A Amal Jood
← Freelance work Freelance · Revenue operations · Process redesign · AI

Faster quotes win more jobs. So I rebuilt the quoting process.

For an HVAC contracting company, every new project starts with an architectural drawing and ends with a quote. The steps in between were slow, manual and dependent on senior engineers. CoolMist turns a drawing PDF into a reviewed, priced estimate in one workspace. Output went from 5 estimates a day to 30, and the sales team can now quote on site without waiting for an estimator.

My roleProcess design, architect & builder
ClientHVAC contracting company
UsersEngineers, estimators & the sales team
TypeWeb app, AI vision + pricing engine
5 → 30quotations and estimates per day
6xestimating capacity with the same team
On-sitesales can quote during urgent site visits, with no backend estimator needed
0CAD skills needed to produce a quote

Why this is a revenue problem

In contracting, the quote is the sales pipeline. How fast and how consistently you can price a drawing decides how many jobs you can bid on, and how many you win.

Input

Faster estimating

From 5 to 30 estimates a day.

→
Capacity

Sales can quote

No waiting for a backend estimator, even on site.

→
Speed

First to respond

Clients often go with the first credible quote.

→
Outcome

More jobs won

Consistent pricing also protects margin on every bid.

The problem

Quoting was a skilled, manual process, which made it slow to scale.

Estimator bottleneck

Reading drawings needed CAD skills, so only a few people could quote. Sales on an urgent site visit had to wait for a backend estimator.

Tools that don't talk

Drawings in one tool, measurements and tonnage in a spreadsheet, prices in a list, and the quote typed up somewhere else.

Inconsistent pricing

Different people rounding tonnage or picking prices differently meant different quotes for the same job.

The process, before and after

I mapped the quoting process step by step, then handed each step to whoever does it best: AI for reading, rules for maths, and the engineer for judgement.

Before Manual

  1. Open the drawing and find the project and client details in the title block
  2. Work out which sheets matter (floor plans vs. everything else)
  3. Identify every room that needs air conditioning
  4. Measure each room in CAD or by hand
  5. Calculate tonnage in a spreadsheet and round to unit sizes
  6. Look up prices for each brand and unit type
  7. Retype everything into a quote
Every step done by a person, mostly a senior engineer.

After CoolMist

  1. Upload the PDF
  2. AI reads project details, picks the relevant floor plans and labels the AC rooms AI
  3. Set the scale once per sheet by clicking a known wall Engineer
  4. Outline each room. Area, tonnage and cost appear instantly Auto
  5. Adjust tonnage or brand where the room needs it Engineer
  6. Review and confirm, then export or quote Engineer
The engineer's time goes to judgement, not data entry.

The system

A vision AI does the reading, a calibrated measuring tool does the geometry, and a pricing engine does the maths.

1 · Upload
Drawing PDFmulti-page, no setup needed
2 · AI reads
Title blockproject, client, location, drawing no.
Sheet indexwhich pages to estimate
Room labelsareas that need AC
3 · Measure
Calibrate scaleper sheet
Outline roomsrectangle, L-shape, polygon
4 · Calculate
Area → tonnagerounded up to a standard unit size
Brand & unit pricingmix and match per room
5 · Output
Reviewed estimate
CSV by sheet
Zoho Books quotephase 2
AI step Engineer step Rules engine Dashed border = planned

Decisions that matter

Where to trust AI, where to trust rules, and where to trust the engineer.

AI reads, people measure

AI is great at finding project details, sheets and room names. Measurements that drive the price come from the engineer's outline on a calibrated sheet, not an AI guess.

Calibrate every sheet

Each floor plan gets its own scale from one known wall. Drawings at different scales in the same PDF are still measured accurately.

Always round up

Tonnage rounds up to the next standard unit size, so a room is never quoted with a unit that's too small.

Override, with a reset button

Engineers can bump tonnage for sun-facing or busy rooms, and the cost updates instantly. One click restores the calculated value.

Pricing lives in one place

Brand and unit prices are managed centrally. Change a price once and every new estimate uses it. Mix brands per room to find the best total for the client.

Built for all-day use

Zoom, undo and finish-shape all have keyboard shortcuts, and the whole flow works with a mouse alone. It's fast for experts and simple for beginners.

What's next

The roadmap closes the loop from drawing to invoice.

  1. 01

    Quote straight into Zoho Books

    A confirmed estimate becomes a quotation automatically, carrying the project, client, room breakdown and pricing.

  2. 02

    Pricing grid for faster mix and match

    Compare brands and unit types side by side in the interface.

  3. 03

    Direct AutoCAD import

    Read DWG and DXF files directly, skipping the PDF step for engineers who already work in CAD.

Where else this works

Any business where a drawing, spec or site plan has to become a priced quote before you can win the work.

  • MEP & electrical contractors
  • Fit-out & interiors
  • Solar installers
  • Flooring & roofing
  • Fire & safety systems
  • Facilities management

Built with

ReactTypeScriptViteTailwind CSSSupabaseEdge functionsVision LLMPDF renderingZoho Books (planned)LovableClaude