Bolster
Bolster is a Calgary-based SaaS platform serving residential contractors with AI-guided takeoff, estimating, AutoCost pricing, and embedded payments, sold via tiered subscriptions across nine construction trades.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersCalgary, Canada
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Bolster does
Bolster, founded in 2021 in Calgary and originally launched as CostCertified, is a construction management software platform purpose-built for residential contractors. The company rebranded to Bolster in 2024 around its Construction Intelligence platform (version 1.6), which unifies AI-guided digital takeoff, automated estimating with a proprietary AutoCost database of over 100 million real construction items, AI-assisted rendering, AI-generated options and upsells, scheduling, change-order management, CRM, client portal, and embedded digital contracts in a single end-to-end workflow from lead intake through final payment. Bolster also layers financial services onto this workflow — Bolster Payments (debit/credit and ACH processing), Bolster Business Accounts (banking-as-a-service via Adyen), and upcoming Capital financing and Visa-branded Corporate Cards — turning the platform into a vertical operating system for small and mid-market residential contractors.
The company sells primarily via a product-led, self-serve model with three annual subscription tiers (Essentials at $2,999/yr, Pro at $3,999/yr, Premium at $4,999/yr) plus a $1,999/yr Cloud Office Manager support add-on; Canadian pricing runs roughly 20% above US pricing. Go-to-market combines free trials targeting fence, deck, and roofing contractors, sales-assisted Zoom demos for mid-market buyers, a $100 referral incentive program, and content marketing through the Bolster Blog and Bolster Academy. The customer base spans thousands of SMB contractors across at least nine residential trades — remodelers, custom home builders, roofers and siders, fence and deck contractors, painters, flooring contractors, landscapers, handymen, and general contractors — with over $1 billion in project value facilitated across the platform.
The business is privately held, Y Combinator–backed (2021), and incorporated as Bolster Built Inc. in both Delaware (US entity) and Alberta (Canadian entity), with an additional office in Middletown, Delaware (US regional headquarters) and a Cape Town office disclosed in 2024. Total disclosed equity funding is approximately $8.45M from a 2021 seed round led by FUSE with Y Combinator, I2BF Global Ventures, and Soma Capital. Leadership is led by co-founder and CEO Michael (Mike) Bignold. Headcount is reported at 51–100 employees, and Forbes recognized Bolster on its 2024 Canada's Best Startup Employers list.
Bolster firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bolster
- Legal name
- Bolster Built Inc.
- Website
- https://bolsterbuilt.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Bolster is a Calgary-based SaaS platform serving residential contractors with AI-guided takeoff, estimating, AutoCost pricing, and embedded payments, sold via tiered subscriptions across nine construction trades.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bolster industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Construction Management Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B SaaS & Enterprise Personalization (CRM, Sales, Support) (HDAAAGAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Invoicing, Billing & Accounts Receivable Automation (FSAGAJAC), Payroll, Contractor Payments & SME HR Finance (FSAGAJAI)
Keywords
Where Bolster is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Calgary
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Bolster business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription: Annual auto-renewable subscriptions sold in three tiers (essentials, pro, premium) with monthly or annual payment options. Subscription includes platform access with varying feature sets per tier.
- Payment Processing: Transaction fees charged on credit/debit card payments (2.99%-3.99% depending on card type, 3.95% for AMEX/Discover) and ACH bank transfers (1.0% with $2-$15 min/max). Revenue from payment facilitation services.
- Business Accounts: Bolster Business Accounts provided through Adyen partnership, enabling banking services for contractors.
- Cloud Office Manager Add-on: Virtual administrative support service at $1,999/year providing hiring support without overhead costs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Essentials: Core estimating and project management features |
| Subscription | Annual | Pro: Advanced features including AutoCost and integrations |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium: Full access including AI-guided takeoffs and Construction Intelligence |
| Subscription | Annual | Support Add-on |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction Fees - Credit/Debit |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Transaction Fees - ACH |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Bolster product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bolster sells a Construction Intelligence platform that gives residential contractors an end-to-end workflow from lead to final payment. The platform combines AI-guided takeoff, automated estimating with a 100M+ item AutoCost database, pre-built Assemblies, AI-generated renderings and proposals, scheduling, change orders, CRM, client portal, and integrated payments via Bolster Business Accounts. It is sold primarily as a tiered annual SaaS subscription (Essentials, Pro, Premium) with additional revenue from payment transaction fees and a separate Cloud Office Manager virtual admin add-on.
Product overview
Bolster is a construction management software platform offering a unified end-to-end workflow from new lead to final payment. The platform operates on a tiered subscription model (essentials, pro, premium) and is built around its core Construction Intelligence platform (v1.6) which combines AI-powered takeoff, estimating, rendering, and options generation. The product portfolio includes core sales and estimating tools (Estimating, AutoCost with 100M+ items, Takeoff, Assemblies), customer engagement features (Presentations, Options/Upgrades/Selections, Approval Management), project management modules (Scheduling, Material List & Budget, Revisions & Change Orders), financial services (Progress Payments, Business Accounts, Capital, Corporate Cards), business organization tools (CRM Pipeline, Client Portal, Messages), and support services (Cloud Office Manager, Integrations). The company also maintains a legacy product (CostCertified) for existing customers. All modules are designed to flow data automatically from estimates through project completion and payment collection.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CostCertified: Legacy version of the construction management app, still accessible to users.
Products and services
- Bolster Construction Intelligence Platform End-to-end construction management SaaS for residential contractors, combining AI-guided takeoff, automated estimating with a 100M+ item AutoCost database, pre-built Assemblies templates, AI-generated renderings and proposals, scheduling, change orders, CRM, client portal, progress payments, and Business Accounts. Sold as an annual auto-renewing subscription in Essentials ($249/mo USD), Pro ($333/mo USD), and Premium ($417/mo USD) tiers.
- Cloud Office Manager (COM) Virtual administrative support add-on service for Bolster subscribers, providing hiring support, dedicated account management, 1:1 onboarding, and custom data entry. Priced at $1,999 per year as a standalone subscription.
- Bolster Payments (Progress Payments) Integrated construction payments module enabling contractors to track project progress, automatically generate invoices, and collect payments via debit/credit card (2.99%-3.99%, 3.95% for AMEX/Discover) and ACH bank transfers (1.0% with $2-$15 min/max). Included with the Bolster subscription, with payment processing fees charged per transaction.
- Bolster Business Accounts Banking-as-a-service offering for contractors, provided through Bolster's partnership with Adyen. Replaces traditional business bank accounts with accounts integrated directly into the Bolster platform, with instant payment deposits.
- CostCertified (Legacy) Legacy version of the construction estimating and management platform, originally launched under the CostCertified name. Still accessible to existing customers who have not migrated to the Bolster platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5x faster estimating
- +8 more outcomes
Companies that use Bolster
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments10 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Bolster technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature6 records
Bolster partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and infrastructure.
- QuickBookscoreNative integration available for accounting synchronization. Allows push of invoices and financial data to QuickBooks from Bolster platform.
- CompanyCamcoreVisual documentation integration for construction project photos and site visits.
- Hovercore3D measurement and visualization integration for exterior contractor measurements.
- ABC SupplycoreIntegration with ABC Supply for materials sourcing and pricing for exterior contractors.
- Amazon Web ServicesinfrastructureCloud infrastructure provider for data processing and storage.
- StripeinfrastructurePayment processing for subscription purchases on website. Visible in pricing page checkout links.
- PaysaveinfrastructureThird-party service provider processing personal information on behalf of Bolster.
- SendgridinfrastructureEmail communication service provider for transactional and marketing emails.
- TwilioinfrastructureSMS and communication services for notifications and customer messaging.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bolster competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Buildertrend: Direct competitor offering construction project management, estimating, scheduling, and customer management software for residential builders and remodelers. Closely matches Bolster's target customer, pricing structure, and core feature set.
- CoConstruct: Web and mobile software for custom home builders and remodelers, covering estimating, project management, client communication, and selections. Now part of Buildertrend; serves the same SMB residential contractor niche as Bolster.
- Jobber: Field service management software for home service contractors including landscapers, painters, and remodelers. Overlaps with Bolster on CRM, scheduling, and quoting workflows for service-oriented residential contractors.
- Houzz Pro: Business management software for residential construction and design professionals, combining estimating, project management, invoicing, and a built-in marketplace of homeowners. Directly competes with Bolster in the remodeler and home builder segments.
- AccuLynx: Business management platform for residential contractors (roofing, siding, windows, gutters, remodeling) with project tracking, estimating, and customer communication. Strong direct overlap with Bolster's exterior contractor segments.
- Knowify: Project management, estimating, and invoicing software for specialty trade contractors and remodelers. Comparable SaaS model and SMB residential contractor focus.
- Clear Estimates: Construction estimating software for residential contractors and remodelers. Similar pricing model and SMB focus; covers some of the same estimating use cases Bolster targets.
Broad incumbents
- Procore: Large public construction management platform with broad industry coverage including residential. Offers estimating, project management, and financial tools but typically targets enterprise and larger mid-market customers rather than SMB contractors.
- ServiceTitan: Large field service management platform for residential trades (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing). Larger scale than Bolster with adjacent financial services (ServiceTitan Pay) — a useful model for Bolster's payment and capital roadmap.
Emerging players
- Stack Takeoff: AI-powered construction takeoff and estimating platform for contractors. Direct overlap with Bolster's AI takeoff and Construction Intelligence features, though narrower scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bolster social profiles
Digital presenceBolster financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bolster leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Bolster funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bolster M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bolster
What does Bolster do?
Bolster sells a Construction Intelligence platform that gives residential contractors an end-to-end workflow from lead to final payment. The platform combines AI-guided takeoff, automated estimating with a 100M+ item AutoCost database, pre-built Assemblies, AI-generated renderings and proposals, scheduling, change orders, CRM, client portal, and integrated payments via Bolster Business Accounts. It is sold primarily as a tiered annual SaaS subscription (Essentials, Pro, Premium) with additional revenue from payment transaction fees and a separate Cloud Office Manager virtual admin add-on.
Is Bolster a public or private company?
Bolster is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Bolster founded?
Bolster was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Bolster based?
Bolster is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Bolster make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. SaaS Subscription is the primary driver. The others are payment Processing, business Accounts and cloud Office Manager Add-on.
Who are Bolster's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Buildertrend, CoConstruct, Jobber, Houzz Pro, AccuLynx, Knowify and Clear Estimates. Broad incumbents are Procore and ServiceTitan. Stack Takeoff is listed as an emerging player.
Does Bolster have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bolster.
What industry is Bolster in?
Bolster's product category is Construction Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAGAJ, B2B SaaS & Enterprise Personalization (CRM, Sales, Support), with a secondary code of FSAGAJAC, Invoicing, Billing & Accounts Receivable Automation. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.