AI consulting for tradies and builders in Melbourne
You are not short of work. You are short of the hours it takes to quote it, invoice it and chase it. We find the repeatable paperwork in your business, work out what it is costing you, and build AI that does it the same way every time — for a one-off $599 + GST in Australia.
When you book, the scheduling form asks a few questions about how you quote and invoice so we can prepare before we meet.
45-minute business discussion, on site or over video
3 to 7 AI tasks with an estimated ROI for each
Up to three tasks built and configured with guided installation
Where the hours go in a trade business
Almost every trades and building business we walk through has the same shape. The paid work finishes at four or five, and then the second shift starts: the quote that has been promised for three days, the invoices from last week, the variation the client is querying, the SWMS for tomorrow's site, and eleven messages that all need a reply.
None of that is complicated work. It is repeatable work — the same decisions, the same wording, the same format, over and over. That is exactly the kind of task AI does reliably once your rates, rules and wording are built into it. It is also why quoting is nearly always the first thing we build: the customer who gets a proper quote today usually beats the one who gets it on Sunday night.
The AI tasks we build most often for trades
We do not hand you a chatbot and wish you luck. Each task is built as its own tool with your prices, your wording and your rules inside it, then tested against your real jobs.
Quoting and estimating
Your rates, material costs, margins, inclusions and proposal wording built into one tool. Site notes, photos or a voice memo in — a priced, formatted quote out the same day.
Variations and progress claims
The scope change described once, then written up consistently with the right pricing and the right wording so it holds up when the client queries it.
Enquiry replies and follow-up
Every web form, missed call and social message answered within minutes with your availability and next step, and followed up if the customer goes quiet.
Invoicing and chasing payment
Completed job details turned into an invoice in your format, with polite, escalating reminders that go out without you having to make the awkward call.
Safety, compliance and induction paperwork
SWMS, JSAs, inductions and site reports produced the same way every time from your approved wording, instead of being rebuilt from the last job's file.
Supplier and subcontractor correspondence
Material orders, price checks and subbie scopes drafted from a short note, so the day does not stall waiting on you to write an email.
What AI actually does on a trades business
What goes in, what comes out, and the hours a typical trades business gets back a week.
| Task | What goes in | What comes out | Hours back a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quoting | Site notes, photos or a two-minute voice memo | Priced quote in your format, at your rates, for you to approve | 4 – 6 |
| Missed and after-hours calls | The call you could not answer | Details captured, customer texted back, callback booked | 1 – 2 (plus recovered jobs) |
| Invoicing and reminders | Completed job details | Invoice ready to send, then scheduled polite reminders | 2 – 3 |
| Site and safety paperwork | Job, site and crew details | SWMS, JSA, induction or site report from your approved wording | 1 – 3 |
| Enquiry replies and follow-up | Web form, text or social message | Reply within minutes with availability and next step | 1 – 2 |
Ranges are what we typically see, not a promise. Your own numbers get estimated in the written report before anything is built.
The missed call is the most expensive thing in your week
A customer with a job that needs starting rings three numbers and books whoever answers. If you are up a ladder, on a roof or driving, that call is not delayed — it is gone, and you never hear about it.
An answering setup picks up in your business name, takes the name, number, suburb, job and urgency, texts the customer a confirmation so they stop ringing around, and puts a prepared callback in your day. It never quotes a price, never promises a lead time you have not authorised and never claims to be a person. Emergencies and anything about a defect or dispute go straight to you.
Read: stop losing jobs to missed callsBy trade, because the paperwork differs
Builders
Quotes and proposals, variations and progress claims, subcontract review before signing, and client update emails.
Electricians
Same-day quoting from site notes, compliance certificates and test paperwork, and fast replies to service calls.
Plumbers
After-hours call handling for emergencies, standard job pricing, and invoicing on the day the job finishes.
HVAC and refrigeration
Service reports, maintenance schedules and twelve-month check-in reminders written up from job notes.
Landscapers
Priced quotes from photos and measurements, staged payment schedules, and seasonal follow-up to past customers.
Concreters
Volume and pour quoting, supplier orders and price checks, and weather-related reschedule messages to clients.
What you get for $599 + GST in Australia
- A short questionnaire and 45-minute discussion about how your business runs
- A written report: 3 to 7 AI tasks with an estimated hours and dollar benefit for each
- The one or two tools needed, with monthly cost and where your data sits
- Up to three tasks built and configured, with guided installation for you and your team
- AI basics training in plain English for whoever will use it
- Phone and video support while the change beds in
A real example: a builder's quoting app
One builder had their rates, equipment costs, overheads and proposal template built into a single app. They enter sizes and quantities, it checks current material costs and produces the priced proposal in their format. Sundays back.
Read the builder quoting app storyTrades businesses across Melbourne's west
We are based in Williamstown and work with builders, plumbers, electricians, concreters, landscapers, roofers and home services businesses right across the west — Williamstown, Yarraville, Footscray, Altona, Newport, Werribee, Point Cook, Sunshine, Hoppers Crossing and Laverton. We will come to you, and we will look at your actual quotes and invoices rather than talk in the abstract.
Trade work in your area
Each suburb page sets out the AI tasks, tools and typical returns we see for businesses nearby:
Questions trades businesses ask us
- What does AI consulting for a trades business actually involve?
- We sit down with you for 45 - 60 minutes and go through how the work comes in, how it gets quoted, how it gets invoiced and where the evenings disappear. You then get a written report naming 3 to 7 tasks AI can carry out in your business with an estimated benefit for each. You pick up to three, we build and configure them, guide you through installation and train your team. One-off $599 + GST in Australia, no lock-in.
- I am a tradie, not an office person. Will I be able to use it?
- Yes — that is the whole point of building it around your work rather than handing you software. Most of the tools we build for trades take a voice memo, a few photos or a short note and give you back a finished quote, invoice or email. If you can use a phone, you can use what we build.
- How much time does this actually save a trade business?
- Quoting is where it shows up first. A builder or plumber writing eight to ten quotes a week at 30 to 45 minutes each typically gets four to six hours back a week, and quotes go out the same day instead of the following weekend — which usually wins more of them.
- Will it quote at my prices, not some generic rate?
- Your prices. Part of the build is loading your labour rates, material costs, margins, standard inclusions and exclusions, and your proposal wording. The tool follows your rules — it is not guessing at market rates.
- Do you come out to the site or workshop?
- We do. We are based in Williamstown and regularly meet trades businesses across the west — Williamstown, Yarraville, Footscray, Altona, Newport, Werribee and beyond — at their premises, early morning before the crew leaves or late afternoon once they are back. Video call is fine if that suits you better.
- What does it cost, and is there anything ongoing?
- $599 + GST in Australia, one off. The only other cost is the tool subscriptions, which you pay directly to the providers — usually $50 to $300 a month depending on what is needed. There is no retainer and no lock-in. If you want us alongside you afterwards there is an optional monthly arrangement, but most businesses do not need it.
- What if AI is not worth it for my business?
- We will tell you, and you still keep the written report. Some jobs are not worth automating. We would rather say that than sell you something you will not use.
- Will AI talk to my customers?
- Only where you have agreed to it, and inside strict limits. A phone answering setup takes details and books your callback — it never quotes a price, never promises a lead time you have not authorised and never claims to be a person. Anything about a defect, delay or dispute goes straight to you. Quotes, invoices and replies are drafted for you to check before they leave the business.
- Do I need new software, or will this work with what I already use?
- It sits alongside your existing job management, accounting or scheduling system rather than replacing it. Usually one or two subscriptions are needed, in your own accounts, and we estimate that cost before you choose anything.
- Where does my business data sit?
- In accounts you own, with the tools set so your work is not used for training wherever that setting exists. We tell you exactly where each tool stores data before you agree to use it, and Australian data location is one of the things we check.
Easier to talk it through? Call 0401 665 196 or email enquiries@skillsforai.com.au.