Construction
The allowance the client forgot about is the one that ends the relationship.
A kitchen remodel is sold on a number and delivered through a hundred decisions the client has not made yet. The proposal that survives contact with reality is the one that names the tile allowance, sets the date selections are due, and explains what happens when the floor comes up and the joists are not what anyone expected. The Proposal Maker drafts that from the remodels you have already delivered.
Where this fits
You already run Buildertrend, CoConstruct, Houzz Pro or JobTread. This is not that.
The gap
Remodeling platforms are strong on selections tracking, client portals, scheduling and draw management, and they replaced a lot of spreadsheets deservedly. Their proposal output, though, is a configured template: your line items, your logo, and boilerplate in between. The narrative that sets expectations on allowances and concealed conditions is the part clients actually litigate, and it is still written by hand.
What this does not do
This does not track selections, run a client portal, schedule trades, manage draws, or hold your cost catalogue. Buildertrend, CoConstruct and JobTread keep doing that. This writes the proposal that wins the job before any of them have a project to manage.
Scope
What a remodeler's proposal actually has to itemise
- Demolition and disposal, including what is protected and what is being removed to the studs
- Room-by-room scope, so a bathroom in the same contract is not folded into the kitchen number
- Allowances for client selections: cabinetry, countertops, tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting, appliances
- Selections deadline, and the schedule consequence of missing it
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in, and the code upgrades a permit will trigger
- Structural work: beams, headers, load-bearing wall removal, and the engineering that precedes it
- Finish scope: drywall level, paint, trim, flooring transitions
- Occupancy plan where the client is living in the house: dust control, working hours, which bathroom stays live
Pricing
How remodeling contractors price the work
Fixed price with allowances
A contract sum where selection-dependent items carry stated allowances, and both overage and underage adjust the sum in a defined way.
Cost plus with a not-to-exceed
Open-book cost with a stated fee and a ceiling, used where the scope genuinely cannot be fixed until walls are open.
Design-build phased
Design agreement priced separately from construction, so the client is not asked to commit to a build number before the drawings exist.
Unit prices for the unknown
Stated rates for rot repair, subfloor replacement and joist sistering, so a discovery is a known number rather than a negotiation.
The document
What comes out the other end
- 01What the client asked for, restated in your words, which is how you find out you heard it right
- 02Scope of work by room and by trade
- 03Allowance schedule, with each allowance amount and what it is expected to cover
- 04Selections deadline and the process for making them
- 05Concealed conditions clause: what happens when something unexpected is found behind a finish
- 06Exclusions: appliances, window treatments, landscaping restoration, hazardous material abatement, permit fees
- 07Schedule with phases and the realistic duration, including lead times on cabinetry
- 08Payment draw schedule tied to milestones, change order procedure, and warranty period
Compliance
The details that belong on the document, not in a follow-up email
- Contractor licence and, in many states, the specific home improvement contract disclosures that must appear in a residential agreement
- Right of rescission notice, which federal and several state rules require on contracts signed in the client's home
- Permit responsibility and the code upgrades a permit triggers, such as egress, smoke detection and insulation
- Lead-safe certification and the RRP disclosure obligations on any house built before 1978
- Asbestos and mould handled as excluded work requiring a licensed abatement contractor, rather than absorbed
- Lien waiver process for subcontractors and suppliers, and the preliminary notice deadlines that run from first furnishing
General guidance, not legal advice. Requirements vary by state and jurisdiction — confirm yours with counsel or your licensing board.
Straight answers
The three things you are probably thinking
“Buildertrend already sends my proposals.”
It does, from a template you configured. The allowance explanation, the concealed-conditions language and the room-by-room scope are still typed by you. That is the part this writes.
“Clients want a number, not eight pages.”
They want a number until the joists are rotten. The document is what makes that conversation a change order rather than an argument, and the good clients read it before signing.
“No two remodels are alike.”
They are not, but your allowance structure and your exclusions are consistent across all of them. Those are what it learns and reuses; the job-specific scope comes from what you upload.
FAQ
Remodeling proposals: common questions
Does it integrate with Buildertrend or CoConstruct?
No, there is no sync today. You bring the scope and the numbers; it drafts the document.
Can it set my allowance amounts?
No. Allowances are yours to set from your own supplier pricing. It writes the allowance schedule and the language governing overage and underage.
Will it carry my concealed-conditions clause exactly?
Yes. Wording you have refined with a lawyer belongs in your firm profile, where it is reproduced verbatim rather than paraphrased.
Can I generate a design agreement and a construction proposal separately?
Yes. They are separate documents from the same project, which is how most design-build firms sell the two phases.
What can I upload to start a proposal?
The client's email, photos from the walkthrough, a designer's drawings, or a plain description of the job. All of it is read and turned into editable fields you confirm.
Related
Other trades we have written this up for
See what it writes from your last remodeling proposal.
Upload three or four you were happy to send. The next one drafts in the same voice.