What sending for approval does
When the estimate is ready, you tap Send for approval and SideWRK turns it into a private link. Your customer opens it — no app, no account, no PIN — and sees an itemized, branded document with your line items, your photos, and your total. They type their name and tap Approve — $X or Decline.
That typed name is a lightweight e-signature, right on the document, and the approval is stamped with the time and the amount. If you add work later that pushes past what they approved, the app warns you and re-shows the customer a supplemental "authorize the new total" button — so a change order is documented, not assumed.
What you can use it for
Look legit, not like a hobby
A branded, itemized estimate the customer approves on their phone beats a number scribbled on a napkin — and it’s the difference between winning the job and losing it to the shop that looked more professional.
Get a yes you can prove
The approval carries their name, the time, and the amount. If there’s ever a "I never agreed to that," you have the record.
Sell up without pushing
Mark any line optional and the customer checks or unchecks it on the approval page, with the total updating live — the good-better-best close, without a pushy pitch.
Cover yourself on change orders
Add work mid-job and the app flags that you’re over the approved total and asks the customer to authorize the new number, so scope creep is signed off, not eaten.
How to send an estimate for approval
- 1
Build the estimate
Add your work, parts, notes, and photos on the job so the customer sees exactly what they’re paying for.
- 2
Tap Send for approval
SideWRK generates a private link. Text it, email it, or hand them your phone — no account required on their end.
- 3
They approve from their phone
The customer reviews the itemized doc, toggles any optional add-ons, types their name, and taps Approve. It’s logged with the time and the amount.
- 4
You get notified and invoice
A push tells you the moment they approve. The approved estimate becomes the invoice, ready to collect on.
- 5
Handle changes cleanly
If the job grows, add the work — the app asks the customer to authorize the new total so the change order is on the record.
Why a documented approval matters
Most side-work disputes come down to "that’s not what we agreed to." A verbal yes at the truck evaporates the second there’s a disagreement about money. A branded estimate the customer approved, with their name and the time on it, doesn’t.
This is included — no per-estimate fee, no upsell tier for the approval flow or the e-signature. It’s the backbone of estimate → approve → get paid.
Approvals
Send a branded approval link. Your customer reads the estimate, sees the photos, types their name to sign, and taps Approve — and you get a logged record of exactly what they agreed to, with their name, the time, and the amount. When the job grows, they re-approve the new number before you keep going.
An approval is the customer’s written yes to the estimate before you start. You send a branded link — your name and logo on it — and they open it on their phone, read the itemized work, look at the photos, and tap Approve. Before they can, they type their name, and that stands as a real signature printed on the document.
The moment they approve, SideWRK logs it: who approved, the exact time, and the amount they agreed to. That record lives on the job. If the work changes and the price moves, the customer is asked to approve the new total — so you’re never doing work nobody signed off on.
Get a real yes, not a maybe
A texted “ok sounds good” isn’t much to stand on. A tapped Approve with a typed name and a timestamp is — it’s the customer agreeing to a specific number, on the record.
Protect yourself when memories change
If a customer later says they never agreed to the price, the logged approval — their name, the time, the amount — settles it without an argument.
Re-authorize when the job grows
Find more rot, more corrosion, a second problem? Add the work and the customer approves the new total before you keep going. No surprise-bill blowups at the end.
Close the add-ons at approval
Mark lines optional and the customer checks the ones they want as they approve, with the total updating live — the upsell, handled without a sales pitch.
Deposits
When a job needs $600 of material before you’ve made a dime, you shouldn’t be the bank. Turn on a deposit and the customer pays it by card the moment they approve — you decide per estimate whether it’s on, off, and how much.
A deposit is money down before the work starts, and SideWRK builds it into the approval. On any estimate you can switch a deposit on and set the amount — 10 to 50 percent. When the customer approves and types their name, they can pay that deposit by card right there on the same page.
It’s your call, every time. Turn it off for a repeat customer you trust, on for a material-heavy job with someone new. The balance is what’s left to collect when the work is done.
Cover your material cost
On a job that needs parts or material up front, the deposit means you’re buying with their money, not floating it on your own card until you get paid.
Filter out the tire-kickers
Someone who won’t put a dime down was probably never going to pay. A deposit sorts the real jobs from the "just getting quotes" before you burn a day.
Lock in the commitment
A customer who’s put money down shows up, keeps the appointment, and doesn’t ghost you for the next guy. Skin in the game changes behavior.
Waive it when it makes sense
A trusted repeat customer, a small job — turn the deposit off for that estimate. You’re never forced into a one-size policy.
Upsells & add-ons
You’re already there, the ladder’s already up — that’s when the add-on makes sense for both of you. Salting the walks on a plow route. Crack fill before the sealcoat. Guards after the gutter clean-out. SideWRK lets you put those on the estimate as optional lines the customer checks for themselves at approval — the total updates live, and nobody had to be sold anything.
An upsell isn’t a pitch — it’s the work that genuinely belongs with the job you’re already doing. The driveway you’re plowing has walks that ice over. The lot you’re sealcoating has cracks that’ll eat the new coat from underneath. The gutters you just cleared will fill again unless guards go on. Naming that isn’t pushy; it’s the pro doing their job.
SideWRK turns it into a checkbox instead of a sales conversation. Add the extra as its own line, mark it optional, and when the customer opens the approval link they check the add-ons they want — the total updates live as they pick. The good-better-best close, without you standing there closing.
On the route: walks, salt, and bins
Snow: the driveway’s plowed, so offer the walks and the salting as their own lines. Trash-bin route: the extra bin or the deodorizing rinse. Small adds, every visit, all season.
Before the finish: crack fill and prep
Sealcoating: crack fill goes on the estimate as its own line before the coats — the customer sees why the number moved and what it protects. Same story for concrete finish upgrades and a second coat of paint.
While the ladder’s up: guards, screens, stain
Gutter cleaning: downspouts and guards. Window cleaning: screens, tracks, hard-water treatment. Fence: staining and sealing the fence you just built. The trip’s already paid for — the add-on is pure sense.
Finish the job all the way: stumps and takedown
Tree work: the stump grind as a checkable line. Detailing: the engine bay or the wax package. Seasonal lighting: the takedown and storage. The customer picks, and you’re not leaving money on the truck.
Big jobs
A whole parking lot, a full exterior repaint, a week of hardscape — the big job pays the best and hurts the worst when it goes sideways. The difference is how you set it up: measure the whole thing, itemize it in phases, take a deposit before you buy a single pallet, and give the customer a way to say yes to the big number.
A driveway is an afternoon and a handshake. A whole project — the HOA’s lot, every room in the house, the full yard build — is materials money out of your pocket, days on the calendar, and a number big enough to make the customer flinch. Winging that on a one-line quote is how operators end up financing a stranger’s parking lot on their own credit card.
SideWRK is built for the setup that protects you: measure the whole scope (trace the lot or the yard from the satellite and it prices at your rates), itemize it in phases so the customer sees where the number comes from, take a deposit at approval before you order materials, and collect the rest as the work lands — with financing on the table so the big number doesn’t kill the yes.
Bid the whole thing, not a guess
Trace the full lot, roof, or yard from the satellite and the real square footage prices at your rates. Phases go on as their own lines — prep, base, finish — so a big bid reads like a plan, not a number pulled from the air.
Deposit before you buy materials
Require a deposit at approval — your call, 10–50% per estimate — paid by card right on the approval page. The pallet of sealer or the truckload of sod goes on their money, not yours.
Collect as the work lands
After the deposit, send a payment request when a phase wraps and record payments as they come. The balance walks down as you go, and the job flips to Paid at zero — you’re never a week of labor deep on a promise.
Let them finance the big number
On bigger card jobs the customer can choose Affirm or Klarna at checkout and pay it off monthly — and you’re still paid in full, right away. The $6,000 job stops dying at the kitchen table.
AI estimate drafting
Staring at a blank estimate is where jobs stall. Snap a few photos or just describe the work — or talk it in — and SideWRK drafts the line items, priced at your own rates and real trade prices. Every line is yours to edit, and nothing sends until you say so.
On the Pro plan, you can hand SideWRK a few job photos or a plain description — typed or spoken with "talk it in" — and it drafts an estimate: line items with quantities and prices. The pricing is grounded in your own rates and real trade prices, not a number a chatbot made up.
It’s a first draft, not an autopilot. Every line is editable, you add or cut whatever you want, and nothing sends without you. It gets you from a blank page to a solid starting point in seconds — the part that usually eats your evening.
Beat the blank page
The hardest part of an estimate is starting it. A drafted set of priced lines turns "I’ll get you a quote" into a quote you finish on the spot.
Quote faster, close more
The operator who sends the estimate first often gets the job. Drafting in seconds instead of after dinner means you’re the fast one.
Price consistently
Because it drafts at your own rates, your pricing stays consistent instead of drifting with your mood or how tired you are that night.
Talk it in from the driveway
Describe the job out loud with the mic while it’s in front of you, and let the draft catch up — no typing in the truck.
Estimates — common questions
Does the customer need an account or the app?
No. They open a private link on their phone, review the estimate, type their name, and approve. No login, no PIN, no download.
Is the typed name a real signature?
It’s a lightweight e-signature — the customer’s typed name on the document, stamped with the time and the amount they approved. It’s a record of their agreement, not a notarized contract.
What if I add work after they approve?
The app warns you that you’re over the approved total and re-shows the customer a supplemental button to authorize the new number, so the change is documented before you do the extra work.
Can I offer optional add-ons?
Yes. Mark a line optional and the customer checks or unchecks it on the approval page, with the total updating live — a clean way to present good-better-best.
Is a typed name a real signature?
Yes. The customer types their name to approve, and it prints on the document as their e-signature, alongside a logged record of the time and the amount they agreed to.
What happens if the job gets bigger?
Add the extra work and the customer is asked to approve the new total before you keep going. You end up with an authorization for the final number, not the original guess.
Can I require a deposit when they approve?
Yes. You can ask for a deposit by card as part of the approval, so material money is in hand before you buy. See the deposits page for how that works.
Where is the approval record kept?
On the job. The name, time, and amount are logged and stay attached to that job, so you can always show what was authorized and when.
How much can I take as a deposit?
You set it per estimate, anywhere from 10 to 50 percent of the total. Match it to the job — more for a material-heavy build, less or none for a small repeat.
Is a deposit required on every job?
No. Deposits are per estimate and fully optional — switch it on for the jobs that need it and off for the ones that don’t.
How does the customer pay the deposit?
By card, right on the approval page, at the moment they approve. No separate step, no chasing them for it later.
What happens to the balance?
The rest of the total stays on the invoice as the balance due, which you collect when the work is finished.
Isn’t upselling pushy?
A pitch is pushy. An optional line on the estimate isn’t — the customer sees the add-on, what it costs, and checks it themselves at approval. If they don’t want it, they leave it unchecked and the base job proceeds as quoted.
How do optional add-ons work in SideWRK?
Add the extra as its own line and mark it optional. On the approval page the customer checks or unchecks each optional line, the total updates live, and they sign on the final number. Their picks are part of the logged approval.
What if I find the extra work mid-job?
Use Add work. The new line goes on the job and the customer is asked to authorize the new total before you continue — so the add-on is approved, not argued about at the end.
Which add-ons should I offer?
The ones that genuinely belong with the job: salting on a plow route, crack fill before a sealcoat, guards after a gutter clean, the stump after a tree, stain on a new fence. If it saves the customer a second visit or protects the work you just did, it belongs on the estimate.
How much deposit should I ask for on a big job?
Enough to cover materials plus a margin of your early labor — many pros land between 25% and 50%. In SideWRK you set the deposit per estimate, from 10% to 50%, and the customer pays it by card right at approval.
Can I collect in stages instead of all at the end?
Yes. Take the deposit at approval, then send a payment request or take a card payment as each phase wraps, recording payments as they come. The balance walks down and the job flips to Paid when it hits zero.
What if the scope grows mid-project?
Add the new work to the job and the customer is asked to authorize the new total before you proceed. On a multi-day job that habit is the difference between a change order and an argument.
How does financing work on a big ticket?
On bigger card jobs, the customer can pick Affirm or Klarna at checkout and split the cost into monthly payments. You’re paid in full right away — they finance it, not you, and there’s nothing for you to set up.
Is the AI-drafted price accurate?
It’s grounded in your own rates and real trade prices, not a made-up number — and it’s a draft you review and edit before anything sends. You’re always the final check on the price.
Does it use my rates?
Yes. The draft is priced against the rates you’ve set and the real pricing for your trade, so it reflects what you actually charge, not a generic guess.
Will it send an estimate automatically?
No. It only drafts. Every line is editable and nothing goes to a customer until you send it yourself.
What plan is it on?
AI estimate drafting is a Pro-plan feature.