FAQ
Account & billing
Section titled “Account & billing”Can I try Excavation Expert before paying? Yes — the Free plan is always free. You can create manual bids, run the mobile app for one user, and learn the core flow without a credit card.
How do I upgrade? Settings → Plan. Pick your tier, enter payment details, features unlock immediately. No downtime.
What if I downgrade? Features above your new tier stop working on the downgrade date. Your data stays intact — if you upgrade again later, everything reappears where you left it.
Is there a contract or minimum term? No. Monthly billing, cancel anytime.
Team & permissions
Section titled “Team & permissions”Who can invite new users? Owner, Manager, and Bookkeeper. See Roles & Permissions for the full matrix.
Does each team member need a paid seat? Your plan caps total users. Free = 2, Business = 5, Business Plus = 10. Field workers count, not just office staff — but customers and deactivated members don’t count toward the limit.
Can I remove an owner? Only another Owner can demote an Owner. Managers can’t touch Owner accounts. If an Owner leaves, another Owner must re-assign ownership first, or contact support.
Does the mobile app cost extra? No. Every role gets the mobile app at no extra cost on every plan.
Bidding
Section titled “Bidding”How does AI bidding work if I’m on the Free plan? AI Bidding Chat is a Business plan (or higher) feature. Free plan users can create unlimited manual bids.
Is there a limit on AI bids per month? Each plan has an AI Bid quota listed on the Plans page. Running out simply disables the AI chat until the next billing cycle — manual bids still work.
Can I edit a bid after it’s accepted? Not directly — accepted bids are signed contracts. Scope changes go through Change Orders so the history is preserved.
Can I save a bid as a template? Not yet as a formal template, but duplicating an existing bid (from the bid detail menu) preserves all allocations and is a practical alternative.
Projects & field work
Section titled “Projects & field work”Does a project get created automatically from an accepted bid? Yes. Accepted bids create a project with all the bid’s personnel, equipment, vendors, milestones, and approved price already in place.
Can I assign the same foreman to two overlapping projects? Technically yes, but the Schedule will warn you about personnel double-bookings when you drag events.
How do field crews log time and hauls? On the mobile app. The office sees submissions in near real-time on the web.
Can drivers see what the office billed for their haul? No — financial fields (pricePerUnit, totalCost, invoiceId) are hidden from Operator, Driver, Labor, Mechanic roles for every record type.
QuickBooks
Section titled “QuickBooks”Do I need QuickBooks to use Excavation Expert? No. QB is an optional Business Plus integration. Without it, you can still export CSV and TSV files to import into your accounting software manually.
Does QB sync support QuickBooks Desktop? QB Online for direct API sync. QB Desktop via file import — we generate TSV files you upload via QB’s File → Utilities → Import.
Will my QB customers conflict with ones I already added in Excavation Expert? The sync checks for duplicates by company name before creating a new QB customer. Synced customers become read-only in Excavation Expert; edit them in QB and changes flow back.
Customer Portal
Section titled “Customer Portal”Do my customers need to create a password? No. Customers sign in via magic links sent to their email. No password ever.
What can a customer see in the portal? Only what you’ve explicitly shared — specific bids, specific projects, specific change orders. Nothing else from your company.
Is the portal available on the Free plan? No — Business or above. Free plan users can still create bids; they just can’t send them through the portal for e-sign.
Marketing website
Section titled “Marketing website”What does <yourcompany>.findmy.expert cost?
Included free on every plan, including the Free tier.
Can I use my own domain instead?
Not currently. All sites live at <yourcompany>.findmy.expert. The
same platform is used by contractors across multiple trades, which
is why we chose a generic subdomain.
How quickly do published changes go live? A few minutes after you click Publish. The edge cache refreshes within that window; if you want to see changes faster on your end, force-refresh the page.
Mobile app
Section titled “Mobile app”iOS and Android? Both. Links on the Mobile App Overview.
Does it work offline? Yes — clock in, log hauls, track snow shifts, upload photos. Data queues and syncs when you reconnect.
Do I need to give GPS permission? Strongly recommended. Required for route tracking on haul and snow logs, and for site verification on timecards. The app still works without it, but you lose those features.
Data & security
Section titled “Data & security”Who owns my data? You do. Your company’s records are yours. You can export any resource at any time.
Can I delete my company entirely? Yes — Settings → Delete Account (Owner only). This permanently removes your company and all its data.
Do you use my data to train AI? No. Your company data is used to produce your bids and answer your questions — never fed into training runs.
Where is my data stored? On globally distributed infrastructure with replication. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit.