Set up project questions and answer choices

Version and workspace

Configure company setup on the web, then synchronize the same company account in the Apple app. The native fixes described in this guide are prepared for the next app release; older installed versions may not include them yet.

Start with a small useful set

For a bathroom remodel, ask:

Project type — single choice, project_type: Bathroom / Kitchen / Painting.

Wall finish — single choice, wall_finish: Tile / Acrylic.

Room area in square feet — number, room_area.

Occupied home? — Yes / No, occupied_home.

Access notes — optional text, access_notes.

Use a number only for a number; include its unit in the question label. A number question does not convert feet to inches or automatically set an item quantity.

Choose the answer type

Text: free-form information, such as access instructions.

Number: a finite numeric answer. Zero is a valid answer.

Single Choice: exactly one configured option.

Multi-Select: one or more configured options when required; optional questions may remain empty.

Yes / No: choose an explicit Yes or No. No is a valid answer; leaving it unanswered is different.

Required means the native app must receive a valid answer before continuing. Hidden questions do not block continuing. Older questions without a Required setting remain optional. There is no general default-answer field in the question editor; a Project Setup Rule can supply an answer instead.

Labels and internal keys

The label is what the estimator sees. The key identifies the saved answer and is what rules reference. Option labels are readable text; option values are the identities saved in answers. Keep keys and values unique. After a question has been used, change its label rather than its key. After an option has been used, change its label rather than its value. Changing a key/value or deleting an option can leave older saved answers or rules referring to the original identity; the app does not automatically migrate historical estimates.

The web editor keeps saved identities stable when you rename a label. Legacy string options retain their original values during migration. Native and web use the same canonical question types, while native continues reading older type names.

Show relevant costbook sections

Master Category Selector works with Single Choice or Multi-Select. Map each option to an exact Item Group 1 category in your costbook. Example: Bathroom → Bathroom Remodeling; Painting → Painting. Selected options allow the corresponding top-level folders in the Estimate Builder; General remains available when present. An empty allowed-category list means no category restriction, rather than hiding every category. This is a selection filter, not a price adjustment.

Group Selector works with Single Choice. Choose the costbook group, then map each option to a level in that group. Example: finish → Tile or Acrylic. It filters items using that group's level metadata. It is different from the top-level Item Group 1 folder selector. Unmapped options cannot supply a group-level selection. Define mapping before relying on it.

The old Good / Better / Best Tier control is retained for older costbooks. Prefer explicit group/level mappings for new setups.

PDF, saving, and checking

Show on PDF controls whether a question's answer is included in proposal project information. It does not hide the question inside the app. Native question edits preserve the configured Required, order, filtering and PDF flags; editing questions also preserves the configuration's other rules and settings.

Save changes on the web and sync the native app with the same company account. Test a new disposable estimate: answer each branch, confirm the intended folders/items appear, check zero and No answers, and generate a proposal. Existing estimate answers are not rewritten merely because the company question list changes. Existing customers should not be used for setup experiments.

Keep these three features separate

Questions collect information.

Project Setup Rules show/hide questions or supply answers based on other answers.

Pricing Rules adjust matching estimate items when their conditions match.

Example: ask Wall finish; hide Tile pattern when Acrylic is selected; separately apply a tile labor pricing rule when Tile is selected. Test both branches before giving the setup to a sales team.