From the first estimate
to the final walkthrough.

1. Set up your workspace

Tailored Crew connects estimating with job costs, quality review and crew incentives. An Individual workspace is for your own work; a Company workspace groups your company’s records.

1. Select Sign in on the website, then Continue with ChatGPT. New users choose Tailored Crew Pro (company or independent contractor) or Tailored Crew Home and enter a workspace name.
2. Open Account to change the workspace name or type, or sign out. Each signed-in account owns its own workspace.
3. Use Estimates for clients, pricing, calculators and proposals. Use Jobs & production pay for field execution, actual costs and quality.
4. The hosted pilot uses ChatGPT sign-in and its configured access restrictions. A company account does not yet provide separate employee logins.

2. What Tailored Crew can do for your company

Give estimating and production a shared record: what you sold, what you planned to spend, what the work actually cost, and what still needs attention.

1. Standardize estimates with reusable material, equipment and labor defaults. Review your own costs instead of treating supplied defaults as supplier quotes.
2. Hand approved scope and budgets to the field without retyping them. Conversion preserves a fixed estimate snapshot.
3. Track expenses and customer payments separately. A customer deposit is money received, not a job cost.
4. Document tasks, materials, field updates and completion evidence in one job. Use quality checks before approving a crew bonus.
5. Review completed jobs to improve your next estimate. Updating production rates is currently a manual decision, not an automatic learning feature.

The app can support better decisions, but it does not guarantee profit. Overhead, unrecorded bills, payroll adjustments and approved bonuses must still be considered.

3. Set your estimating defaults

Start with the cost of doing the work. Selling prices are calculated later.

1. Open Estimates → Estimating. Review Labor defaults: crew size, hourly labor cost per person and waste allowance.
2. Confirm whether your labor rate is wages only or total employer cost. Use a consistent basis when comparing a budget with actual labor.
3. Review the Material library: unit, cost, purchase increments and product notes. Check yards versus tons, square feet versus wall-face square feet, and package quantities.
4. Review the Equipment library: owned or rented, rate basis, rental periods, fuel, mobilization and attachments. Avoid counting the same delivery or machine twice.
5. Set realistic Production rates, then select Save defaults. The job’s access, handling distance and conditions may require overrides.
6. Catalog holds reusable quote items. Calculator material and equipment prices live in the estimating library; check the appropriate source when updating a rate.

Defaults and published benchmarks are starting points. Confirm current supplier prices, compatibility and site conditions.

4. Build an estimate

Create the customer, describe the scope, and build the cost before reviewing the selling price.

1. In Clients, select New client and enter the customer’s details. Then select New estimate and choose that client.
2. Enter a recognizable project title, date, introduction, exclusions and payment terms. Keep the status Draft while developing the estimate.
3. Use Calculate materials, equipment & labor to create a scope. Choose the work type, enter measurements and review quantities. Available calculators cover work such as patios, retaining walls, drainage, grading, planting, irrigation and lighting.
4. Review job-specific material prices, additional materials, equipment, attachments and delivery. Specify when shared equipment is already covered by another scope.
5. Review Crew & production. Calculate time from a production rate or enter job duration. Three workers working eight hours means 24 person-hours, not eight.
6. Review the calculated scope, then add it to the estimate. Add further scopes or custom line items as needed. Review optional items separately; they are excluded from the base contract.
7. Review pricing mode, pricing percentage, discounts, overhead and tax. Markup and margin are different calculations. Overhead affects the internal analysis; it is not an extra direct-cost receipt.
8. Resolve missing prices or document a valid no-cost reason. Open Customer preview to check descriptions and totals, then use Print / save PDF if needed.

The app prepares previews and PDFs; it does not automatically email the proposal, obtain a signature or establish customer acceptance.

5. Turn an accepted estimate into a job

Conversion is the handoff from selling the job to running it.

1. After obtaining acceptance outside the app, set the estimate status to Accepted. Confirm a customer and at least one non-optional scope item with a positive quantity.
2. Choose the estimate’s create-job action. Review the Create Tailored Crew job screen: project, customer, contract value and cost budget.
3. Select Create job & open Tailored Crew. The job opens in the job-management dashboard. Repeating conversion opens the existing linked job rather than creating another.
4. Review the imported tasks and materials. Add the manager, dates and any execution details that were not part of the estimate.
5. The contract total includes the estimate’s tax and discount. In the job’s Quote tab it appears as an accepted-contract line. Download original estimate snapshot to see the original item detail and terms.
6. Optional work is excluded from the job budget and tasks. The required deposit does not become a received payment. Imported costs are a budget; actual expenses start empty.

Later estimate or library edits do not change the converted job. Record agreed changes on the job. Earlier estimator jobs and invoices remain in their separate estimator sections; they are not automatically merged into the newer job ledger.

6. Create a job without an estimate

Use this for a quote prepared elsewhere or a job you need to track immediately.

1. Open Jobs & production pay and select New job (or Create first job for an empty workspace). Enter a name, client, address, manager, dates and status.
2. Enter the internal cost budget if known. This is your expected cost to complete the work, not the customer price. Leave it blank if not established.
3. In Quote, add customer-price line items with quantities, units and rates. Enter the quote number, approval status, scope and clarifications.
4. In Tasks, add work steps, assignments and due dates. In Materials, add planned quantities and needed-on-site dates.
5. Upload the original quote in Files if useful. Uploading a document stores it; it does not automatically extract quantities or prices.

7. Run the job each day

A short, consistent routine makes the job record useful to the whole company.

1. Before work: select the correct job, read the scope, check due tasks and confirm materials and equipment are available.
2. During work: update task status to In progress, Blocked or Complete. Use Field log to explain completed work, weather, delays and site issues.
3. Record total person-hours across the crew in field updates. For example, two workers × six hours = 12 total person-hours. Some screens label this “crew hours”; use the note to explain the breakdown.
4. Update Materials as To arrange, Ordered, Partial, Received or Returned. Status changes do not automatically create expense entries.
5. At day’s end: record costs, upload receipts and photos, and note any requested extra work. Update the next day’s tasks.
6. When finished: complete the walkthrough and quality review, resolve outstanding work, and change the job status to Complete when appropriate.

Daily update turns worker hours into a suggested labor cost when a loaded rate is entered. Review it before recording the expense. Older Field log entries remain manual.

8. Track budgets and actual job costs

Keep three numbers distinct: customer price, expected cost and recorded expense.

1. Use Costs → Add cost for an expense actually incurred. Enter description, amount, date, category and notes. Put the supplier or invoice reference in the notes.
2. Use Materials for purchased supplies, Labor for comparable crew cost, Equipment for rental or internal usage, and the other available categories for subcontractors or miscellaneous expenses.
3. Record labor with a clear calculation, such as 24 person-hours × $30 = $720. Use the same cost basis as the labor budget.
4. Attach supporting receipts in Files. A receipt upload does not create a cost entry automatically.
5. Where an Estimated job budget panel is present, adjust quantities and rates, then Save estimated budget. Unconfirmed allowances remain blank; entering zero means you believe no cost applies.
6. Compare budget with recorded expenses. A low expense total may mean bills are missing, rather than savings achieved. Check the record before reviewing a bonus.

The current cost ledger supports adding entries, but does not yet provide a general edit/delete correction workflow. Check entries before saving and avoid duplicates. Approved bonuses are not automatically added to job costs.

9. Record customer payments

Track money received against the contract. Recording a payment does not move money.

1. Open Payments → Record payment. Choose Deposit, Progress payment, Final payment or Other.
2. Enter the amount actually received, payment date and a clear reference in the notes.
3. Check total payments and remaining contract value. A required deposit or approved quote is not evidence that money was received.
4. Use the estimator’s earlier invoice section only for the invoice records held there. Those invoice payments do not automatically sync into the newer job Payments tab.

Tailored Crew does not process cards, transfer funds, reconcile bank accounts or automatically send invoices. The remaining contract amount is not an invoice due date.

10. Handle scope changes and delays

Keep extra work visible so the crew’s target does not silently move.

1. Record the request or delay in Field log with the date and what changed.
2. In Quote → Add change, enter the additional customer price and additional cost budget. Use Draft or Submitted until agreement has been obtained outside the app.
3. Mark an agreed change Approved. Approved changes increase contract value and cost budget; they do not record expenses or payments.
4. If the change affects the production-pay labor target, enter a separate Approved budget adjustment and explanation in Production pay. A general cost change does not automatically adjust that labor target.
5. For reductions or credits, pause and reconcile the agreement separately: the current change-order form supports positive additions, not a complete credit workflow.

Document who approved a change and why. The current app records status; it does not collect electronic signatures or enforce separate manager permissions.

11. Review job quality

A completed task and an inspected result are different things. Production-pay quality checks are a separate review.

1. Use Tasks to track execution. Open Production pay for the quality checklist used in bonus review.
2. Inspect the actual work before checking an item. For a patio and wall, the example covers layout/elevations, base and finish, wall drainage, edges/joints and cleanup.
3. Upload completion photos in Files and describe unresolved issues or rework in Inspection / rework notes.
4. Enter the reviewer’s name. Complete the checklist only after the stated criteria have been met.
5. Keep the bonus pending if labor records or the quality review are incomplete. Example jobs contain simulated checks, not real inspections.

Checklists do not replace project-specific specifications, design or required inspections. Photo requirements are currently reviewer attestations, not automated image checks. There is not yet a general quality-checklist template editor.

12. Calculate and approve production pay

The provisional plan adds a crew bonus to normal wages, using an editable share of eligible labor savings.

1. Open Production pay. Set the Crew share of savings percentage (initially 30%) and the Agreed labor cost budget. Establish the rules before work begins.
2. Describe the Labor cost basis. Confirm that the budget and recorded Labor costs use a comparable basis.
3. Document any agreed adjustment and reason. Then confirm the budget and that all actual labor costs are entered, including applicable paid travel, setup and rework.
4. The app calculates savings as adjusted labor budget minus actual Labor-category costs, with a minimum of zero. Potential crew bonus equals those savings × the share percentage.
5. Complete all quality checks, enter a reviewer and mark the job Complete. Then select Approve crew bonus.
6. Save the plan and review when working through it. Changes to reviewed inputs invalidate approval; recheck the result before approving again.

This is the whole crew’s bonus pool. Individual splits, payroll, overtime adjustments and automatic bonus expense entries are not implemented. A negative result never deducts base wages. Approval is a recorded review, not a manager-only access control.

13. Follow the video’s patio & wall example

The video begins in an empty Your company demonstration workspace and builds one fictional job from start to finish. It does not add these training entries to your company records.

1. Watch the video above. Create Taylor Morgan (fictional) and the Morgan patio and retaining wall training estimate. The example uses a 400 sq ft patio and an 80 sq ft wall face.
2. Enter the six cost lines shown in the video: patio materials $3,000, wall materials $1,500, labor $2,880, equipment $1,000, delivery $600 and disposal $300. Planned cost is $9,280.
3. Apply 50% markup for a $13,920 customer price. The video uses no discount and zero tax solely for training. The required 30% deposit is $4,176.
4. After fictional acceptance, convert to a job, schedule it, assign a task, plan 440 sq ft of pavers including cutting allowance, and record the received deposit.
5. Enter daily reports of 24, 24, 24 and 12 person-hours. Record the separate actual expenses: materials $4,300, labor $2,520, equipment $950, delivery $600 and disposal $280. These total $8,650.
6. Record the approved subcontracted mulching addition: $450 customer price and $300 extra cost budget. Add its $300 Subcontractor expense separately. Revised contract is $14,370; revised budget $9,580; actual cost $8,950.
7. Complete the job and record the $10,194 final payment. Customer balance is zero and costs are $630 below budget.
8. Optional final chapter: $2,880 labor budget minus $2,520 actual labor equals $360 savings; a 30% share produces a $108 whole-crew bonus pool. Quality checks in the recording are simulated.

The recording uses a separate fictional workspace. These are illustrative figures, not current supplier quotes or construction specifications. Budget savings are not net profit; overhead, bonus and other costs still matter.

14. Upload photos and documents

Keep supporting records alongside the job.

1. Select the job, open Files and select Upload file.
2. Choose JPG, PNG, WebP or PDF, up to 10 MB per file. Upload one file at a time.
3. Use descriptive filenames such as patio-base-day2.jpg or aggregate-receipt.pdf. Open the saved file to verify it uploaded correctly.
4. Add related context in a cost entry, field update or inspection note. File uploads do not update these records automatically.

The current file screen does not provide a delete button or an automatic photo-to-checklist link.

15. Import, export and protect your records

Estimates save to the current workspace database. The hosted pilot stores records online; the local development preview has its own separate database.

1. In Estimates, expand Backups & imports. Use Export company backup (or Export data backup) to download the estimator data, including clients, estimates, libraries and earlier estimator jobs/invoices.
2. To bring over the previous app on this browser, choose Import previous estimator from this browser and review the counts before replacing estimator data. The original browser copy is left intact.
3. Alternatively, use Restore company backup to select an exported JSON file. Review the import and export the current data before confirming replacement.
4. Recover pre-restore copy can recover the previous estimator data during the current session. It is not a permanent backup across reloads.
5. Watch the save-status message. On a conflict or save failure, export your current estimator data before reloading, then reconcile changes.
6. Tailored Crew job records save separately. The estimator backup does not include the newer job ledger, production-pay records or uploaded files. A complete in-app backup/export workflow for those is still needed.

Do not share backup files publicly; they can contain customer and financial records. Separate user accounts are isolated, but company team invitations and member roles are not yet available.

16. Current capabilities and limits

Use the features that are working today, and plan around what is still unfinished.

1. Available: individual/company workspace setup, estimating calculators and libraries, client records, customer previews/PDF printing, accepted-estimate conversion, job budgets, expenses, payment records, tasks, materials, field logs, file uploads and provisional production-pay review.
2. Available with separation: earlier estimator jobs and invoices remain in the estimator section. New converted jobs are managed in Jobs & production pay. These ledgers do not automatically sync their costs or payments.
3. Not yet available: subscription billing, contractor-license verification, separate employee invitations/roles, password-based sign-in independent of ChatGPT, payroll processing, individual bonus allocation, payment processing, accounting integration or electronic signatures.
4. Not yet available: automatic quote-document extraction, automatic unreviewed labor expense posting, full financial-entry corrections, offline synchronization, or a complete backup of all job records and files through the UI.
5. When troubleshooting: check the selected job and workspace first, read any save error, and confirm whether the record belongs to the earlier estimator or newer job-management section.

This written guide describes the current pilot. The recorded video covers the original contractor workflow. Do not assume an upcoming feature is already protecting or processing company data.

17. Review editable material calculations

All 22 project calculators use measurement-based material quantities with editable waste, package increments and final purchase quantities.

1. Open a calculated scope and expand Show calculation & edit under a material. Review the raw need, waste and purchase rounding.
2. Use Enter my own final purchase quantity for existing stock, supplier packaging or project-specific adjustments. This final number already includes your waste allowance.
3. Changing measurements preserves manual quantities and exclusions, but requires you to confirm them before saving. Reset a material to return to automatic calculation.
4. Choose additional library materials where a project needs supplies beyond the generated list. Review supplier prices and product coverage; renaming a product does not change its coverage.

The calculator uses the dimensions and specifications you enter. It does not determine structural design, soil suitability or product compatibility.

18. Read reports and notifications

Reports separate recorded spending, reported work completion and calendar targets.

1. Open Reports for the selected job or all company jobs. Review the cost-category chart, budget comparison and spending timeline.
2. In Field log, enter the overall percentage of work completed with a dated progress note. Task counts do not automatically determine overall completion.
3. Calendar progress assumes even work between the start and finish dates, including weekends. A gap of more than 10 percentage points flags the schedule for review.
4. Open Notifications for budget overruns, missed finish dates, blocked tasks, late materials or missing and stale progress updates. Resolve the underlying record to clear an alert.

Alerts refresh while the app is open. Email and phone push notifications are not enabled. Missing records can make spending appear lower than it is.

19. Use Tailored Crew Home

Choose Tailored Crew Home in Account for DIY planning and managing work you hire out.

1. Create a home project with a budget and target dates. In Project details, choose DIY, Hire a contractor or Mixed.
2. In Materials, add measured scopes, review quantities and prices, then save the plan. Track order status and needed-on-site dates separately.
3. In Compare quotes, record each contractor’s price, scope, exclusions, schedule, payment terms and license reference. These references are not verified by Tailored Crew.
4. Use Budget to record actual purchases and contractor payments once each. Enter progress notes and tasks, then review Reports and Notifications.

Pro and Home are pilot experiences, not active paid subscriptions. Changing account type does not share records with another person or start billing.

20. Start with Today

Today is the contractor dashboard landing screen. It gathers the daily plan across your workspace.

1. Review jobs whose start and finish dates include today. These are calendar date ranges, not confirmed crew assignments or working-day schedules.
2. Check open tasks and materials due today or overdue. Received and returned materials and completed tasks are excluded. On-hold work stays visible with a label.
3. Use the job filter to focus on one project. Open the linked job to update a task, review materials, enter costs or log progress.
4. Review issues and missing schedule dates. Alerts and counts refresh every minute while open; use Refresh today for a manual refresh.

Completed jobs are excluded from the daily plan. Materials show planned quantities and needed-on-site dates, not remaining quantities or confirmed delivery appointments.

21. Save one Daily update

Use Daily update from Today or the job tabs to record the work in one place.

1. Enter the date, reporter, work notes and overall progress. Add each worker and their hours; the total is person-hours.
2. Confirm the loaded labor cost per person-hour, or leave it blank to record hours without a cost draft. Imported estimates provide a job rate when available.
3. Check completed tasks and fully received materials. Enter actual expenses once and choose photos or receipts.
4. Save daily update. Work, task changes, material changes and entered expenses save together. Files upload afterward; retry failed uploads without repeating costs.
5. Review suggested labor costs: check existing expenses, enter a reviewer and record the draft once. If already accounted for, choose No new expense needed and explain.

Labor drafts do not count as actual cost until reviewed. The same reviewer can be the account owner; this is not a manager-only permission. Supplier receipts still require manual amounts.

22. Complete a guided closeout

Open Closeout to review work, costs, quality, payment arrangements and completion in order.

1. Resolve remaining tasks and review outstanding materials.
2. Reconcile costs and review any pending labor drafts. Confirm all actual costs are recorded.
3. Confirm scope and walkthrough results, then select completion photos. If no photos are available, document an exception.
4. Review recorded payments. Record money actually received or document follow-up for an outstanding balance.
5. Enter the reviewer and save closeout. The job is marked Complete; later changes to reviewed records flag the closeout for another review. Review optional production pay last.

A photo exception permits closeout but does not satisfy production-pay photo checks. Closeout does not run payroll, charge customers or approve a bonus. Existing Job details status controls remain available.