From a photo of a material list to a priced draft quote

Why photographed lists matter

A large share of trade orders never starts as a file. A contractor writes the list on site, on a pad, the back of a drawing or a cardboard box, takes a photo and sends it. Those lists are the slowest to quote, because someone has to read the handwriting, type every line and then search the catalogue. They are also the ones most likely to be left until later in the day, which is when the contractor buys elsewhere.

Photographed lists are the hard case, and I treat them as one: the aim is not a perfect read every time, it is to get the clear lines priced at once and make the doubtful lines obvious.

What happens to the photo

1. Text recognition. The PNG or JPG is read by text recognition into lines of text: description, quantity and, where written, the unit.
2. Line split. Each written line becomes one line on the draft, with the recognised text kept next to it so the person approving can compare.
3. Match. Each line is matched to a product in your own catalogue.
4. Price. Matched lines are priced from your own price data: customer price, then group price, then list price.
5. Flag. Anything uncertain is flagged with the reason.
6. Approve. A person checks the flags and approves. Only then does a quote go out, as an A4 PDF with your logo plus a CSV of the lines.

When a line cannot be read

Handwriting is not always clear, and text recognition is weaker on handwriting than on print. So the rule is simple: when a word, a size or a quantity cannot be read with confidence, the line is flagged instead of guessed. Typical flags on a photographed list are:

• a quantity where a 1 and a 7, or a 5 and an S, look alike;
• a size that is half off the edge of the photo;
• a smudged or overwritten figure;
• an abbreviation that fits more than one product in your range;
• a line with no price in your data, which stays visibly unpriced.

A wrong guess on a cable size or a pipe diameter costs more than a question. Your colleague sees the original line, the recognised text and the candidates, and decides. That is also why every draft from a photo is checked by a person, flagged lines or not.

How to get a better read

A few habits on the sender's side make a real difference, and they cost nothing to pass on to your customers:

• Take the photo straight on, with the whole page in the frame.
• Use daylight or a bright room, and avoid the shadow of the phone across the page.
• One list per photo; a second page is a second photo.
• Write the quantity at the start of each line and the unit after it.
• If the phone saves photos as HEIC, send them as JPG: PNG and JPG are the photo formats read today.

None of these is required. A poor photo still produces a draft; it just has more flagged lines for a person to settle.

Formats and limits

Photos are read as PNG or JPG. A scanned list inside a PDF is read the same way, through text recognition on the scanned pages, for PDFs of up to 10 pages. Typed lists can also arrive as XLSX, CSV or TSV files, or as plain text in an email, which avoids recognition altogether. If a customer can send the same list as a spreadsheet, that is always the quickest route, but they do not have to.

Your catalogue and prices come from your own system as CSV, XLSX or TSV exports. There is no native connection to merchant systems.

Pricing

Starter £390 a month for up to 20 requests, and Team £790 a month for 3 users and up to 200 requests, with no setup fee. Full rollout £1,290 a month for up to 500 requests or £3,900 a month for up to 1,500, plus £5,950 onboarding including the £1,490 paid pilot. How the paid pilot works ↗

Frequently asked questions