What's New in Estiquik: September 2026

Between 30 August and 3 September 2026 Estiquik shipped a lot. Most of it closes the gap between "an estimating app" and "the paperwork side of a renovation business, start to finish": first enquiry, signed estimate, mid-job changes, last progress invoice. Here is everything, one short section each, with the plan it lives on. All of it is in the live demo today, no account needed.

Change orders

A change order is a signed record of work that was not in the original estimate: the "while you're here" requests and the surprises behind the drywall. Estiquik numbers them, links them to the estimate they amend, prices them with the same line items as an invoice, and keeps a running revised contract value (original estimate plus every approved change). Negative rates make a deductive change order for removed work. Email it with a Review & sign button, or print it and attach the signed scan.

Why it matters: the small verbal extras are the ones that get forgotten and eaten at invoice time. Plan: Pro and Crew. Help: contracts & change orders.

Job scheduling, with a Today view and a calendar feed

Every job goes on a month calendar, booked straight from the estimate. The Today view is built for a phone in the truck: today's stops with tap-to-call and directions, and one tap from job done to invoice sent. A read-only ICS feed lets you subscribe from Apple Calendar or Google Calendar, so your Estiquik jobs appear beside everything else without a second app.

Why it matters: a job that is only in your head cannot remind anyone. Plan: Pro and Crew.

Estimate approval link

An emailed estimate carries a button the client taps to say yes. It started the week as a one-click Approve this estimate link (confirm on a page, approval time recorded, you get an email the moment it happens, and the extra press means an inbox link-scanner cannot approve a job by accident). By the end of the week it had become the Review & sign button below; estimates sent with the older link keep working.

Why it matters: it removes the "did they say yes?" limbo on small jobs where a full signature is overkill. Plan: Pro and Crew (emailing documents is a Pro feature). Help: estimates.

Job costing

A costing page lists every estimate with what you quoted, what you have invoiced, what you have spent on it (receipts photographed on site link to the estimate) and the margin, all pre-tax. Rows expand to the detail, unlinked expenses get a nudge, and the whole thing exports to CSV.

Why it matters: most contractors learn which jobs made money at tax time. This tells you while there is still time to fix the next quote. Plan: Pro and Crew. Related reading: Estimate vs. actual.

Client reminders

Three automatic emails, all sent in your business name with replies coming to you. An estimate follow-up: if an emailed estimate has not been approved after three days (or 2, 5 or 7), the client gets one polite nudge with the sign button included. Overdue-invoice reminders: the day after the due date and once more a week later, with a fresh pay-by-card link for the balance due when Stripe is connected. A day-before job reminder: the evening before a scheduled job, the client hears you are coming. Every automated email has a stop link, and reminders can be switched off globally, per client or per document.

Why it matters: the follow-up you meant to send is the one that gets the job approved and the invoice paid. Plan: Pro and Crew. Help: invoices.

Public site-visit booking page

Each account gets a public page at estiquik.com/book/your-name where a homeowner picks a time from your real availability, gives their address and describes the job. The visit lands on your schedule, the homeowner is added to Clients and the lead board, they get a confirmation and the day-before reminder, and you get an email with everything they wrote. Paste your calendar's private iCal address and its busy times are never offered. There is a ready-made button for your website, and the link works as a Google Business Profile appointment link so "Book" shows on Maps.

Why it matters: the lead that books itself is the one you never lose to phone tag. Plan: Pro and Crew. Help: booking page.

Progress invoicing

Add a payment schedule to the estimate (50 / 50, 30 / 40 / 30, 10 / 40 / 50, or your own stages) and an optional holdback percentage. The schedule prints on the estimate so the client agrees to it up front, then each stage becomes its own invoice showing the contract value, what was invoiced before, this stage and what remains, with its own due date, pay link and overdue reminders. Holdback is released as a final invoice when the job is done.

Why it matters: one invoice at the end means you are the bank for the whole job. Plan: every plan, including Starter. Full guide: Progress billing: deposits, draws and holdback.

E-signatures

Estimates, contracts and change orders can now be signed on the client's phone. Press Signing link, or tick Review & sign when emailing. The client sees a snapshot of exactly what you sent, draws or types a signature, and agrees to sign electronically. The signature block (name, email, date, time, IP address, browser and a SHA-256 fingerprint of the document) prints on your copy from then on. Re-sending a changed document retires the old link. A signed change order approves itself.

Why it matters: "reply YES" is weak evidence when $9,000 is in dispute. Plan: Pro and Crew. Full guide: E-signatures: what actually holds up.

Leads

A lead board with six stages (new enquiry, contacted, site visit booked, estimate sent, won, lost), a next follow-up date on every lead, a source filter so you know where enquiries come from, and one press to convert a lead to a client, a site visit or an estimate. Bookings from the booking page arrive as leads on their own. Estiquik does not email or text leads automatically; the follow-up is still yours.

Why it matters: the most expensive lead is the one you already had and forgot. Plan: every plan. Full guide: A contractor lead pipeline. Help: leads.

Comparison pages: Estiquik vs Joist and vs Jobber

Two side-by-side pages: Estiquik vs Joist and Estiquik vs Jobber. Each has a feature table, a calculator using the vendor's own published prices as of September 2026, a section on where each product wins, and an amber box listing what Estiquik does not have yet. If you are deciding whether to switch, start there; the free CSV import brings your clients and invoices over.

The 24-month price lock

This one is a promise rather than a feature, and it is worth quoting exactly as it appears on the Price Lock Guarantee page: "Start a paid Estiquik subscription on or before 31 October 2026 and the rate you pay on your first invoice is the rate you keep for 24 months." It holds through every renewal in those 24 months, monthly or annual, in US dollars or Canadian dollars. It applies to new paid subscriptions started between 1 September 2026 and 31 October 2026, one lock per account, and the 24 months run from the date of your first successful payment; a free trial does not start the clock. If published prices rise during that time, your subscription is not touched until your lock runs out, and you get at least 30 days' email notice before anything changes. You can cancel at any point without a fee.

Current prices: Starter US$19.99, Pro US$29.99 and Crew US$69.99 a month (CA$24.99, CA$34.99 and CA$79.99 for Canadian accounts). The full terms, including upgrades, downgrades and coming back after cancelling, are on the guarantee page.

Questions contractors ask

I am already a subscriber. Do I have to do anything?

No. Everything above is live in your account now, on the plan you are on. Starter accounts see the Pro pages and can upgrade from Billing.

Which of these are on Starter?

Progress invoicing and Leads. Change orders, scheduling, the calendar feed, the approval link, job costing, client reminders, the booking page, e-signatures, emailing documents and QuickBooks are Pro and Crew.

What is next?

The help page covers what exists today and how it works. Deliberately not on the list: SMS reminders, crew dispatch and GPS. If you need those, the comparison pages say so plainly.