes. What do you need from me?
- Bidman
- Just your company name and website. The Company Setup Agent makes your company on a card you confirm, reads your website, and walks you through Gmail, payments, your subs and your pricing one step at a time. Then drop the plans in and Swerk starts the job.
A0.0 · Construction estimating software for Bay Area residential contractors
Send the plans. Get the estimate. Run the job by chat.
CraftBuild is AI construction estimating and job-management software for residential general contractors and remodelers in the San Francisco Bay Area. A crew of AI agents reads your plans, builds the estimate line by line, and then runs the job: contracts, change orders, invoices and payments, receipts, crew hours and job costing. You talk to them on your phone, or right inside your Claude account: CraftBuild has its own MCP connector for Claude.
$75 a month after a 60-day free trial . MCP connector for Claude : connect CraftBuild to your Claude account. Works with QuickBooks and every app you connect to Claude. English and Spanish.
A1.0
Can CraftBuild read my blueprints and build an estimate?
Yes. Drop the plan-set PDF into the chat, even a 100-page permit set, or send a pile of walkthrough videos. CraftBuild splits big sets, describes every sheet, and each agent reads only the sheets it needs. You get an estimate in your own cost codes, with a table and a quantity on every line, and every number says whether it was measured off the plans, counted, told to us or assumed.
Swerk
scopeReads the title block and drawings, starts the job with the owner and design team, and turns on the phases and activities. Sub or crew, from your past jobs.
Taki
quantitiesBuilds the task lists, material lists and allowance tables from plans, video or photos. Every window and door gets its own row.
Subby
specsNames a make and model for every finish item: called out in the plans, from your catalog, or a marked budget placeholder.
Cosmo
costsPuts a cost on every row: your catalog and past jobs first, labor at your crew rates, the market as a cross-check.
A1.1
What is it like to talk to CraftBuild?
You talk to Bidman, the front desk. He sends you to the agent that does the work, and every hand-off carries a briefing so you never repeat yourself. Here is a typical first conversation.
A2.0
Who are the CraftBuild agents, and what does each one do?
Each agent does one job, talks like a contractor, and hands you to the next. Nothing is filed until you confirm a card, and nothing goes to a homeowner, sub or supplier until a person sends it.
Front desk
Bidman front desk
Finds out what you need and hands you to the agent that does it, on your phone or in your Claude account through the CraftBuild MCP connector.
Company Setup
Creates your company from its website and walks the setup: Gmail, payments, your subs and suppliers, pricing, your contract template.
Business Planning
Your take-home pay, monthly bills, savings and a rate for each kind of work, with a bank-account plan for Mercury.
Estimating and preconstruction
Swerk scope
Starts a new job from its plans and builds the estimate's scope in your cost codes, with homeowner and builder descriptions.
Taki quantities
Takeoff tables and quantities from plans, video, photos or what you tell him, with the basis on every row.
Subby specs
The make and model of every finish item: plans and spec books first, then your catalog, then the market.
Cosmo costs
The cost on every row, with the source marked: your catalog, your past jobs, or the market.
Preston the package
Walks you through preconstruction in order and builds the preliminary estimate package for the homeowner.
Rafi RFIs
Initial RFIs and project status: every trade marked clear, incomplete or needs clarity, with numbered questions and action items to contract.
Howie allowances
Initial allowances and submittals from the estimate and plans, with product pictures, links and price plus markup.
Debra design
The design map: every selection pinned to a room on the floor plan, with who signed off and what proves it.
Eddie editor
Changes lines on the estimate before it is approved: a price, a quantity, crew days, or new work.
Markup
Your markup, special markups (a percent or dollars, locked or not) and your target margin.
Risk Assessment
What could cost the job: site conditions, what needs opening up or inspecting, written for the homeowner.
Scheduling
Precon, procurement, production and cash-flow Gantt charts, plus the client and internal schedules.
RF Agent
Requests for quotes and proposals to subs and suppliers, sent from your Gmail, with bids back in one place.
Homeowner View
Decides what the homeowner sees and gives you a preview link before anything goes out.
Cost Codes
Renames, splits and merges codes, and makes non-billable codes for losses so the contract never moves.
Signing and running the job
Contract Agent
The California home improvement contract from your template, with the preliminary documents attached, signed online.
Change Orders
Prices every change from the figures you give it, writes the reason for the price, and adds the schedule change.
Vinny invoices
Invoices and draws against approved work, with a Pay Online button. Tells you exactly why something can't be billed yet.
Client Onboarding
Client profiles and the autopay setup email.
Receipts
Snap a receipt; it lands on the right job and cost code after you confirm.
Chuck charges
Matches supplier charge slips from your inbox to the job and cost code.
Daily Hours
Crew log hours by job; they go to payroll approval and job costing as labor.
Bulk Labor and Material
A whole pile at once: a CSV, a supplier statement, a stack of receipt photos.
Sub Costing
Checks and bills to subs, on the right job and code.
Company Expenses
Overhead sorted into your own categories, never onto a job.
Email Sorting
Sorts your Gmail into bills, charges and quotes every two hours.
Personnel Onboarding
New hires and subs, with the paperwork: I-9s and W-9s.
Job Knowledge
Ask anything about a job: scope, quantities, documents, and for the office, the money.
Profitability
Is the job actually making money, and where is it leaking?
A3.0
What does my client get from CraftBuild?
Professional documents with your letterhead, and links your homeowner opens without an account.
- Preliminary estimate package
- The estimate, schedule of values, scope descriptions in plain words, and a risk assessment.
- Initial RFIs and project status
- A one-glance summary at the top, a milestone track, numbered RFIs, and action items for the owner, design team, engineers and you.
- Allowances and submittals
- A finish schedule with a picture, product link, specs and price plus markup for every item.
- Design map
- The homeowner picks finishes room by room on their own floor plan, and confirms them in writing.
- Schedules
- Gantt charts in your company's name: production, client schedule, and selection and submittal deadlines.
- Contract and change orders
- A California home improvement contract and change orders with the schedule change, signed online.
- Invoices
- Draws and invoices with a Pay Online button to your own Stripe account, and autopay for clients who want it.
- Lien releases
- California conditional and unconditional waivers tracked with each payment.
A4.0
Can I run the whole job from my phone?
Yes. Every agent works by chat. Type it, say it, or send a photo, a walkthrough video or a PDF. Crew and subs use QR codes and links on the job site with no login.
Fixed price or cost plus
Draws against a schedule of values, or actual hours and receipts plus your fee, with the ledger as the contract.
Money in one place
Bills, charges, receipts, payroll approval, job cost reports, profitability and your business plan against actuals.
Your crew, your language
Crew log hours and receipts from the field, in English or Spanish. You decide who can use which agent.
Allowances done right
Anything the owner has not picked rides an allowance with its reason, and every window and door gets its own price.
Subs bid without a login
Send a bid package; subs upload their bid from a link, and you compare them side by side.
Shared job notes
Every agent writes what it learned to the job's notes, so the next one starts where the last stopped.
A5.0
Does CraftBuild integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes. CraftBuild has its own MCP connector, so you connect it to your Claude account like any other Claude connector. From there it works with QuickBooks and every other app you connect to Claude: ask once, and Claude moves the work between CraftBuild and your other tools.
Through your Claude account (MCP)
- CraftBuild MCP connector : add CraftBuild in Claude and every agent works from the same chat
- QuickBooks for your books
- Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive
- Gusto for payroll
- DocuSign , Slack and any app with a Claude connector
Built into CraftBuild
- Gmail : inbox sorting and quote requests from your own address
- Stripe : online invoice payments and client autopay to your own account
- Mercury : bank balances and a setup sheet for your accounts
- QuickBooks : bills forwarded to your accounting inbox, and CSV export
A6.0
How does CraftBuild compare to other construction estimating software?
Takeoff tools measure plans. Job-management platforms track jobs. CraftBuild does both by chat, from the plan set to the last payment.
| What you need | CraftBuild | Takeoff-only tools | Job-management platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reads a plan-set PDF or walkthrough video | Yes, every sheet described | Plans only | Usually not |
| Builds the full estimate | Scope, quantities, specs and costs | Quantities only | You type it in |
| RFIs, allowances and submittals | Yes | No | Some |
| Contract, change orders and online signing | Yes, California contracts | No | Some |
| Invoices with online payment | Yes, Stripe | No | Yes |
| Crew hours, receipts and job costing | Yes | No | Yes |
| Works from a phone by chat | Yes | Mostly desktop | App screens |
| MCP connector for your Claude account | Yes, built in | Rare | Rare |
| Price | $75 a month, 60 days free | Varies | Varies |
A7.0
How much does CraftBuild cost?
CraftBuild costs $75 a month, after a 60-day free trial. Every agent is included.
$75
/ month
- 60 days free to start
- Every agent, from plans to the last payment
- Works on any phone or computer, and in your Claude account through the MCP connector
A8.0
Questions contractors ask about CraftBuild
What is CraftBuild?
CraftBuild is AI construction estimating and job-management software for residential general contractors and remodelers in the San Francisco Bay Area. A crew of named AI agents reads your plans, builds the estimate, and runs RFIs, allowances, schedules, contracts, change orders, invoices, payments, receipts, payroll hours and job costing, all by chat.
How much does CraftBuild cost?
$75 a month, after a 60-day free trial. Every agent is included.
Does CraftBuild integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes. CraftBuild has its own MCP connector for Claude, so once it is connected to your Claude account it works with QuickBooks and every other app you connect to Claude, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Gusto and DocuSign. Inside CraftBuild, bills forward to your accounting inbox and export to CSV, Gmail connects directly, client payments run through Stripe, and bank accounts run through Mercury.
Is CraftBuild for Bay Area contractors?
Yes. CraftBuild is built for residential general contractors and remodelers across the San Francisco Bay Area: San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. It writes California home improvement contracts and handles the remodels, additions and permit sets Bay Area jobs are made of.
Can it estimate from a walkthrough video instead of plans?
Yes. Send a pile of job-site videos. CraftBuild watches them all, hears what was said and sees what was shown, and builds the scope and quantities from them.
Does it do takeoffs and quantities, or just pricing?
Both. Taki builds the takeoff tables and quantities with the sheet each number came from, and Cosmo prices every row.
Does it handle fixed-price and cost-plus jobs?
Yes. Pick one when the job starts: draws against a schedule of values, or actual hours and receipts plus your fee.
Does it write California home improvement contracts and change orders?
Yes. The Contract Agent builds the contract from your company template with the preliminary documents attached, and the homeowner signs online without an account. Change orders carry the reason for the price and any schedule change.
Can my clients pay online?
Yes. Invoices carry a Pay Online button that pays your company's own Stripe account, and clients can set up autopay.
How does it track allowances, selections and submittals?
Anything the owner has not picked goes on an allowance with its reason. Howie builds the allowances and submittals list with pictures and links, and Debra pins every selection to a room on the floor plan.
Does CraftBuild have an MCP server? Can I connect it to my Claude account?
Yes. CraftBuild has its own MCP connector. Add CraftBuild as a connector in your Claude account, sign in, say "set up my company", and every CraftBuild agent works from the same Claude chat as your other tools: QuickBooks, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive and more.
How accurate are the estimates, and who checks them?
You do. Every number is marked measured, counted, told or assumed, nothing is filed until you confirm it, and nothing goes to a client until a person sends it.
Does it work in Spanish?
Yes. The agents answer in the language you write or speak in.
How fast can I get my first estimate?
Sign up, tell Bidman about your company, and drop in a plan set. The agents start building the estimate the same day.
A9.0
Who built CraftBuild?
I ran a residential contracting company. I sat in my truck at 9 PM building estimates on spreadsheets because the real software cost $1,000 a month and took weeks to learn. So we built CraftBuild. Charley McDowell, founder and residential general contractor, San Francisco Bay Area
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