What the Estimate API does

The Estimate API prices home-service jobs. Send what a customer wrote, the conversation so far, or photos of the job. The API answers with the job it recognized, the labor hours, the hourly rate and a price range in the currency of the region.

What an estimate contains

• task: the job Hometown recognized, such as a wood fence installation.
• scope: the quantity, the crew size and how sure the estimate is.
• labor: the labor hours, the time on site with the crew, the hourly rate and where the rate came from.
• price: the low and high end of the range, in cents.
• steps: the calculation, one line per step, in the language of the request.

How a request works

1. Your server sends POST /v1/estimates with a test or live key.
2. Hometown reads the description, finds the job and measures it.
3. The answer comes back in the same request, usually within a few seconds.
4. When a size is missing, the status is needs_detail and question says what to ask.

Where to start

• Follow the quickstart to make the first call with a test key.
• Read about keys and authentication before going live.
• Browse the API reference for every field.