Why contractors choose LaraKeyAbout LaraKey, pricing and the trial
When can I start using LaraKey?
LaraKey runs a remodeling company every day, and we’re finishing testing before we open it up. Join the waitlist and you’ll be among the first invited, with founding pricing if spots are still open.
Will there be a free trial?
Yes. When LaraKey opens, every new company starts with a 14-day free trial with no card required. Everything you set up during the trial is kept when you choose the plan.
How much does LaraKey cost?
One plan with every feature: $79 a month with 3 users included, then $15 a month for each extra user. Only active users count. Invited and deactivated people don’t.
Is there a discount for paying yearly?
Yes. Pay yearly and you get 2 months free: $790 a year instead of $948.
What is the founding customer offer?
The first 25 companies get LaraKey for $59 a month (3 users included) instead of $79, locked in for as long as they stay. Extra users are the regular $15 a month.
Are there setup fees or contracts?
No setup fees and no long-term contract. It’s month to month. If you cancel, you keep access until the end of the month you’ve paid for, and you can download a full backup first.
Who counts as a user?
Anyone on your team with an active login. Your clients never need a login and don’t count.
Is every feature included?
Yes. There’s one plan, and it includes everything: CRM, estimating, takeoffs, proposals, projects, field, billing, crew pay, bookkeeping, reports, Gmail and Google Calendar.
How do I get started?
Join the waitlist. When your spot opens, we set up your company and send you an invite. Then you invite your team. Each person sets a password and finishes a two-minute setup (language, details, notifications).
Can I bring my data from another system?
Contacts come in from Google Contacts or a CSV file. Talk to us about bringing jobs and other records over.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. LaraKey works in the browser on desktop, tablet and phone, and you can add it to your home screen so it opens like an app.
Who owns my data?
You do. LaraKey won’t sell your data or market to your clients, and you can download a full backup (records, photos and documents) any time.
Is it available in Spanish?
Yes. Each person chooses English or Español for themselves.
What happens when the trial ends?
On day 15, the owner or an admin chooses the plan (or cancels) before the team continues. Nothing you set up is lost.
Do subcontractors or clients cost extra?
Clients never need a login. Subs are managed as crew records and don’t need a login either. You only pay for team members who sign in.
Is pricing in US dollars?
Yes. Prices are in USD and LaraKey works in US dollars.
Can I add or remove users any time?
Yes. Invite people when you need them and deactivate them when you don’t. Deactivating frees the seat right away.
Questions about specific features
Can I import my existing client list?
Yes. Import from Google Contacts or a CSV file (Google Contacts and Outlook exports work as-is). People already in LaraKey are matched by email or phone and skipped.
Does it keep syncing with Google Contacts?
Import is one-way and on demand: bring people in whenever you like, and export everyone to CSV any time.
Can a client have more than one property?
Yes. Save as many jobsite locations as you need, separate from the billing address.
Can salespeople only see their own leads?
Yes. The default Sales role sees leads, estimates and to-dos assigned to them. You can change that per role.
Can I export my leads?
Yes. Select leads in the list and use Download CSV.
Does LaraKey send the follow-up emails for me?
No. It reminds you when each follow-up is due, so the message comes from you. With Gmail connected you can write it without leaving LaraKey.
Is this AI?
No. It uses straightforward keyword rules, so it’s predictable and you can tune it with your own service words and ignored senders.
Does LaraKey store my email?
No. Your mail stays in Gmail. LaraKey only keeps the lead card details until you handle them.
Do I have to vet every lead?
No, it’s optional. Most teams vet on the first call, before scheduling a site visit.
Can I train new salespeople on it?
Yes. The Learning center includes a “How to vet a lead” starter training you can edit for your company.
Can I use my own templates?
Yes. Edit the starters, build new ones, or save any estimate as a template.
Does it calculate material quantities?
Yes. Takeoffs can add their material lines straight to a draft estimate and update them later without touching labor you added.
Which materials have measured takeoffs?
Drywall, LVP and tile have measured takeoffs. Carpet and paint are covered by quick takeoffs.
How is waste handled?
Waste is added to the net area before dividing by coverage, and the result is rounded up to whole purchase units only at the end.
Can clients sign online from a link?
Not yet. Today you print or save the proposal as a PDF and send it yourself, and record the client’s approval in LaraKey. Printed proposals include signature and date lines.
What happens after a proposal is approved?
That version is locked, the lead is marked won, and a project is created with the contract value, budget by category, schedule of values and payment schedule.
How does a project get created?
Projects are created when a proposal is approved or a lead is marked won, carrying the scope, budget, schedule of values and payment schedule. A job can’t be created twice.
Can my crew see job budgets?
Only if you let them. The default Field role doesn’t see any job money.
Does it sync with Google Calendar?
Yes. Events you mark “Also in Google Calendar” sync both ways, and your other Google events show in LaraKey.
Is there an app to download?
No download needed. Open LaraKey in Safari or Chrome and add it to your home screen so it opens like an app.
What if there’s no signal?
LaraKey keeps what you typed and shows “Not saved yet. Reconnecting…”, then saves when the connection is back. It needs a connection to open.
Do forms support signatures?
Yes. Forms can include signature questions, signed by typing a full name. The client walkthrough sign-off has client and contractor signature fields.
Can field crews update the punch list?
Yes. The default Field role can add and update punch items on jobs they’re assigned to, and mark them ready for review.
Do material orders count in job costing?
Yes. Once marked ordered with a cost, it appears in the job’s cost ledger under Materials.
How is this different from a change order?
Change orders change the price (and can add days). Schedule changes only move the timeline.
Does the client approve change orders in LaraKey?
Change order approval in LaraKey is for your team. Get the client’s go-ahead your usual way, then approve it so the contract, budget and billing update.
What happens to an expense that isn’t approved yet?
It shows as “Pending approval” and doesn’t count in job costs, the books or reports until it’s approved.
Is there a file size limit?
Each upload can be up to 50 MB.
Do I have to enter labor costs by hand?
No. Each day or hour logged becomes a labor cost on the job right away, at that person’s rate, marked unpaid until you pay it.
Can clients pay online?
Not yet. Record payments in LaraKey as they come in (check, ACH, Zelle, card or cash), including partial payments.
Does LaraKey email invoices?
Print or save the invoice as a PDF and send it your usual way, then mark it sent. Overdue invoices are flagged automatically.
Can field crews add expenses?
Yes. They attach a receipt photo and the expense waits for approval before it counts.
Is it cash or accrual?
Cash basis: money counts when it’s received or paid.
Does it sync with QuickBooks?
Not today. Export the general ledger to CSV for your accountant.
Can I see the numbers behind a chart?
Yes. Every chart has a table view.
Is overhead mixed into job costs?
No. Overhead is kept separate, so each job’s profit is real, and the dashboard compares money coming in with your monthly overhead.
Does LaraKey run payroll taxes?
No. LaraKey records gross pay; payroll taxes and withholding aren’t calculated. Use your payroll provider for those.
Can subcontractors get advances?
Yes. Give an advance to crew or subs, and it’s taken back from their next payments.
Do subs get their own login?
Subs are managed in Crew. There’s no separate subcontractor portal yet.
Is this just hiding buttons?
No. Permissions are checked by the database on every record, so a role without job money really can’t reach it.
Who can see trainings?
Your team only. Trainings are written in English, even when someone uses the app in Spanish.
Can clients join messages?
No. Messages are for your team. Client email goes through your connected Gmail.
Does everyone see the money?
Only roles with “dashboard money” turned on. Everyone else sees the sections they’re allowed to use, without the figures.
Does it work with Google Workspace?
Yes, with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts.
Does everyone have to connect Google?
No. Each person decides, and the owner controls who is allowed to connect.
Is it in the App Store?
No download needed. Open LaraKey in Safari or Chrome and add it to your home screen.
Is everything in Spanish?
The app’s screens are. Client documents (proposals and invoices), what people type, and Learning center trainings stay as written.