It can turn a customer’s email into a priced quote, find the three clauses you need to read in a 60-page contract, or go through a pile of orders and work out why one courier keeps costing you money. I connect what you already use and build what’s missing, and you decide what runs on its own and what waits for your yes.
The first 30 minutes are free. Bring anything, even if you don’t think it can be done.
A new customer has emailed. Put them into your system the way your office does it now. The clock starts on your first key.
Priya Nair8:52 am
Back deck
Hi there, a few boards on our back deck have gone soft and one has a hole in it now. Could someone come and have a look? We’re at 8 Kookaburra Court, Springfield. Best number is 0491 570 156, though I’m in meetings until 3. Thursday or Friday next week suits.
Thanks,
Priya
New job
That took you a while. At emails like it a week, that’s a lot a year of typing what your customer already typed.
What does an hour of that person’s time cost you? $
Three customers wrote in after you’d gone home. The unhappy one got a careful answer within a minute, before the review. By morning all three are worked out, with a reply waiting on your yes. Clear them before the kettle boils.
A customer12:26 am
The tap you fixed last month is dripping again. Not happy. If it’s not sorted I’m leaving a review.
What it did
How I set it up
I set it up to treat an unhappy customer as urgent, most of all one who mentions a review, and to answer at once, whatever the hour. It says sorry and tells them when they’ll hear from you. It doesn’t admit fault or promise anything, because that’s your call, and the fix waits for your yes.
Sent by itself at 12:27 am, one minute after
I’m sorry the tap is dripping again. That’s not what you should get a month after we’ve been out. I’ve passed it straight to the boss, and you’ll hear from us first thing this morning.
Their answer, 12:41 am
Thanks for getting back so fast. Didn’t expect anyone to answer at this hour. I’ll hold off on the review for now and see what you come back with.
Your follow-up, waiting on a yes
Morning. It’s under our workmanship guarantee, so there’s no charge. Can we come back Wednesday at 8?
A regular customer9:47 pm
Same as last time please, but at the second site too. Can you do it before the 20th?
What it did
How I set it up
I told it to price repeat work from the customer’s last job at this year’s rates, and only to offer days the crew is actually free. It flags anything still owing, but leaves that conversation to you.
Your reply, waiting on a yes
Both sites for $5,480, and we can do the 15th and 16th. Shall I lock that in?
Priya Nair10:58 pm
Is Thursday still on? They’re saying it’ll bucket down.
What it did
How I set it up
I set it up to check the forecast against every outdoor job and suggest the next dry day the crew is free. It never moves a booking by itself. It asks the customer, once you’ve said yes.
Your reply, waiting on a yes
They’re saying rain all Thursday, and we’d rather not have your deck half up in it. Could we come Monday at 7 instead?
A client11:58 pm
The ATO has fined me for a late return. I sent you everything in August. Seriously unimpressed, and I’ll be saying so online.
What it did
How I set it up
I set it up to answer an upset client straight away, before they write anything public. It says sorry, shows it’s been taken seriously and says when you’ll call. It doesn’t say whose fault it was or offer to pay, because that’s for you to decide in the morning.
Sent by itself at 11:59 pm, one minute after
I’m sorry. A penalty is the last thing you should be dealing with, and I understand why you’re upset. Your file is at the top of the pile for the morning, and you’ll get a call before 10.
Their answer, 12:20 am
Appreciate the quick reply. Honestly didn’t expect one tonight. I’ll wait for the call before I post anything.
Your follow-up, waiting on a yes
Morning. I’ve checked the dates, and we’ll ask the ATO to cancel the penalty for you, at no cost to you. Can I call at 9:30 to go through it?
A client11:12 pm
Landlord just sent a new lease, 62 pages. Is it worse than the old one? I have to sign by Friday.
What it did
How I set it up
I told it to compare any new contract with the client’s last one and mark only what changed, with what each change costs them. It doesn’t give advice. It sets up the conversation for you to have.
Your reply, waiting on a yes
Two changes cost you real money: the rent reviews and the make-good. I’ve marked both. Can we talk Thursday, before you sign?
Someone new10:15 pm
Found you on Google. Three staff, we use Xero, and our books are a mess. Can you help?
What it did
How I set it up
I gave it the work you take on and the work you don’t. A new enquiry that fits gets a time from your diary, and one that doesn’t gets a polite no. You see both before they go.
Your reply, waiting on a yes
Yes, we can help, and a mess is normal. Does Tuesday at 10 suit for a 30-minute chat?
An unhappy customer12:26 am
Third time it’s arrived smashed. I want my money back and I’m leaving a review.
What it did
How I set it up
I set it up to answer an unhappy customer within a minute, any time of night, because that’s when the angry reviews get written. It says sorry and tells them when they’ll hear back. It doesn’t offer a refund by itself. Money is your call, so the refund waits for your yes.
Sent by itself at 12:27 am, one minute after
I’m really sorry. Three broken orders is three too many, and I can see why you’re fed up. I’ve sent this straight to the owner, and you’ll hear back first thing this morning.
Their answer, 12:52 am
Ok. Thanks for actually replying, most places don’t. I’ll give it until the morning before I write anything.
Your follow-up, waiting on a yes
Morning. Your $189 is on its way back, and we’re taking it up with the courier so it doesn’t happen again.
A customer8:30 pm
Where’s my order? It said three days and it’s been six.
What it did
How I set it up
I connected it to the courier’s tracking, so it tells people where the parcel actually is. When one is stuck, it lodges the query and checks your other orders at the same depot.
Your reply, waiting on a yes
It’s stuck at the courier’s Brisbane depot. I’ve chased them this morning, and I’ll send you the tracking the minute it moves.
A café owner9:05 pm
Can I get 40 of the large ones for my café? Do you do trade prices?
What it did
How I set it up
I gave it your stock, your trade prices and your freight table, so a bulk enquiry gets a real total. Nothing is invoiced until you say so.
Your reply, waiting on a yes
Yes. 40 large at trade price comes to $1,360, plus $38 freight. Shall I send the invoice?
It’s Friday, 2:58 pm, and the bank’s cut-off is 3. Six bills to go. Pay the ones that are right and hold any you’d want to ring about. The clock starts on your first decision.
Example Supplies
Tax invoice 4471
Materials$620.00
Delivery$45.00
Call-out, 12 March$615.00
Total, GST included$1,280.00
What your files say
Paid 14 March, invoice 4102: call-out, 12 March, $615.00
It holds this one. Call-out already paid on 14 March.
Example Freight
Tax invoice 2290
Freight, 6 pallets$594.00
Fuel levy$47.52
Total, GST included$641.52
What your files say
Delivery docket: 6 pallets, signed for
Last three months: $598.40, $621.10, $633.70
It pays this one. Matches the docket and the usual price.
Example Electrical
Tax invoice 0318
Labour, 6 hours at $98$588.00
Cable and fittings$112.00
Total, GST included$700.00
What your files say
Quote Q-208, signed in June: labour at $85 an hour
It holds this one. Billed $98 an hour against an agreed $85.
Example Cleaning
Tax invoice 7710
Office clean, October$440.00
Total, GST included$440.00
What your files say
Every month since March: $440.00
It pays this one. Same as every month.
Example Print Co
Tax invoice 1187
Flyers, 5,000$480.00
Business cards$95.00
NEW bank details: BSB ***-209, account ****7731. Please update your records.
Total, GST included$575.00
What your files say
Bank details on file: BSB ***-064, account ****2093
It holds this one. Bank details don’t match your records.
Example Timber
Tax invoice 5562
Decking, 40 lengths at $29$1,160.00
Delivery$60.00
Total, GST included$1,220.00
What your files say
Delivery docket: 32 lengths signed for, 8 on back order
It holds this one. Billed for 40 lengths, 32 delivered.
or press P or H
| Bill | Total | You | It | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example Supplies | $1,280.00 | |||
| Example Freight | $641.52 | |||
| Example Electrical | $700.00 | |||
| Example Cleaning | $440.00 | |||
| Example Print Co | $575.00 | |||
| Example Timber | $1,220.00 |
The same checking works on bigger jobs than bills.
I say no to these because they cause more trouble than they save.
If someone has to check and sign off, that stays a person’s job. I’ll automate the work either side of it.
Two days of build to save twenty minutes, four times a year. Write the steps on a page instead. That costs you nothing.
If two people do the job differently, the software can only do it one way. You need to agree which way before I build it.
If a mistake happens where nobody can see it, it can keep going for months. If a step can’t show what it did, I won’t let it run on its own.
Got a job you want talked out of? Tell me what it is and I’ll tell you straight.
That’s how we find out where it needs to stop and ask. You and I go through what ran, what stopped and why, and I adjust it.
The rest of the time it runs, and you only look when it flags something.
That usually happens when it tries to do too much at once, or nobody checks the odd cases. So I start with one job, someone keeps an eye on the odd ones, and nothing else gets connected until that job has proved itself.
Moving a record between systems doesn’t usually need AI, a simple rule does it. Reading an email and drafting a useful reply may need AI. I’ll explain where each is being used and why. If a step already works, I won’t add AI to it, because that’s one more thing to maintain.
Maybe you should. I’ll price the tool next to a build, counting the setup, the fees and whatever you’d still be doing by hand. A build has running costs too, and I’ll count those. If the tool wins, I’ll tell you.
No. It takes the reminders, the copying and the status updates. People still make the decisions, and you choose what can go to a customer without your yes.
Then I say so and we don’t build it. If only one of the three steps is worth building, I’ll tell you and build that one.
I check before I quote: what can move between them, what access I’d need, and what happens if one goes down.
It keeps a record of what ran and what went wrong, and we agree who looks at it. Looking after it is in the quote, so you know what happens when one of your tools changes.
Automation moves work between the tools you already use, so nothing sits waiting for someone to pass it on. Custom software is a system of your own, with screens your people work in. Some jobs need both, and you don’t have to know which before we talk.
One job, the whole back office, or something you’ve never seen done. No enquiry is a dumb one.
It comes straight to me. Lachlan
