The Vendors first-visit reveal

Where do your tools stand?

The start step of the Vendors first-visit intro asks for one thing: the name of a tool you already run. The panel reads "Type a tool you run. IQ shows how Verinode research rates it, and how the alternatives score. No numbers to upload," with a search field suggesting the kind of thing to type: DASH, Albi, Xactimate.

Start typing and matches from the Verinode tool catalog appear, each with its category beside it, estimating, job management, drying equipment, and so on. Pick yours and the reveal loads in a second or two.

What the reveal shows

The score. A number out of 10, with a one-word label beside it when one applies, and the line "is how Verinode research rates [the tool]. This is a research estimate, and it sharpens as more operators weigh in." That sentence is the whole posture of the feature in one line: the score is real research, it is explicitly an estimate, and it gets better as the network grows.

The alternatives. Under "Others in [the category]," up to three alternatives from the same category, each with its own research score and, where it helps, a short delta label showing how it sits relative to your pick. This is the part most owners have never had: not a sales page for each tool, but the same yardstick laid across a whole category at once, so you can see whether the tool you renew every year is the strong one in its class or the one everyone else moved off.

If Verinode has not scored your tool yet, the reveal says exactly that: "Verinode has not scored [the tool] yet. It appears here as the research fills in." No number is invented to fill the space. A Pick another tool link lets you run as many lookups as you like.

What this deliberately does not claim

The honesty constraints here are built in, and they are worth knowing so you can trust what you do see:

• It is catalog research, not network data. The score comes from Verinode's research on the tool itself. It is not built from other operators' private usage or invoices, which is exactly why it can show you something real on your first minute, before any peer cohort exists.
• There is no pricing comparison. The reveal will not tell you what a tool costs, what others pay for it, or that you are overpaying, because no software pricing data sits behind it, and Verinode does not fabricate a dollar figure to make the moment more dramatic. What each tool actually costs you comes later, from your own invoices.
• The score is labeled an estimate. Catalog scores are provisional by nature, and the label says so on the reveal itself rather than in fine print.

So read the reveal as what it is: a research-grade second opinion on your stack, free, instant, and honest about its edges. It is a standing check, not a bill audit.

The climb from here

Picking your first tool puts it on your book and completes the first step of the Vendors climb. The remaining steps wait in the Get IQ Up To Speed row on the Vendors home:

• Show IQ your stack. Add the rest of the tools you run, three or more gets you there, and IQ maps where your stack overlaps or leaves a gap, and which of your tools Verinode already has an integration for. Each added tool gets the same score-and-alternatives read as the first.
• Show IQ your vendor invoices. Forward your vendor invoices and the section turns from standing into money: what each tool really costs you, with renewal dates and contract terms pulled from the invoices themselves. This is where a renewal conversation gets teeth, your real spend next to the research read on whether the tool earns it.

Beyond your own steps sits the network layer: how your vendor pricing and ratings compare to operators like you. That appears as more operators contribute, it is never a task, and it is not about anything missing from your data.

The full section, the vendor list, findings, spend views, and the rest, is covered in the Vendors overview. You can replay this reveal anytime by adding ?showIntro=1 to the Vendors page address.

Data sources