Shop Leak Test — 60-Second Report Card

By Dan Miller · Last updated October 31, 2026 · A free TradeAI Tools tool

Most home service shops lose money in three quiet places: calls nobody answered, estimates nobody followed up, and invoices nobody chased. This test adds yours up in about a minute — then hands you the exact messages that fix the biggest one. No signup, no email, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere: the math runs in your browser.

Your trade Plumbing HVAC Electrical Other home service

Calls per month

Missed calls per month

Busy, on a job, after hours — any call that never reached a person.

Estimates sent per month

Estimates that got NO follow-up message

The quote went out, then silence. Be honest — this is the leak most shops underestimate.

Unpaid invoices currently stuck ($)

Work done, invoice sent, money not in your account yet — total it up.

Average job value ($)

Typical close rate (%)

An assumption, clearly labeled: of the quotes you do send, roughly what share turn into jobs? It is used for both leaks below, and you can change it.

How the math works (so you can argue with it)

• Missed-call loss = missed calls × average job value × close rate. Not every missed call was a job — the close rate is there to keep the number honest.
• Estimate loss = estimates with no follow-up × average job value × close rate.
• Cash stuck = your unpaid invoices, exactly as entered. This money is owed, not gone — we label it stuck, not lost.
• Grade: we look at your missed-call share (missed ÷ total calls) and your unfollowed share (no follow-up ÷ estimates sent). A = both at or under 10%, B = both at or under 25%, C = both at or under 40%, D = either over 40%, F = either over 60%. It is a prompt to act, not an industry benchmark.

Late payment is not rare, by the way: 56% of US small businesses are owed money from unpaid invoices, averaging $17,500 each, and 47% have invoices more than 30 days overdue (Intuit QuickBooks, US Small Business Late Payments Report 2025 — survey of 2,487 US small businesses). If a number on this page ever looks wrong, tell us — accuracy is the whole point of this site.

Fix the biggest leak first

• Phones: see what an AI receptionist would really cost your shop with the True-Cost Calculator, or compare every price in the AI Receptionist Price Index.
• Missed calls: set up missed-call text-back in an afternoon — no new number, no new software contract.
• Silent estimates: run the 48-hour estimate follow-up system that stops jobs going cold.

This tool is free and carries no affiliate links. Some pages it points to may contain clearly labeled affiliate links — they never change our numbers.