Labor estimation that learns
DarkBird closes the gap between your CPQ and your PSA, with AI scoping, reusable Install Cards, native PSA sync, and a performance feedback loop that makes every estimate smarter than the last.
Core differentiators
Six capabilities purpose-built for the gap between your CPQ and your PSA.
Install Cards: a labor library that knows how to behave
Not a line-item list. Not a SKU catalog. Install Cards are reusable, versioned labor templates with behavioral modes (Standard, Scaling, Travel, Per Diem, Recurring), snapshot pricing, and calibration built in. When a card changes, existing projects are unaffected.
The loop nobody else closes
Estimate → Execute → Review → Re-tune. Actuals from your PSA feed Automatic Card Calibration. After 8–10 archived projects the system corrects systematic bias, and the next estimate you write is more accurate than anything you've ever quoted.
Voice-first scoping
Walk a site with your phone. Describe the project in plain language. The AI scopes it. When it hits a knowledge gap it interviews you, like a senior engineer would. Smart Voice Mode is available on every plan.
Discovery Mode: no hallucinations
When the AI doesn't know a service, it asks, instead of guessing. Recurring questions are promoted into permanent scoping tags automatically, and gaps your team flags surface under Interview Feedback to refine your org's Expert Profile. Your senior engineers' expertise becomes a reusable asset.
Smart Card Builder: catalog to library
Drop in your product catalog. Embeddings and semantic clustering propose Install Cards automatically. One conversational interface, no wizard, no manual mapping. A catalog of 150 products becomes a working labor library in an afternoon.
Native PSA push: not CSV
Click once to push a phase-based WBS with ticket-level checklists directly into ConnectWise Manage or HaloPSA. Time entries flow back automatically for actuals capture. Your PMs start from a validated plan, not a spreadsheet.
What's inside
Every capability area, explained. For plan-by-plan availability, see pricing.
Estimating
From a conversation to a validated labor estimate
- AI Scoping Assistant: conversational, multi-turn, context-aware
- Discovery Agenda: a pre-call question sheet built from your own scoping bank and calibration history — zero AI cost
- Smart Voice Mode: hands-free scoping for field walkthroughs
- Site-aware multi-site projects: the AI asks per-site questions
- Discovery Mode: interviews your team when a service is unfamiliar
- Knowledge Grounding: AI answers grounded in your uploaded playbooks
- Materials tab with price snapshotting: catalog prices lock at quote time
- Live catalog discrepancy detection: flags price drift vs. current catalog
- Estimate Check: flags missing cost categories and hardware compatibility gaps, plus an on-demand AI interop review
- Estimate Confidence badge: combines interview match strength, calibration coverage, and completeness gaps into one score
- Draft an estimate from a pasted call transcript: one-shot recommendations instead of turn-by-turn Q&A
- Spec Sheet Grounding: upload product spec sheets to a Knowledge Category; the AI pulls them into scoping context
Scope of Work
Professional SOWs in your house style, in minutes
- SOW generator: 9 required sections, streaming output
- Brief / Standard / Detailed style level selector
- Section locking: approve individual sections before refining others
- "Loved" SOW style references: future generations match the voice customers already approved
- Global SOW Styles baseline: new orgs start with quality, not a blank page
Install Card Library
Your labor knowledge, encoded and reusable
- Manual card creation: unlimited on all plans
- Behavioral Modes: Standard, Scaling (hours scale with project size), Travel, Per Diem, Recurring (monthly managed-services)
- Smart Product Assistant: AI-assisted BOM on each card
- Smart Card Builder: conversational card creation from a single prompt
- Intelligent Catalog Pipeline: embed → cluster → propose cards from your catalog
- Catalog Proposal Review: accept, edit, or dismiss each proposed card
- Automatic Bundle Discovery: groups cards that consistently appear together
- Automatic Card Calibration: corrects systematic estimation error from actuals
Project Management
From scoped estimate to running project
- Unlimited projects on all plans
- Multi-site projects: each card maps to a specific site
- PSA integration: link to a ConnectWise Opportunity or HaloPSA Project at scoping time
- Duplicate / Archive / Version history
- Real-time totals: price and hours update as cards are added
Delivery
From estimate to execution without copy-paste
- Auto-generated phase-based WBS from the Install Card structure
- Ticket checklists: technician-level tasks with hour budgets
- Native ConnectWise Manage sync: push WBS directly, not CSV
- Native HaloPSA sync: push WBS as Halo ticket checklists
- Quoter CPQ push: scope summary, BOM, and calibrated labor lines into a draft quote
- Microsoft Project XML export: for shops using MS Project for scheduling
- Custom integrations: Enterprise customers can connect additional tools
Review & Performance Loop
The loop that makes every estimate smarter
- Review Tab: capture actuals and qualitative insights after project close
- PSA time-entry sync: actual hours pull from ConnectWise and HaloPSA automatically
- Project Performance Report: budgeted vs. actual by phase and card
- Reporting Dashboard: KPI cards, Project Performance Table, Install Card Accuracy Table
- Smart Recommendations: AI-generated suggestions for which cards to recalibrate
- Automatic Card Calibration: multipliers adjust from archived project actuals
- Cross-org calibration benchmarks: compare your calibration against an anonymized peer median
Knowledge & Automation
Encode expertise. Stop answering the same questions twice.
- Playbook Parser: upload a vendor's technical guide; extract cards and scoping logic
- Knowledge Categories: organize the reference docs, spec sheets, and playbooks the AI draws on during scoping
- Interview Feedback: review the questions your team flagged during scoping and refine the Expert Profile from them
- Setup Checklist: guided first-run experience to get to value quickly
Enterprise & AI Control
Your provider. Your quota. Your data.
- Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): connect your own AI provider API key
- Multi-provider support: Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, or DeepSeek
- Per-org provider routing: every AI call in your org routes through your chosen provider
- Automatic model tier routing: DarkBird picks the right model per task, you pick the provider
- Encrypted key storage: API keys encrypted at rest, never exposed to the browser
- Full billing visibility: token usage billed directly to your provider account
- Custom PSA and CRM integrations: connect tools beyond ConnectWise and HaloPSA
- Single-tenant deployment: available for orgs with strict infrastructure requirements
- REST API + MCP server access: connect DarkBird's data to your own tools and AI agents (Settings → API Keys, all plans)
Try every feature free for 45 days
The Trial gives you full Pro access, no credit card, no limits. Works alongside your existing PSA and CPQ from day one.