BidCraft Tile
BidCraftTile
← What's new
2026-05-29

Every Project Template now ships pre-populated — no more starting from scratch

New accounts land with all 15 project-type templates already populated — lines, materials, tasks, sub-scope tags, the whole shape. Existing accounts get empty templates filled in automatically (your edits stay safe). And there's a Reset to Defaults button if you bend a template too far and want to start over.

Every Project Template now ships pre-populated — no more starting from scratch

The biggest unlock in the catalog overhaul: when you open a Project Template for any of the 15 supported project types (Shower Remodel, Full Bathroom Remodel, Backsplash Install, Tub-to-Shower, Floor Only, Heated Floor, LVP, Vanity Replacement, and more), you'll find it already populated — typical lines for that project type, with materials, tasks, and sub-scope bundle tags filled in.

You used to have to click Initialize from BidCraft's typical scope to seed an empty template, and even then you'd only get the line titles — materials and tasks were left blank for you to populate. Now everything ships ready to go.

What you'll see on each line

Every pre-populated line comes with:

  • A title and scope blurb in the contractor voice you'd use on a proposal
  • A pricing mode (crew days / per sqft / per linear ft / pass-through) appropriate to that line's work
  • Materials — categories like thinset (large format), waterproofing sheet membrane, backer board, grout — each with a quantity formula that scales to the project's actual dimensions
  • Tasks — real installation tasks with realistic hour estimates (which the calibration loop will tune to your actual reality over time)
  • Bundle tags showing what sub-scopes the line covers (e.g. Tile Install bundles waterproofing + substrate prep + grout) — these prevent the AI from splitting bundled work into separate cost lines

Materials ship with category names, not specific products. Pick your favorite product for each category (in your materials library) and BidCraft will use your favorites at proposal time. Until you do, BidCraft uses a typical price for that category so proposals still come out with sane cost numbers.

How the rollout works for existing accounts

We didn't want to overwrite anyone's work. The seeding is non-destructive:

  • If a template was already populated with lines you've edited — left completely alone. Your edits are safe.
  • If a template was empty — full seed dropped in.
  • If a template had lines but the materials/tasks were blank (the common case for contractors who clicked Initialize but never populated the lines) — materials, tasks, and bundle tags get filled in by matching template lines to seed lines by title. Your titles, blurbs, and pricing modes are preserved exactly.

If you'd rather start over from BidCraft's defaults on any particular template, there's a new ↻ Reset to defaults link in the template page header. It overwrites the current template with the BidCraft starting shape — confirmation required so you don't tap it by accident.

Why this matters for the demo

The pitch was always "BidCraft's catalog grows with you" — but cold-start contractors landed in an empty catalog and had to bootstrap from nothing. Now the catalog ships with a thoughtful starting shape contractors can refine, instead of an empty page that nobody fills in.

The 15 categories live in code and can be expanded easily as we add more project types. Future updates to the platform defaults won't touch contractor-edited templates — you'll always own your saved playbooks.