=== ApproxIt - Service Estimate Builder ===
Contributors: tmoubray
Tags: estimator, quote calculator, cost calculator, service business, lead capture
Requires at least: 6.2
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Build custom, real-time service estimators that let customers price out jobs and book work directly from your website. Turn raw traffic into hot, scored leads.

== Description ==

**ApproxIt Lite** is a visual, self-contained service estimator built specifically for tradespeople and service companies who are tired of playing phone tag just to give a baseline quote.

Whether you manage a residential cleaning company, a lawn care business, or a pressure washing crew, your website shouldn't just be a static business card. It should be your hardest-working salesperson.

With ApproxIt, prospective clients pick their services, adjust the project variables, and see an accurate running total dynamically. When they hit submit, they get a professional digital receipt, and a clean, prioritized lead lands directly in your WordPress dashboard—no messy spreadsheets, no third-party middleman markup, and zero monthly software fees.

= What you can do with Lite =

* **Visual Estimator Builder** — Drag-and-drop your core line items and add-ons. Set flat rates or per-unit pricing (by the hour, room, or square foot) and assign billing cycles (one-time, per-visit, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) instantly.
* **4 Pre-Built Industry Blueprints** — Start bidding in seconds. Includes pre-configured starter catalogs for Lawn Care & Landscaping, House Cleaning, Window Cleaning, and Power Washing. Load a template, tweak your local price rates, and publish.
* **Customer-Facing Form** — Deliver a clean, seamless two-step flow with a live running total. Drop it anywhere on your site using the native **ApproxIt Estimator** Gutenberg block or a simple shortcode.
* **Local Dashboard Pipeline** — Ditch the notebooks. Every single submission automatically ranks as a Hot, Warm, or Cold lead based on job size and contact completeness, moving cleanly through your workflow from "New" to "Won."
* **Advanced Bot & Spam Defense** — Keep your database clean with built-in invisible honeypots, execution timing security tokens, and strict IP rate-limiting to block automated form bots entirely.
* **Instant Data Export** — Export your leads to CSV or JSON with one click for accounting, CRM import, or end-of-year backups.
* **Automated Receipts & Alerts** — Send instant email receipts to clients and alert emails to your crew via WordPress, complete with your direct business phone number so hot leads can call you right away.

= Designed to grow with you =

ApproxIt Lite is 100% functional out of the box and never expires. But when your dispatch volume grows and you want to completely automate your quoting office, [ApproxIt Pro](https://approxitpro.com) unlocks advanced industrial features built to maximize your closing rates.

Upgrade to Pro to unlock:

* **Smart Surcharge Questions** — Protect your margins with conditional multipliers and flat-fee adjustments (e.g., "How steep is the roof?", "Is the yard overgrown?").
* **Package Bundles** — Upsell effortlessly by displaying Good / Better / Best tiers side-by-side, complete with a highlighted recommended package.
* **Satellite Map Measuring Canvas** — Let clients trace their own lawns, driveways, or roof footprints directly on a live Google Maps window. The square footage automatically fills your per-unit pricing quantity.
* **AI Property Intelligence Engine** — Automatically research property boundaries and structural details via address data analysis before you ever roll a truck.
* **Instant SMS Dispatch Routing** — Fire instant text alerts to your cell phone the second a high-value estimate drops, and trigger automated follow-ups via Twilio.
* **Professional Email Delivery** — Direct SendGrid integration for signed, deliverable transactional email without needing a bloated SMTP plugin.
* **Abandoned Lead Rescue** — Automatically track and follow up with users who started an estimate but didn't finish.
* **9 Advanced Business Blueprints** — Instantly load complex pricing matrices for HVAC, Painting, Roofing, Pool Service, Tree Service, Plumbing, Concrete & Paving, Garage Door, and Solar Panel Service.

== Installation ==

1. Install via **Plugins → Add New** in your WordPress admin and search for "ApproxIt", or upload the `approxit` folder directly to `/wp-content/plugins/`.
2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** menu.
3. Open **Estimators → Add New Estimator**. Pick an industry template to load a full catalog instantly, or build a custom estimator from scratch.
4. Save your estimator. Each estimator generates its own unique ID shortcode (e.g., `[approxit id="42"]`) shown in the right sidebar.
5. To place the estimator on your site, open any page or post editor. Click the **(+)** button to add a block, search for **"ApproxIt Estimator"**, and select your build. Alternatively, paste your shortcode anywhere your theme allows.
6. Head to **Estimators → Settings** to configure your From Name, Owner Alert Email, and Business Phone Number so receipts look professional.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does ApproxIt Lite send my business data to third-party servers? =

**No.** Lite is fully self-contained. The customer-facing form posts directly to your own WordPress site. Lead notifications are sent from your own server. Lite makes zero outbound calls to external services. Your leads belong to you.

If you eventually install [ApproxIt Pro](https://approxitpro.com), the advanced features (Google Maps drawing, SMS, SendGrid email) use third-party APIs that you connect using your own secure API keys.

= Where are my leads stored? =

Each submitted lead becomes a private record (`approxit_lead`) secured in your local WordPress database. They're never sent off-site or analyzed by outside companies. Deleting the plugin via the WordPress admin completely wipes all leads, estimators, and settings.

= How do I add the estimator to a page? =

You have two equally good options:

* **Block (recommended):** Edit any page or post, click the **(+)** button, search for **"ApproxIt Estimator"**, and select which estimator to display. Place it anywhere in your layout — it behaves exactly like any other native block.
* **Shortcode:** Paste `[approxit id="42"]` (using your own estimator's ID) into any page, post, sidebar widget, or theme template that runs shortcodes.

= Why aren't my estimate emails arriving to customers? =

Email deliverability depends entirely on your website's hosting provider. On most shared hosts (and even premium hosts like WP Engine), default WordPress emails get flagged as spam by Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.

We strongly recommend installing a free transactional SMTP plugin alongside ApproxIt to sign your outgoing mail correctly:

* [FluentSMTP](https://wordpress.org/plugins/fluent-smtp/) — Fully free, handles major providers perfectly.
* [WP Mail SMTP](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-mail-smtp/) — Broadest provider support in the directory.
* [Post SMTP](https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-smtp/) — Great OAuth support for Gmail and Outlook accounts.

Make sure your **From Email** in ApproxIt matches your authenticated business domain (e.g., `quotes@yourbusiness.com`, not a generic Gmail address).

= How does the lead ranking algorithm work? =

ApproxIt scores every submission instantly to save your team time, using smart, realistic business indicators rather than unpredictable AI guesses:

* **Job Value** — Higher estimated project value gives the lead a higher baseline priority (up to 30 points).
* **Booking Intent** — If a customer takes the time to provide a specific phone number and physical property address, the system boosts their score significantly.
* **Project Scope** — Multi-service requests or choices containing add-on line items signal a highly motivated buyer and raise the priority badge to Hot automatically.

You can also manually override any lead's status directly from the dashboard if things change after a phone call.

= Can I customize the form text? =

Yes. Every single estimator has editable **Form Title** and **Form Subtitle** fields. Leave them blank to use the clean defaults ("What do you need?" / "Select all the services you're interested in.").

= Does the layout work with my theme? =

Yes. The public form uses scoped CSS variables (`--ax-accent`, etc.), meaning it automatically inherits your existing theme's brand color when configured, while falling back to a clean, modern default otherwise. It is fully mobile-responsive so contractors can give estimates from a phone in the field.

= Can I have more than one estimator on the same site? =

Build as many as you need. Every estimator operates independently with its own services, add-ons, and layout colors. This is perfect if you run multiple service lines (e.g., Residential Cleaning vs. Commercial Office Cleaning).

= Can I export my leads? =

Yes. Head to **Estimators → Leads** to use the CSV and JSON export buttons. CSV opens cleanly in spreadsheets and most CRMs; JSON preserves the full estimate breakdown for richer database imports.

= What happens if I uninstall the plugin? =

Deleting the plugin from the WordPress admin (not just deactivating it) runs the bundled uninstall protocol, which cleanly removes:

* All estimator and lead custom posts and their meta data.
* All `approxit_*` plugin options (notification recipients, email toggles, internal flags).
* All `approxit_*` transients and user-meta entries.

Deactivating the plugin without deleting it leaves all your data perfectly intact for when you reactivate.

== Screenshots ==

1. The Estimator Dashboard — View and manage all your active service calculators at a glance.
2. The Leads Dashboard — Every submitted quote drops straight into your local pipeline for immediate follow-up.
3. The ApproxIt Estimator Block — Easily drop your visual calculator right into any WordPress page layout.
4. Free Industry Templates — Load a pre-built catalog and launch your website estimator in seconds.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial public release on the WordPress.org directory.
* Launched customer-facing service estimator with live running total matrix.
* Added visual estimator builder covering services, add-ons, and billing periods.
* Included four free industry templates: Lawn Care & Landscaping, House Cleaning, Window Cleaning, and Power Washing.
* Added local lead dashboard featuring hot/warm/cold scoring logic and status pipeline.
* Added one-click CSV and JSON lead export.
* Built-in customer receipt + owner alert emails with optional business phone inclusion.
* Deployed core anti-spam features: honeypot, timing tokens, IP rate-limits, and duplicate-email throttling.
* Shipped native Gutenberg block + `[approxit]` shortcode.
* Added companion hook surface to support advanced ApproxIt Pro plugin features.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.0.0 =
First public release on WordPress.org.
