Rateplot

Small contractors performing force-account or extra work may need equipment-rate evidence only occasionally, while the supplied research confirms that state specifications can require a well-known commercial reference. That creates a potential pay-per-report wedge, but it also means a cheaper aggregate cannot simply declare itself interchangeable with the source named in a contract.

Rateplot accepts an authorized equipment record and jurisdiction, preserves serial, make, model, year, configuration, ownership and operating context, then searches reviewed federal and state schedules. It shows each candidate's source, effective period, rate basis, included cost components and match confidence. A contractor accepts or rejects the match and prepares a report; the engineer or agency retains review and acceptance authority.

The first release should cover one state specification, one public federal schedule and one equipment family. Commercial listings and industry-rate data mentioned in the invention are omitted until access, licensing and comparability are verified. Published schedule value, normalized comparison, contract-allowed rate, submitted report, agency response and paid amount remain separate.

The supplied research found no reviewed pay-per-query competitor, but the incumbent reference is embedded in contracts and does not publish its price. Community pricing claims are not strong enough for public comparison. Rateplot should sell episodic access and evidence transparency, not a monopoly-bypass promise or universal DOT compliance.

Project manager, estimator or cost-recovery lead at a small contractor preparing occasional force-account equipment documentation