How we pick shops

The four factors

1. License

   License counts the most. A shop with a confirmed license ranks higher than one we could not confirm. We never label a license as confirmed unless we have confirmed it.

2. Service area

   Shops based near the job, or that list your town in their service area, rank higher.

3. Fit for the job

   Shops that do the kind of work you described rank higher than general shops.

4. Reviews

   Public ratings count, but they are weighted so a large review count cannot crowd newer shops out. A shop with a handful of reviews is pulled toward an average instead of being trusted at face value.

Customers and non-customers

• Doing Work is free for homeowners and shops. We never sell your information. Shops never pay for leads or to be included.
• We search every shop we can find in your area, whether or not they use Doing Work, and invite the best fits.
• Shops don't need to be Doing Work customers to be recommended, and being a customer doesn't affect how we recommend them.
• Doing Work does not sell placement on your list.
• Shops that are customers get tools that help them reply to homeowners faster and with clearer quotes.

After you send

• Nothing goes to shops until you confirm your job summary.
• You see the quotes that best match what you asked for first, and the lowest quote that meets your must-haves is always near the top. Being a Doing Work customer never changes this.
• Each shop decides whether to quote. We don't promise a number of quotes or a response time.
• Shops can opt out of requests with one click, and we limit how many requests one shop gets each week.

Before you hire

Check the license with your state's licensing board, read recent reviews, ask what the quote includes, and compare written quotes side by side.