The rough number, done right.
A real budget in the first meeting — before the architect gets involved, before the drawings exist, before your client falls in love with something you can't afford.
The conversation before the estimate.
Every custom-home conversation reaches the same awkward moment: the client asks "so what are we looking at?" — and you have no honest answer to give them, because the drawings don't exist yet.
You can either guess high and scare them off, guess low and regret it, or promise to "get back to them next week" and watch the project lose momentum. Ruffbid gives you a real number to put on the table right now.
Every week you punt is a week the number drifts.
Pre-plan hesitation isn't neutral. Material costs are moving, competitors are closing, and your client's mental anchor is getting further from reality.
The BLS Producer Price Index for construction inputs is up roughly 40% from its 2020 baseline. Clients walking in with a number they heard 2–3 years ago are badly mis-anchored.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — PPI Construction InputsIndustry surveys consistently show clients rank clear pricing alongside quality and communication as top reasons they pick one builder over another. They don't need a cheaper builder — they need an honest one.
Houzz Pro — State of the Industry surveysNAHB member surveys show the typical small-volume custom builder still puts pre-plan numbers together in a spreadsheet plus tribal knowledge. Every hour there is an hour not on-site, not in a sales conversation.
NAHB — Cost of Constructing a Home surveysOne additional signed contract pays for years of Ruffbid.
We won't promise a close-rate lift — that depends on your market, your pricing, your close skills. What we promise: every pre-plan meeting ends with a real number on the table, not a promise to follow up.
Four minutes. One number. In the room.
No drawings, no spreadsheets, no "I'll get back to you." Answer the same questions you'd ask a client anyway, and Ruffbid assembles the estimate as you go.
Size & site
Heated square footage, number of floors, ZIP code. Ruffbid pulls your regional cost index and your own calibrated baseline.
~30 secProgram
How many bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens. One big space or many small? Pick a tier — basic, standard, premium, luxury.
~45 secTune
Bump up the kitchen, dial down the exterior, add a scope note. Every nudge re-prices in real time.
~2 minShare
A branded PDF with your logo, or a live link the client can open on their phone in the room. Saved with the project.
doneA budget that moves with the conversation.
Everything is live. Change a tier, drag a room's price, swap a finish — the total and the range update instantly. You're not waiting on a spreadsheet to recalculate; you're designing a budget out loud.
$1,284,551
Every number shows its work.
No black box, no "trust us." Click any line and see the cost book entries that feed it. Adjust a markup and watch the cascade. Your client can ask you how you got there, and you'll have a real answer.
Calibrated to you, not a national average.
Ruffbid watches every estimate you close to permit and nudges your baseline so the next one is even sharper. Here's what it learned last quarter.
Pre-plan meetings that end with a yes.
Try it free. Bring us in when you need more.
Two ways to start. Solo builders jump in without a credit card. Teams and larger firms get a walkthrough and a setup that fits their stack.
Things builders ask before their first estimate.
Is this replacing my real takeoff?
No. Ruffbid is for pre-plan — the first conversation, before drawings exist. Your real takeoff still happens in your existing tool after you have CDs. Ruffbid just lets you answer "what are we looking at?" without punting to next week.
How accurate is a pre-plan estimate?
Our median variance from final permit-ready cost is ±6%. For a well-calibrated builder running Ruffbid for six months, that drops to ±4%. Accuracy compounds — every closed project sharpens your baseline.
Where does the cost book start?
You pick a starting region (Portland, Denver, Austin, etc.) and Ruffbid preloads RSMeans-indexed baselines. From there, every estimate you close to permit tunes those numbers toward your actual costs.
Can I show this to a client?
Yes. The PDF and shareable link are branded with your logo, your colors, your name. The client never sees “Ruffbid.” They see Halvorsen Build Co.'s estimate — as it should be.
Does it work on a phone?
It's designed for a phone first. The whole pitch is “pull it up at the kitchen counter.” The desktop app is the same product with more screen real estate.
What if my clients want a single number?
Most do, and that's fine. The range is a tool for you — so you know where the risks are. The client-facing PDF can hide the range and show only the most-likely total. Two clicks in Settings.
Never say "let me get back to you" again.
Free for 14 days. Your first estimate takes four minutes.