We’ve seen a lot of construction tool apps on the marketplace. Many of them offer tape measures and calculators as well as business tools to help you in the field. Home Depot initially created the Home Depot Pro app to help users organize orders and track receipts. For power users, and certainly professional contractors, however, The Home Depot’s Pro App provides many features you may not be aware of. Several of them can even save you money—if you know how to use them.
The Home Depot App Overview
We don’t know any professional contractors who don’t use a smartphone on the job site. Of course, not all of them use them for “good”. The Home Depot app struck us as a way to make it easier to research products before you hit the store. It also (hopefully) lets you know the current inventory levels at your local stores so you know what’s in stock.
Our Top 5 Favorite Home Depot App Features
- Product inventory reporting
- Quick product search by category
- Unlimited shopping and project lists
- Viewing the local ad/flyer
- Project calculators (tile, countertop, mulch, AC, wallpaper, insulation, paint, drywall, fencing, etc)
- Receipt management
Receipt Management and Material Documentation
Let’s start with that last one first. Since you’re always on the go, configurable email receipts and past purchase tracking rocks. It means you can get rid of a lot of paperwork. I don’t know anyone who wants to carry around a bunch of receipts on the jobsite. Any chance I get to eliminate those is a win.
Another thing the Home Depot Pro App gives you access to is a lot of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). These are papers outlining and identifying the specific company and products as well as identifying any hazardous materials, their OSHA rules and designations, and the related health issues of using the material.
Product Inventory
I can’t stand when I arrive at the store only to find an item out of stock. With the Home Depot app I can check inventory levels before I arrive. Since we have two different Home Depot stores here in town, that gives me a fighting chance to go to the other one if something I desperately need is out of stock.
Of course, you can also make purchases right from the app. Without any waiting, you can order materials right from the Pro App and pick them up at your convenience. Home Depot policy says that materials are typically available for pick-up within 2 hours of online ordering. So far, that’s been a fairly accurate estimate. It certainly saves time.
Making Shopping Lists
I frequently manage multiple products at a time. Because of this, having the ability to create multiple shopping lists helps me stay organized. I can also create lists based on likely jobs and then convert those to orders when the time comes.
Or, when working on a project around the house I can set up a specific list for that portion of a renovation or remodel. This can save you time if you know this trick. It especially helps if you tend to forget things…like a piece of paper you may have written that list on!
Another thing I find helpful—particularly when I don’t want to stop and type, is voice search. Click the small microphone icon in the search field and you can speak what you want into the app.
Check the Sales
You may not have the newspaper flyer handy when it’s time to shop, but you can access it using the app. You can access all sorts of deals and sale information. Some are even time-sensitive. Most of the time Home Depot has sales on everything from paint to mulch and appliances. You just have to look.
The Home Depot Pro App is also just a part of Home Depot’s Pro-focused apps that are available to construction professionals. Their Pro Xtra account lets you track your online purchases with just your phone number, export your purchases to your accounting software, receive emailed receipts for store purchases, and even get business discounts. You can also access EagleView to request paid aerial measurement reports. This makes the job of estimating roofs a lot easier (for a small fee you don’t even have to go on-site).
Finally, the Pro Estimator lets you estimate and spec jobs in a way that could save you lots of both time and money.
Project Calculators
The Home Depot app includes some handy project calculators. They can help you calculate the amount of material you need for various jobs. This includes calculators for tile, countertop, mulch, AC, wallpaper, insulation, paint, drywall, fencing, and more.
Here’s the thing—most people try to do these on-the-fly or off the top of their head. That never works well, and it often costs you money (at least up front). It costs you money and time if you have to go back to the store to get more materials.
With these calculators, you can get a pretty decent estimate of materials—even including customary overages. They don’t cover all scenarios but should get you more than close enough.
Home Depot Pro App – A Closer Look
Check out some of the additional functions available on the Home Depot Pro App:
On that “More” page you can access the aforementioned flyer, or adjust account details, search, and check out the weekly specials & offers. They even let you access truck and tool rentals and a store finder.
How to Get the App
You can pick up the Home Depot Pro app for free on either the iOS or Google Play Stores.
