FOR LUMBER YARDS, BUILDING SUPPLY AND BUILDERS’ MERCHANTS
Quoting software for building materials and lumber yards
A framing contractor emails a takeoff from his estimating software: 240 2x4x92-5/8 SPF studs, 60 2x10x12 DF #2, 80 sheets of 7/16 OSB, two boxes of 16d sinkers, 120 H2.5A hurricane ties, delivered Thursday. A homeowner’s builder sends a photo of a page torn from a notebook. A subcontractor leaves a voice message from a truck. All three want a price today, and all three are comparing it with the yard down the road.
Qotora AI reads each request the way it arrives, finds every line in your own catalogue, applies your own price rules and prepares a quote that a person on your team reviews before it is sent. It works on top of the software you already run, read-only.
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Why building materials requests take so long to price
A yard or a merchant counter sells thousands of SKUs, and the customer’s words almost never pin one down.
- Species, grade and treatment: “2x10x12” could be SPF, DF, Hem-Fir or Southern Yellow Pine, #2 or better, kiln-dried or pressure-treated.
- Sheet goods by thickness, panel size, rating and edge: “3/4 ply” and “3/4 T&G ply 4x8” are not the same line.
- Fixings and small parts: “16d sinkers, 50 lb box”, “3 in deck screws, bucket”, “H2.5A ties”. The same need comes in three brands and four pack sizes.
- Pricing bases that differ from the way it is ordered: by the piece, by the bundle, by the sheet, by thousand board feet, by the pallet.
- Customer pricing: contractor tiers, job pricing, account terms, a price held for a job.
- Requests in every format: a PDF takeoff, a spreadsheet, a photo, a text, a voice note.
Every line is a lookup, a stock check and a price, multiplied by every line of a house package. Qotora prepares that work; your counter keeps the judgement.
From the framer’s takeoff to a quote you can check
- Receive the request in the format it arrives: a PDF takeoff, an Excel sheet, a photo of a handwritten list, an email, pasted text or a voice note.
- Find each line in your catalogue: Qotora reads “2x4x92-5/8 SPF stud” or “7/16 OSB” the way a yard hand would and searches your own products, with your item numbers.
- Apply your price rules: the customer’s tier, your discounts and your margins. Prices come from your own catalogue data; Qotora never invents a price or a margin.
- Flag what is unclear: when a line fits several products, Qotora asks a precise question instead of guessing.
- Review and send: a person checks every line, then sends the quote. Nothing goes out automatically.
What the framer sends
- 240 – 2x4x92-5/8 SPF studs
- 60 – 2x10x12 #2 DF
- 80 – 7/16 OSB 4x8
- 2 boxes 16d sinkers 50 lb
- 120 – H2.5A hurricane ties
The quote, ready to check
| Description / part no. | Qty | Unit price | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2x4 precut stud, 92-5/8 in, SPF stud grade — LB-24-926 | 240 | $3.65 | $876.00 |
| 2x10x12 Douglas fir #2 & better, KD — LB-210-12-DF | 60 | $28.40 | $1,704.00 |
| OSB sheathing 7/16 in, 4x8 ft, rated — OSB-716-48 | 80 | $17.90 | $1,432.00 |
| 16d sinker nails, 3-1/4 in, vinyl coated, 50 lb box — NL-16S-50 | 2 | $62.00 | $124.00 |
| Hurricane tie, galvanized, H2.5A type — HT-H25A | 120 | $0.89 | $106.80 |
| Total (sample) | $4,242.80 | ||
Illustration with sample products and prices. In your own account, item numbers and prices come from your catalogue and your price rules, and a person on your team reviews the quote before it is sent.
When “2x10x12” does not say which one
A wrong species or grade on a framing order is not a typo. It is a load that has to go back, or a member the engineer never approved. So Qotora does not choose between products that differ only by something the customer left out.
The same applies when something is out of stock. Qotora can propose an equivalent from your catalogue, but it stays a proposal, flagged until a person confirms it. Nothing is swapped on its own, and a line you cannot supply never blocks the rest of the quote.
Bundles, sheets, boxes and customer pricing
Your packaging rules are loaded during setup, so “2 bundles” or “a pallet” can be turned into the quantity you price and ship. Qotora shows what the customer wrote next to the quantity it worked out, so the person reviewing sees both.
Pricing follows the customer. The tier you have set for a contractor applies to the whole quote, and when a new customer has no tier on file, the person reviewing picks one and it is remembered. Lumber prices move quickly, so what a quote promises stays your call: it is produced in your own template, with your own terms and conditions.
What the customer says besides the products is not thrown away. “Delivery Thursday morning, boom truck, call from the gate” is kept with the request under “Also in the message”, and a customer who asks for a fast answer gets an Urgent flag on the request while it is still open.
Timber merchants, builders’ merchants and trade counters (UK and Ireland)
A merchant’s counter has the same problem in different words. In the UK and Ireland the customer asks for “47x100 C24 at 4.8 metres”, “18mm WBP ply” and “12.5mm plasterboard TE”, and the yard on the other side of the road is a builders’ merchant, a timber merchant or a trade counter. Qotora reads those requests the same way and prices them from your own catalogue, in your currency and with VAT as you set it.
| Need | US and Canada lumber yard | UK and Ireland merchant |
|---|---|---|
| Framing timber | 2x4x8 SPF #2, 2x10x12 DF #2 | 47x100 C24 x 4.8m, 38x89 CLS x 2.4m |
| Sheet material | 7/16 OSB 4x8, 3/4 T&G ply 4x8 | 18mm WBP ply 2440x1220, 11mm OSB3 2440x1220 |
| Board | 1/2 in drywall 4x8, 5/8 type X 4x12 | 12.5mm plasterboard TE 2400x1200, 15mm fire board |
| Fixings | 16d sinkers 50 lb box, 3 in deck screws | 75mm round wire nails, 5.0 x 80 wood screws |
| Cement and sand | 94 lb bag Portland cement | 25kg cement, 25kg bag of sharp sand |
| Where it is bought | Lumber yard, will-call, pro desk | Builders’ merchant, timber merchant, trade counter |
Sample wording, not a catalogue. Your own catalogue decides which products and item numbers a line resolves to.
Your catalogue, your prices, your control
- Your catalogue and stock: Qotora matches against your own products, not a generic list.
- Your price rules: tiers, discounts and margins are the ones you set.
- Read-only on your system: Qotora reads your data and never writes into your software.
- A human decides: every quote is reviewed before it is sent, and there is no automatic sending.
- Corrections are remembered: when your team fixes a line, the correction counts the next time the same words arrive.
Getting started
The Counter plan is US$49 for the first month, then US$149 a month, for up to 150 quotes sent per month and unlimited users. Setup is included: our team connects Qotora to your software or imports your catalogue, stock and prices. You have a 7-day money-back guarantee, counted from the first quote you send with Qotora.
Distributors that send more quotes can choose the Team plan (US$349 a month, up to 500 quotes sent) or the Network plan (US$799 a month, up to 2,000 quotes sent).
Frequently asked questions
Can it read a framing takeoff that arrives as a PDF or an Excel sheet?
Yes. A PDF takeoff is read as a document and an Excel or CSV sheet is read row by row. Each line is matched to your catalogue, and the original text stays next to every line so your team can check it. The pages on PDF to quote and Excel to quote show what happens, and what is flagged.
What if the customer does not say the species, the grade or the treatment?
Qotora asks. It shows the products in your catalogue that fit the words and waits for your team to pick one. It does not default to the cheapest or the most common.
Does it handle prices that change often, like lumber?
Qotora applies the price your catalogue data holds when it prepares the quote and never makes up a price or a margin. A line with no price in your data is flagged for your team to fill in, and your quote template and terms stay your own.
Do you support timber merchants and builders’ merchants in the UK and Ireland?
Yes. The request vocabulary differs (C24, CLS, WBP ply, TE plasterboard) but the work is the same: read the line, find it in your catalogue, apply your prices, ask when it is unclear, and let a person review. Currency and VAT follow your settings.
Does it work with the software I already use?
Qotora works with whatever software you use: we connect it, or import your catalogue, stock and prices. It reads your data and never writes into your software.
Does a quote ever go out without my approval?
No. Every quote is reviewed by a person on your team before it is sent. There is no automatic sending.
How long does it take to prepare a quote?
A typical request takes seconds to under a minute to prepare once your data is connected; long PDFs, photos and voice notes take longer. Times vary with the request, and your review time is on top.
What does it cost?
US$49 for the first month, then US$149 a month on the Counter plan (up to 150 quotes sent per month, unlimited users). Setup is included, with a 7-day money-back guarantee counted from your first quote sent. Team and Network plans cover higher volumes.