Flow 08·Company claim·airship, housecallpro, eden

Proposal creation

Turning the estimate into a customer-facing document. Airship is the strongest external evidence for what this looks like as a specialized product. Housecall Pro's Sales Proposal Tool is a paid add-on. Most contractors use PDF generators or word processors.

Trade proposal

User goal

Homeowner needs to understand what they are being asked to buy — what work is done, what it costs, why it is worth it. Contractor needs a proposal that presents multiple options, explains the value, and makes it easy to say yes.Hypothesis

Treehouse implication

Treehouse currently generates proposals via PandaDoc. Airship's model — inline financing, monthly payment framing, homeowner tablet presentation — represents the direction the market is moving. The key Treehouse question: should a Treehouse-generated proposal be presented by the contractor in the home, or does Treehouse's remote-first model mean the proposal is reviewed asynchronously by the homeowner?Treehouse internal

How competitors approach this

2 companies mapped. Click a company's "View flow" link to see their captured screens.

Company	What they do	What they automate	Contractor control	FSM relationship	Key strength	Key weakness	Treehouse implication
Airship View flow →	Tablet-based, homeowner-facing interactive proposal. Good/better/best options with equipment details, monthly payment alongside upfront cost, inline financing applications, automated rebate matching. Designed for in-home kitchen-table presentation.Company claimSource	Option assembly from price book, monthly payment calculation, rebate matching from government/utility/retailer/manufacturer databases, proposal formatting and branding.Company claimSource	Owner configures option structure, pricing, and branding. Tech presents on tablet. Manager sees pipeline of presented/shared/sold proposals.Company claimSource	Reads from ServiceTitan price book. Writes accepted proposal back to ServiceTitan automatically — 'no double entry.'Company claimSource	Monthly payment alongside upfront cost in the same proposal. 'Plays Well in the Sandbox' — no rip and replace. 20-40% more closed jobs (company claim, not verified).Company claimSource	Product interior is gated (requires-sales-demo for all product captures). HVAC has much deeper intelligence (AHRI, Manual J) than electrical. Proposal starts at the in-home visit — does not address pre-visit scoping.Hypothesis	Airship's proposal model is the benchmark for in-home sales. Treehouse's model is remote — the proposal may be delivered before any site visit. Those are different use cases: Airship optimizes the closing conversation; Treehouse potentially eliminates the need for one.Hypothesis
Housecall Pro View flow →	Sales Proposal Tool: a paid add-on bundled only into the Max plan. Generates a customer-facing branded proposal separate from the line-item estimate. Estimates are in every plan; the proposal tool is premium.Company claimSource	Branded proposal assembly from estimate line items. Digital delivery link.Company claimSource	Contractor configures branding and proposal template. Reviews before sending.Company claimSource	Native to HCP — proposal lives within the HCP job record. Acceptance updates the job directly.Company claimSource	Integrated with the FSM — no writeback needed. Familiar interface for contractors already in HCP.Company claimSource	Premium-only ($169/mo+). Proposal tool is generic — no trade-specific intelligence, financing, or option structure comparable to Airship. The distinction between estimate and proposal suggests the product sees these as different documents, which creates extra steps.Hypothesis	HCP's proposal tool is table stakes — a branded PDF. Treehouse's proposal, backed by a load calculation and permit-ready design, is a fundamentally different document. The question is whether homeowners value the technical depth or just the formatting.Hypothesis

Treehouse read

What Treehouse owns, orchestrates, and defers to the FSM — plus six supporting questions that shape architecture decisions. All entries are hypothesis until validated internally.

Treehouse ownsCore IP or data that Treehouse controls and no partner provides.

The proposal document — the customer-facing presentation of the scope, options, pricing, and technical rationale. The Treehouse proposal is differentiated by its connection to the Edison scope and Panel IQ data.Treehouse internal

Treehouse orchestratesThird-party capabilities Treehouse coordinates but does not own.

Financing application flow (via a financing partner). Digital signature and acceptance. FSM writeback of the accepted proposal.Hypothesis

Stays in the FSMWorkflow or data that belongs in the contractor's system of record.

After acceptance: the job record, the work order, scheduling, and dispatch. The proposal lives in Treehouse; the execution lives in the FSM.Hypothesis

Differentiated intelligenceWhat Treehouse knows or computes that competitors cannot easily replicate.

A proposal backed by a load calculation — not just a price list, but a technically defensible scope with NEC citations. The homeowner (or building department) can see why each item is required. That level of technical transparency is unusual at the residential contractor level.Treehouse internal

Commodity infrastructureCapabilities that are table stakes — others have them too.

Proposal formatting and branding. Digital signature infrastructure. Email delivery.Hypothesis

Persists across the journeyData or state from this step that must travel to later steps without re-entry.

The accepted proposal becomes the foundation for the work order, the permit application, and the invoice. The pricing, option selection, and technical scope all need to flow from proposal acceptance through to job completion.Hypothesis

Contractor seesWhat the contractor-facing UI surfaces from this step.

A proposal preview before sending. Acceptance status when the homeowner views and signs. An alert if the homeowner opens but doesn't sign.Hypothesis

Happens automaticallyWorkflow events that fire without a contractor action.

Proposal assembly from scope and BOM. Financing option calculation. Digital delivery. FSM writeback on acceptance.Hypothesis

Human takeoverConditions that require a contractor or Treehouse team member to intervene.

Any homeowner question about scope, pricing, or technical content. Any proposal that requires customization beyond the standard template. Financing application exceptions.Hypothesis

Research detail11-field structured template: contractor workflow, information flows, product outputs, FSM read/write

User goalWhat the homeowner and contractor each need from this step.

Contractor workflowHow contractors handle this step today, with or without software.

After the estimate, the contractor assembles a customer-facing document: scope summary, equipment options, pricing, financing, and an acceptance mechanism. For most contractors: a PDF generated from a template, or a simple text email.Hypothesis

Information entersWhat data flows in — from the homeowner, the FSM, prior steps.

From estimate: priced BOM, option structure (good/better/best). From design: scope of work summary, equipment specifications. From contractor: company branding, photos, optional add-ons.Hypothesis

What the product doesWhat the software handles — based on evidence, not assumptions.

Airship: dynamic presentation with good/better/best options, monthly payment alongside upfront cost, automated rebate matching, homeowner-facing tablet presentation. HCP: a Sales Proposal Tool paid add-on that generates a branded customer-facing proposal separate from the line-item estimate.Company claimSource

Contractor must doSteps that always require a human decision or action.

Review the assembled proposal. Confirm option names, descriptions, and pricing. Select which add-ons to include. Choose financing options to present.Company claimSource

Requires judgmentWhere automation breaks down and a licensed trade professional is needed.

Which equipment options to present and at what price points. How to frame premium options relative to standard. Which add-ons are relevant for this homeowner. Whether to lead with monthly payment or total price.Hypothesis

Product outputsWhat the step produces — data, documents, FSM records.

A customer-facing proposal with multiple options, pricing, financing, rebates, and a digital acceptance mechanism. For Airship: a tablet-ready interactive presentation. For HCP: a PDF or digital link.Company claimSource

FSM read / writeWhat the tool reads from and writes to the contractor's system of record.

Airship: accepted proposal writes back to ServiceTitan automatically. HCP: proposal is native to HCP — acceptance updates the job record directly.Company claimSource

Product strengthsWhat the best products in this step do unusually well.

Airship: monthly payment alongside upfront cost within the proposal removes the homeowner's need to calculate affordability. Automated rebate matching reduces the contractor's research burden. Good/better/best structure standardizes option presentation.Company claimSource

Product weaknessesWhere current products fall short or create new problems.

Airship's product interior is gated — all captures are requires-sales-demo. The financing and rebate claims are company-claims, not observed. HCP's proposal tool is a paid add-on in the most expensive plan tier.Hypothesis

Treehouse implicationWhat this step means for Treehouse's product positioning and architecture.

Open questions

01What does Treehouse's proposal actually contain today — scope summary, line items, photos, NEC citations?
02Should the Treehouse proposal be designed for asynchronous remote review or in-home presentation?
03Does Treehouse need inline financing, or is the PandaDoc link sufficient for the current customer mix?
04What are the conversion rates on proposals sent asynchronously vs. presented in person?
05Where does the proposal end and the contract begin — is the proposal also the contract in Treehouse's model?