Keep WhatsApp and the notebook if…
- Every job is small enough that a wrong version costs you an hour, not a week.
- You work alone and nobody has to reconstruct a job after you.
- You never need to prove what was agreed.
Helmar.AI vs WhatsApp and a notebook.
The fastest way to send a price is a message. It is also the fastest way to lose the version, the yes and the advance. Here is what keeps the speed and adds the record.
Product preview. Helmar.AI is in development. The features shown are planned; accounts and integrations are not open yet.
- Still sent on WhatsAppthe customer opens a page, no app
- A real yesa 6-digit code, not a thumbs-up
- Built for the phoneevery screen, also without signal
Verdict
Keep the chat for talking. Stop using it as the contract.
Switch if…
- A customer has said “that is not what we agreed” and the chat could not settle it.
- Advances arrive by transfer with no reference and you match them from memory.
- Photos of a notebook page are the only record of a price.
- The crew asks what to bring because the message is somewhere in the thread.
The same job
One facade, stage by stage.
Lukas asks for a price on a 240 m² facade. Here is what happens in each tool, from the site visit to the money on the account.
- 01Quote
WhatsApp and a notebook: A number worked out on the notebook page, photographed and sent.
Helmar.AI: Measured on site or from the map, priced from the confirmed book, checked before sending.
- 02Send
WhatsApp and a notebook: A voice note and a photo in the thread. Scrolled past by tomorrow.
Helmar.AI: Still sent on WhatsApp: a link to the page and the PDF of the exact version.
- 03Silence
WhatsApp and a notebook: Blue ticks, no answer. You will write again when you remember.
Helmar.AI: Day 3, 7 and 14 from your own address; opening the page does not count as a reply.
- 04Yes
WhatsApp and a notebook: A thumbs-up emoji. Which price, which options, which date?
Helmar.AI: One exact version accepted with a 6-digit code: name, time, version and hash.
- 05Invoice
WhatsApp and a notebook: A bank account number typed into the chat, an invoice from the accountant later.
Helmar.AI: Advance request with a bank link; the act and the VAT invoice in the Lithuanian order.
- 06Paid
WhatsApp and a notebook: A transfer with no reference; you match it from memory.
Helmar.AI: Bank feed matches the payment to the document; reminders stop within a minute.
Feature by feature
What each one does, honestly.
“Partly” means it can be done with effort or an add-on. Hover or tap a row for the detail.
WhatsApp and a notebook covers 0 of 26 fully and 5 partly. Helmar.AI covers all 26, some on Team or Business.
| What the job needs | WhatsApp and a notebook | Helmar.AI |
|---|---|---|
| Quoting | ||
| Price book with rows you confirmed | ||
| Quantities measured on site, linked to each lineWhatsApp and a notebook: by hand, on the page | ||
| Assemblies: one measurement becomes every line | ||
| Options the customer ticks, priced and locked | ||
| Margin, VAT and validity checked before sending | ||
| Sending and acceptance | ||
| Customer page and PDF, no account, no app | ||
| One exact version accepted, changes become v2 | ||
| Evidence: name, time, version and document hashWhatsApp and a notebook: the chat history, if nobody deletes it | ||
| Smart-ID and Mobile-ID when it matters | Business | |
| Change orders accepted before the extra work | ||
| Follow-ups and replies | ||
| Follow-ups on real silence, day 3, 7 and 14WhatsApp and a notebook: when you remember | ||
| Any reply stops the sequence within 60 seconds | ||
| Replies queue with an owner and a due time | ||
| Safe mode: preview the next seven days | ||
| Money and documents | ||
| Advance request, act and VAT invoice in the Lithuanian order | ||
| Payment plan frozen with the accepted version | ||
| Bank feed matches payments to documents | Team and Business | |
| Bank link and card payments from the customer's phone | ||
| Rivilė sync, i.SAF export, Peppol e-invoices | Team and Business; Peppol on Business | |
| Crew and jobs | ||
| Crew app without prices, also offlineWhatsApp and a notebook: a group chat with everything in it, prices included | ||
| Checklists, photos and the signed handover | ||
| Job margin against the estimate as costs arrive | ||
| Purchase orders from the accepted lines | ||
| Control | ||
| Audit trail nobody can edit | ||
| Roles: the office works without seeing margins | ||
| Export everything, any timeWhatsApp and a notebook: a chat export | ||
- Yes
- Partly
- No
- “Partly” means it can be done with effort, a workaround or an add-on.
Your numbers
What silence costs you, in your own numbers.
Most estimates are not lost to a competitor. They go quiet. Put in your own figures; the defaults are only examples.
Example values. Change them to your own numbers; nothing here is a benchmark or a promise.
At stake every month
€5,760
€69,120 a year
Work that goes silent and is never followed up. Helmar.AI follows up on day 3, 7 and 14 from your own address, and any reply stops the rest within 60 seconds.
How follow-ups workSwitching
An afternoon, then a real customer.
Bring what you have. Nothing goes out to a customer until you approve it.
01
Import your prices
Upload your Excel or CSV, map the columns and confirm each row. Or send it to us and we import it for you.
02
Add the quotes you already sent
Add them in 30 seconds each, forward the email or import a list. Follow-ups start from the real sent dates.
03
Approve the follow-up templates
Read the day 3, 7 and 14 notes, edit the wording, and check safe mode: the next seven days before anything goes out.
04
Invite the office and the crews
The office answers replies without seeing margins; crew app users are free and never see a price.
When a notebook is enough
Honestly: sometimes it is.
Small repairs, same day
A gutter fix agreed in the morning and paid in the evening does not need a version history.
You work alone and remember everything
With no office, crew or accountant to hand a job over to, the notebook is your record. Until it is not.
You will still use WhatsApp
So does Helmar.AI: proposals and follow-ups go out where the customer said they read. Only the record moves.
Questions
Straight answers.
- Do my customers need to install anything?
- No. They open a page or a PDF from your email, SMS or WhatsApp, choose options and accept with a 6-digit code.
- Can I still send from my own phone?
- Yes. Every screen works on a phone, and today’s jobs and measurements stay available without signal.
- What counts as a yes?
- A name, a time, the exact version and the document hash, recorded when the customer enters the code. A simple electronic signature under eIDAS.
- How do I get the quotes I already sent in?
- Add each one in 30 seconds, forward the email, or import a list. Follow-ups start from the real sent dates.
See the preview
Keep the speed. Add the record.
Explore the product preview in a 20-minute demo. Accounts are not open yet. No card, no obligation.