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Housecall Pro estimate follow-up: what Pipeline does, where it stops, and when to add a layer

Last checked: , against Housecall Pro's own help center. Housecall Pro changes its product; check the linked pages for the current version.

Short answer

Yes. Housecall Pro follows up on estimates automatically through Pipeline, which is normally a paid add-on and is included on the MAX tier of its HVAC, plumbing and electrical packages. By default, Pipeline resends a sent estimate after a set number of days, moves it through three follow-up stages, and declines it if the customer never answers. Each follow-up comes from your company, by email or text, on the channel the estimate went out on. Pipeline is enough when you want a steady automated resend. Shops whose estimators sell in the home often add a layer that follows up from the estimator himself, using what the customer said at the appointment.

Sources: Housecall Pro, Getting Started with Pipeline (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Pipeline FAQs (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Email & SMS Communications (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, HVAC Package Overview (opens in a new tab)

How Pipeline estimate follow-up works

Pipeline gives you boards for Leads, Estimates and Jobs. On the Estimates board, an estimate moves through columns such as Unscheduled, Scheduled, In Progress, Completed, Sent, On Hold, Approved and Rejected. Approved and Rejected show estimates from the last 7 days.

Follow-up runs on automations. Housecall Pro says most of them are enabled by default. The estimate automations work as a chain:

Default Housecall Pro Pipeline estimate automations
When an estimate isPipeline
Sent for X daysResends the estimate and moves it to First Follow-Up.
First Follow-Up for X daysSends the next follow-up and moves it to Second Follow-Up.
Second Follow-Up for X daysSends the next follow-up and moves it to Third Follow-Up.
Third Follow-Up for X daysDeclines the estimate.
Accepted or Rejected for X daysArchives the estimate.
  • Channel. The follow-up goes by email or text to the contact details used for the original estimate. If the estimate went out both ways, Pipeline uses whichever was sent last.
  • Sender. Housecall Pro lists Pipeline follow-up messages as sent from the Pro's company.
  • What you can change. The number of days, the message copy, and conditions based on Tags, Job Types and Lead Sources. Variables such as the customer's first name are available. The text message can be edited only with Custom SMS enabled.
  • Custom automations. You can add your own: send a message and update the status, update the status only, or archive. Each one starts from a status, including custom statuses, and waits a delay you set in minutes, hours or days.
  • Quiet hours. Housecall Pro lists Quiet Hours for Pipeline texts as an alpha feature on web.

Sources: Housecall Pro, Getting Started with Pipeline (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Pipeline FAQs (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Email & SMS Communications (opens in a new tab)

Smart Recommendations

Smart Recommendations is a toggle in the Estimates board automation settings. When it is on, Housecall Pro automates three estimate follow-ups and sets the timing itself, adjusting it over time.

The trade off: you can still edit what each message says, but you cannot change when they go out or switch off one of the three while Smart Recommendations is on. If your sales cycle has a known rhythm, for example if customers often wait on a financing approval, you may prefer to keep the timing yourself.

Source: Housecall Pro, Getting Started with Pipeline (opens in a new tab)

How to set it up

  1. Open Pipeline from the main navigation in Housecall Pro on the web.
  2. Click the gear icon at the top right, then choose Automation settings.
  3. Select Estimates.
  4. Use the toggle next to each automation to turn it on or off.
  5. Click the pencil icon to edit an automation: the number of days, the message, and any conditions (Tags, Job Types, Lead Sources).
  6. Decide whether to turn on Smart Recommendations or keep control of the timing.

Automation settings are only available on the web, not in the mobile app. New rules apply to estimates that still fall inside the timing you set; an estimate sent weeks earlier will not be picked up, so resend older ones by hand.

Sources: Housecall Pro, Getting Started with Pipeline (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Pipeline FAQs (opens in a new tab)

Where Pipeline stops

Pipeline does what it says: it keeps estimates moving on a schedule. These are the edges worth knowing, based on Housecall Pro's own documentation.

  • It is built for the office. Pipeline is available to the Admin and Office Staff roles. Field Techs do not see the board, although their actions on an estimate still update its status.
  • It resends from the company. Follow-ups are company messages that resend the estimate. They are not the estimator texting the homeowner he met.
  • It follows status, not the conversation. Housecall Pro says a call made with its Voice feature does not update the Pipeline status by itself. Texts and calls an estimator makes from his personal phone happen outside Housecall Pro unless someone logs them.
  • It does not know what was said in the house. The concern about the unit size, the spouse who has to see the numbers, the rebate question: none of that reaches a follow-up unless someone writes it into Housecall Pro and edits the message.
  • Smart Recommendations fixes the timing. With it on, you choose the words but not the schedule.

To be fair to Housecall Pro: its Pipeline page also says AI writes your follow-ups for you, and promotes customizable automated texts and emails and a view of past jobs and communication history. What you see in your account may differ from this page; check the current feature list.

Sources: Housecall Pro, Pipeline FAQs (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Email & SMS Communications (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Pipeline feature page (opens in a new tab)

Is Pipeline enough, or should you add a layer?

Pipeline is enough if

  • Most estimates are small repairs or quick quotes that customers decide on fast.
  • Your office runs follow-up and you are happy with company messages.
  • A steady resend on a schedule is what your customers need to act.
  • You mainly want visibility into which estimates are open.

Add a layer if

  • Your estimators sell larger jobs in the home, like system replacements, repipes or panel upgrades.
  • Homeowners trust the estimator they met more than a company message.
  • Follow-up depends on what was said at the appointment.
  • You cannot see which open estimates each estimator has followed up on.
  • You want each estimator to own his open estimates, with you able to see every deal.

Not sure what's at stake? Put your numbers in the Open Estimate Calculator.

How Dealvan works with Housecall Pro

Dealvan is a field sales app for home-service estimators and their managers. It is a separate product, not made by or affiliated with Housecall Pro, and it works alongside your Housecall Pro account rather than replacing it.

  • Read only. We set it up with you on a call, or start from an estimate export. Dealvan never edits your estimates, and Housecall Pro stays your system for estimates, jobs and invoices.
  • One thread per deal. The follow-ups, the customer's replies and his notes stay together on the deal.
  • Follow-up from the estimator. After the appointment he records a 20-second voice note. The AI assistant turns it into notes and a follow-up in his voice.
  • He stays in control. Every follow-up is a draft until he approves it. Automatic follow-ups only run if he turns them on, and they stop the moment the customer replies or the job is marked sold or lost. An estimate approved in Housecall Pro counts as sold.
  • A view for you. A pipeline from quoted to sold, by stage and by estimator.

If you keep Pipeline's estimate automations on, decide which tool sends which message so a homeowner does not get two follow-ups on the same day. We go through that on the setup call.

On Jobber? See what its two quote reminders do and how to go past them.

Want to see it next to your own open estimates? 15 minutes, no slides.

Book a 15-min call (opens in a new tab)

FAQ

Does Housecall Pro automatically follow up on estimates?

Yes, if you have Pipeline. Its default estimate automations resend a sent estimate after a set number of days and move it through First, Second and Third Follow-Up, then decline it if there is still no answer. Housecall Pro says most automations are enabled by default, and you can edit or switch off each one.

How many follow-ups does Housecall Pro Pipeline send?

The default estimate automations cover three follow-ups before the estimate is declined. You set the number of days for each step. You can also build custom automations that send a message from any status after a delay you choose.

Can I change the timing with Smart Recommendations on?

No. With Smart Recommendations on, Housecall Pro automates three estimate follow-ups and sets the timing itself, adjusting it over time. You can edit the message content, but you cannot change the timing or turn off a single follow-up while the setting is on.

Does Pipeline follow up by text or email?

It uses the channel the estimate went out on. If the estimate was sent by email, the follow-up is an email. If it was sent by text, it is a text. If it went out both ways, Pipeline uses whichever was sent last. Editing the text message requires Custom SMS.

Is Pipeline an add-on?

It depends on your plan. Housecall Pro's help center lists Pipeline among tools that are normally paid add-ons, and its HVAC, plumbing and electrical packages include it on the MAX tier. Check your account or ask Housecall Pro for current pricing.

Does Pipeline know what the customer said in the house?

Not on its own. Pipeline tracks the estimate's status and sends the messages you set up. Anything the customer told your estimator at the kitchen table only gets into Housecall Pro if someone writes it down, and Housecall Pro notes that a call made with its Voice feature does not update the Pipeline status by itself.

Sources: Housecall Pro, Getting Started with Pipeline (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Pipeline FAQs (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, HVAC Package Overview (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Plumbing Package Overview (opens in a new tab), Housecall Pro, Electrical Package Overview (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Housecall Pro and Pipeline are names used by Housecall Pro. Dealvan is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Housecall Pro.

Keep Pipeline. Add follow-up from the estimator.

Book a 15-min call (opens in a new tab)Back to the Dealvan home page