Before & After Previews
Before & After turns a photo of the job site into an AI preview of the finished work, attached to the estimate your client signs. Snap a picture on the driveway, generate the preview, and let the homeowner see the result instead of imagining it from a line-item list.
What You’ll Learn
- Creating a Before & After preview from an estimate or job
- How the preview uses your scope of work
- Regenerating and picking the right version
- Attaching a preview so clients and the PDF see it
- How previews are counted against your plan
- What the AI disclosure means and why it can’t be removed
Creating a Preview
- Open an estimate and find the Before & After panel above the line items
- Click Create a preview
- Pick up to three source photos — the estimate’s own photos, photos from the linked job, or a fresh upload from your phone
- Review the prompt. Tallie fills it in from your scope of work and line items, and you can edit it or add a note
- Click Generate
Generation takes about 10 to 25 seconds. You can leave the page and come back; the preview keeps working.
You can also start one from the job screen, or by asking the AI chat something like “Create a before and after preview for my latest estimate.”
Photo Tips
- Shoot in daylight, from where the customer would stand
- Get the whole area you’re quoting in frame — skip the close-ups
- One clean wide shot beats three tight ones
Tallie keeps the camera angle, framing, lighting, and time of day from your source photo, so the after looks like the same house on the same afternoon.
How the Scope Drives the Preview
The prompt is built from the line items you already priced, and the model is instructed to change only what those line items name. It is told not to add or alter windows, doors, rooflines, landscaping, vehicles, or structures that aren’t in the scope, and not to render people.
That instruction is a strong guardrail, not a guarantee. Always look at the result before you send it. If the preview shows work you aren’t quoting, edit the prompt to be more specific and regenerate.
Versions
Each preview gives you up to 10 versions on that estimate. Regenerating uses a version, not another preview, so it’s free to keep tuning:
- Change the wording — “warm gray, not blue-gray”
- Add a detail the model missed
- Try a different source photo
The panel shows how many versions you have left (for example, “7 of 10 versions left”). Opening Before & After from the job screen joins the same preview as the estimate rather than starting a new one.
Attaching a Preview
When a version looks right, click Use this one. Tallie asks you to confirm:
This matches the scope of work. Your customer will treat this as what they’re buying. Check that it doesn’t show work you aren’t quoting.
You have to confirm before a preview can be attached. Once attached, it appears:
- On the estimate link your client opens
- In the estimate PDF
- Alongside the original before photo, so the comparison is obvious
You can detach a preview at any time to take it off the client’s copy.
The AI Disclosure
Every generated image carries a permanent label reading “AI concept — illustrative only, not a guarantee of finished work,” plus your company name. It is part of the image itself, so it survives download, screenshot, and the PDF. On the estimate view and the PDF, the same disclosure is repeated in text under the image.
This is not optional and there is no setting to turn it off.
Why it matters: a preview is an approximation of the scope you quoted, not a rendering of the actual materials, textures, or site conditions on your job. Presenting one as a photograph of work you completed, or cropping the label out of an image you use in your own marketing, is deceptive advertising — and you’re the one representing the work, not Tallie. Once the job is done, use the real after-photo.
Plan Limits
| Plan | Previews per month |
|---|---|
| Free trial | 3 total |
| Starter | 10 per month |
| Pro | Unlimited (fair use) |
Previews are counted per estimate, not per image, and are pooled across everyone on your account — extra Pro seats don’t add more. Your monthly allowance resets at the start of each billing period.
When you’ve used every version on an estimate, the panel says so. When you’ve used your monthly previews, it tells you the date they reset.
For plan details, see Billing & Subscription.
Best-Fit Work
Before & After is strongest on work with a visible result:
- Exterior and interior painting
- Siding, roofing, decks, and fencing
- Concrete, pavers, and landscaping
- Cabinets, countertops, and flooring
- Bath and kitchen refreshes
It’s weakest on work that’s mostly hidden — rough-in plumbing, panel upgrades, ductwork — because there’s nothing for the customer to see either way.
Related
- Creating Estimates — build the scope the preview is generated from
- Sending Estimates — what your client sees
- AI Chat — generate a preview by asking for one