Overview
Dirt Face turns a fence lead into a professional estimate you can send to a customer. This guide explains the high-level path: pick a customer, design the job, review pricing, and deliver the proposal. It is written for contractors evaluating fence estimating software, not as a full click-by-click training manual.
What you will get
- A structured fence quote with materials and labor
- A proposal you can email or share through the customer portal
- A clear handoff into job and scheduling workflows after the sale
Step 1: Start from a customer
Every estimate belongs to a customer and job site. In Dirt Face you add or select the customer, then open a new fence estimate for that record. Keeping the customer first makes follow-up, approvals, and later invoicing much cleaner than orphaned spreadsheets.
Step 2: Choose a fence estimate
Dirt Face supports fence estimates built around your catalog and templates, plus more general quotes when needed. For typical install work, start a fence estimate so takeoffs and proposal sections match how fence jobs are sold.
Step 3: Design the layout and takeoff
Use the designer tool to lay out fence runs on a map or site plan. Dirt Face uses your fence systems and catalog so the estimate can reflect posts, panels, gates, and related materials instead of guessing from a blank spreadsheet.
Step 4: Review pricing and the proposal
Open proposal totals to review line items, tax, deposits, and the customer-facing PDF. Adjust scope before you send. The goal is a proposal that looks professional and matches what you intend to install.
Step 5: Send the quote
Email the proposal or share it through the customer portal so the homeowner or GC can review it. When the job is accepted, Dirt Face can carry that work into jobs, scheduling, and invoicing without rebuilding the quote from scratch.
Before you begin (for new accounts)
New teams usually set company defaults and load a working catalog before their first live bid. Dirt Face includes onboarding tools for that setup. Once those basics exist, first estimates become much faster.
FAQ
How long does a first fence estimate take?
After your catalog and templates are in place, many simple residential quotes can be drafted quickly. Complex commercial jobs take longer because the scope is larger, not because the software forces extra busywork.
Can customers approve online?
Yes. Dirt Face supports sending proposals customers can review through the portal, which reduces PDF email ping-pong.
What happens after the estimate is accepted?
You can convert won work into a job, schedule crews, and invoice from the same system. See the fence job lifecycle.