Free AI Setup Checklist for contractors
Work through this list one section at a time. Most crews can knock out the first section in an afternoon.
Bids & estimating
- ☐ Pick one AI assistant (ChatGPT or Claude) and save your standard scope, exclusions and payment terms as a reusable prompt.
- ☐ Turn site-walk notes or voice memos into a draft scope before you leave the truck.
- ☐ Try an AI takeoff tool on one past job and compare against your manual numbers.
- ☐ Set a 3- and 7-day follow-up on every bid you send.
Scheduling & job costing
- ☐ Keep one source of truth for the schedule (not texts and whiteboards).
- ☐ Have crews log daily reports and photos from their phones.
- ☐ Review budget vs. actual weekly; ask AI to flag line items over 10%.
Admin & getting paid
- ☐ Send estimates and invoices from the same tool so nothing is retyped.
- ☐ Turn on online card/ACH payments.
- ☐ Track crew time with GPS clock-in tied to jobs.
Marketing & reviews
- ☐ Automatically text a review request when a job closes.
- ☐ Answer missed calls with an AI receptionist or auto-text.
- ☐ Post one before/after video per job.
Safety net
- ☐ Never paste client personal data you would not email.
- ☐ Have a human review every AI-written bid, contract or safety document before it goes out.
Need tools for each step? Browse the directory.
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