How it works
From contractor request to quote review.
Goodshed translates what contractors send into what your quoting process needs. Your team stays responsible for every quote.
01Five stages
What happens to a request.
- 1
Request arrives
A contractor sends a request the way they always have: a few lines in an email, a spreadsheet, a PDF, or a BOM. It lands in the inbox your team already watches.
“need 20 of the same QO breakers and 2,000 ft of #12 black”
- 2
Goodshed structures it
Goodshed reads the request and attachments, then breaks them into structured quote lines: requested item, quantity, and unit of measure.
2 lines · 20 EA · 2,000 FT
- 3
Products are resolved
Each line is resolved against your catalog using manufacturer numbers, descriptions, product attributes, and customer order history. When more than one item could fit, Goodshed keeps the candidates side by side for review.
Customers don’t need to know your internal item numbers. Goodshed resolves their language into your catalog.
SQD QO230 · #12 THHN BLK: stranded or solid?
- 4
Pricing and availability are checked
Where the data is available, Goodshed attaches customer pricing, branch availability, and relevant account history to each resolved line.
Contract price · North branch stock
- 5
Your team reviews and approves
A rep opens a quote draft with routine lines resolved and uncertain lines flagged. They make the judgment calls, approve the quote, and send it.
1 exception reviewed · quote approved
02Example
One request, start to finish.
An illustrative repeat order from a contractor your team already knows.
Customer sends
ABC Electric7:42 AM
“Need 20 of the same QO breakers and 2,000 ft of #12 black.”
Goodshed
Identifies the customer
ABC Electric
Identifies project context
Lakeview Hospital · active project
Retrieves the historical purchase
20 × Square D QO230 on the Phase 1 order
Resolves product candidates
QO230 · #12 THHN black, stranded or solid
Retrieves current quote context
Contract pricing · North branch stock
Flags uncertainty
The account has bought both stranded and solid #12
Your rep
Reviews one exception
Confirms stranded #12 THHN, matching the Phase 1 order.
Approves the quote
Two lines, priced and checked, ready to send.
03No customer portal
Why Goodshed doesn’t require a customer portal.
Your customers can keep emailing spreadsheets and material lists.
Goodshed adapts to their workflow instead of asking them to adopt yours.
Portal approach
- Customers re-enter requests in your format
- Value depends on customer adoption
- Emails and spreadsheets still create manual work
Goodshed
- Customers send requests the way they already do
- No customer-side workflow change
- Everything feeds the same internal quote process
04The historical test
Prove it on work your team already completed.
Early-access partners test Goodshed on historical RFQs before any live workflow changes.
- 01
Send historical RFQs and final quotes
- 02
Goodshed rebuilds the quote without seeing the answer
- 03
We compare the output against your team’s completed quote
- 04
You see exactly what Goodshed resolved correctly, what differed, and what required review
No live ERP connection is required for the initial historical test.
- 20 QO 30A 2PTeam: SQD QO230Goodshed: SQD QO230Match
- 2000' #12 THHN BLKTeam: THHN12-STR-BLKGoodshed: THHN12-STR-BLKMatch
- 12 HBL5362W OR EQUALTeam: EATON CR20WGoodshed: HBL5362WOriginal requested itemDifferent from final quote
- 4S COVERS SAME AS HOSPTeam: 4S-FBCGoodshed: Flagged: 2 candidatesUncertain
- 40 3/4 EMT SS CONNTeam: EMT-SSC-075Goodshed: EMT-SSC-075Match
Every line is shown—including mismatches and uncertain results—so your team can see exactly where Goodshed worked and where it didn’t.
What we ask for
- 0110–20 historical RFQs, exactly as customers sent them
- 02The final quotes your team sent for those RFQs
- 03A product or item export. Pricing and inventory exports help, but are optional for the first test
What you get back
- 01Goodshed’s rebuilt quote for each RFQ
- 02A line-by-line comparison against your team’s quote
- 03Every line classified as matched, different, or uncertain, with nothing averaged away
05Questions
Common questions
Do we need to connect our ERP?
Not to start. The historical test runs on files and exports. Deeper integration is scoped only after Goodshed has proven itself on your quotes.
Do our customers need to change anything?
No. Contractors keep sending requests by email, spreadsheet, PDF, or BOM, to the same people and inboxes as today.
Does Goodshed send quotes to customers on its own?
No. Goodshed prepares the draft. Your team reviews the exceptions and approves every quote before it goes out.
Does Goodshed check code compliance or engineering suitability?
No. Goodshed matches requests to products in your catalog and surfaces uncertainty. Product suitability, substitutions, and code decisions stay with your team and the project’s engineer.
What does the historical test need from us?
10–20 historical RFQs exactly as customers sent them, the final quotes your team sent, and a catalog or item export. Price files help if you have them. We agree on how files are shared before anything is sent.
We’re working with a small group of U.S. and Canadian electrical distributors.
If your team regularly handles contractor RFQs, large material lists, project quotes, or manual product matching, we’d like to learn about your workflow.
