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Send Housecall Pro estimates with good, better, best options

A homeowner asks for a water heater quote, and the same afternoon you build three priced options by hand in the estimate, one line item at a time, before you can send it.

Cotlet does it in your own Housecall Pro account with list_customers, list_price_book, create_estimate, add_estimate_option and send_estimate, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

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Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Can Housecall Pro do this on its own?

Housecall Pro has no way to build an estimate from a message or a list (checked 14 Oct 2026). Its public API is MAX-plan only, with a limited-access key, and the reference documents reading a single estimate, not sending one. Every send is a manual click in the web portal or mobile app.

How you do it in Housecall Pro today

  1. Click the Create button in the top left of the web portal, choose Estimate, and search for the customer by name or click + New customer.
  2. Type each service into the line item field to pull it from the Price book, or keep typing to make a custom line for this estimate only.
  3. Save the estimate, then click + New option on the Estimate details page for every extra tier, naming each one (for example Good, Better, Best) and adding its own line items.
  4. In the estimate header, choose whether the customer can approve a single option or several.
  5. Click Send, check the preview, tick the options to include, pick Email or Text and send. Repeat for the next lead.

How to send Housecall Pro estimates with good, better, best options

Prompt

Create an estimate for Dana Whitfield at 14 Elm Street for a water heater replacement with three options: a 40-gallon tank at $2,400, a 50-gallon tank at $3,100 and a tankless unit at $3,900. Show me the draft before you send it.
  1. 01

    Find the right customer and address

    list_customers searches by name, email, phone or address, as the estimate screen does. If two profiles match, the agent shows both and asks which one, instead of choosing.

  2. 02

    Pull prices from the price book

    list_price_book returns your services and materials with their prices. A line that matches a price book item uses its price; anything else becomes a custom line for this estimate only, as in the app.

  3. 03

    Create the estimate and its options

    create_estimate saves the draft with the first option, and add_estimate_option adds one call per extra tier, each with its own lines. Nothing reaches the customer yet, and a scheduled estimate follows the customer profile notification setting unless you turn the notice off.

  4. 04

    Show you the draft

    The agent reports each option with its lines and total, and which option the customer can approve alone or together. You fix a price or a name before anything is sent.

  5. 05

    Send it

    send_estimate emails or texts the estimate with the options you picked. It asks for your OK by default, and checks the Mobile number first when you ask for text, because home and work numbers cannot receive texts.

What you get back

Example data

Estimate est_8e41c2 for Dana Whitfield, 14 Elm Street
Option 1, 40-gallon tank: $2,400.00
Option 2, 50-gallon tank: $3,100.00
Option 3, tankless unit: $3,900.00
Customer can approve: one option
Sent by email to dana@example.com
Status: waiting for the customer

Other ways to ask

  • Build a good, better, best estimate from my water heater template and send it by text to the customer on the Maple Street lead.
  • Copy last month's Smith estimate for the Jones family, change the second option to $3,250 and show me the total before sending.
  • Every morning list estimates that are sent but not yet approved or declined, and draft a short follow-up message for each.
  • Add a fourth option, a 5-year service plan at $480, to the open estimate for Dana Whitfield and leave it as a draft.

What Housecall Pro allows, and what to know first

  • Housecall Pro lets you add options to a saved estimate from a template or from scratch, and save an option built from scratch as a template.
  • The customer can be allowed to approve one option or several, and the choice is set in the estimate header.
  • When a customer approves an option they are asked for an e-signature, and the estimate status changes to Customer Approved; a decline shows Customer Declined, and you get the decision by email.
  • A payment can only be taken on an estimate after it is converted into a job.
  • A text goes out only if text messaging is turned on and approved for the account, the customer has a number in the Mobile field, and they have not replied STOP.

create_estimate and send_estimate ask for your OK by default. To run it on a schedule without you, switch confirmation off for those tools in your dashboard.

Sources: Housecall Pro Help: How to Create an Estimate · Housecall Pro Help: How to Use Multi-Option Estimates · Housecall Pro Help: How to Send an Estimate · Housecall Pro Help: E-Signatures on Estimates

Call add_estimate_option from a script

curl

curl -X POST https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/housecall-pro/estimates/est_8e41c2/option \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Tankless unit","line_items":[{"name":"Tankless water heater, installed","quantity":1,"unit_price":3900}]}'

Example response

{
  "estimate_id": "est_8e41c2",
  "option_id": "opt_3",
  "name": "Tankless unit",
  "line_items": [
    {
      "name": "Tankless water heater, installed",
      "quantity": 1,
      "unit_price": 3900
    }
  ],
  "total": 3900
}

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the call is housecall_pro_write → add_estimate_option. Example data.

Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron

Housecall Pro tools this automation uses

Cotlet Housecall Pro tools used to send Housecall Pro estimates with good, better, best options
Tool Parameters
list_customers query, tag, limit, cursor
list_price_book query, kind, limit, cursor
create_estimate customer_id, address_id, option_name, line_items, customer_can_approve, scheduled_start, notify_customer
add_estimate_option estimate_id, name, line_items
send_estimate estimate_id, channels, option_ids, to, subject, message
All 15 Housecall Pro tools with descriptions

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to connect Housecall Pro to Cotlet?

Yes. You sign in to Housecall Pro yourself, in your own Cloud Browser in the EU, and we never save your password. Your agents only get Housecall Pro once you enable it, every background request is listed, and the browser profile is stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM, the cipher 1Password uses for its vaults. The AI model never sees a login, posts and messages wait for your OK, and Disable for agents cuts access in one click. Independent scanners grade cotlet.dev A+ on Qualys SSL Labs, securityheaders.com and Mozilla Observatory; live results are on https://cotlet.dev/security.

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