A quote from the drawing, back tomorrow

Shops with a few dozen people quote custom work from a file. A machine shop gets a print and a model. A millwork shop gets drawings. A sign shop gets a photo, a size and an address. The estimator is often the owner, and the owner is also running the floor.

A late quote is a lost job. A wrong quote is a job you win and then fund yourself.

What “done” means

One live request, reviewed, in a day. Material, operations and the assumptions that were not on the drawing are written down. Someone who has done that trade checks dimensions before the price leaves the building.

Software that helps a shop quote faster is widely sold. The offer here is different: we quote this job, and you keep the tools you already have. The close is a free quote on a bid that is due this week.

What we will not take

Defense and export-controlled prints are out. A wrong material call on commercial work is already expensive. A controlled print is a different business, and not this one.

One shop type until the first few customers look the same. CNC, millwork and signs are the same motion and three different reviewers. Pitching all three in a week is how the review gets sloppy.

Certificates of conformance and mill certs are a useful add-on once you are already quoting for a shop. They hold a shipment. They are not the company.