AI for quotes is two jobs, done by two AI staff
Most quoting tools help with one end of the job. Either they help you write the quote, or they answer the phone. The work that gets lost sits in between: the quote that goes out late, and the quote nobody rings about.
LeadAI splits it the way an office would. SAM, your personal assistant, writes the quote while you talk. Emily, who looks after new jobs and quotes, follows it up with the customer. You stay in charge of the numbers.
| Step | Who does it | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|
| Write the quote | SAM, while you talk the job through | The price, materials and labour |
| Check it before it goes out | You | Scope, inclusions and the expiry date |
| Follow it up | Emily, every quote you’ve sent | How often, and when to stop |
| Answer the customer’s questions | Emily, inside the rules you set | Anything technical or outside the rules |
| Discounts, changes and negotiating | Nobody but you | All of it |
| Book the job once it’s a yes | Emily, into your calendar | How your diary is run |
Why the follow-up wins work
Customers shop around. Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading tells people to “always get at least three written quotes”, so assume you’re up against two other tradies. The one who stays in touch and answers the questions is usually the one who makes it easy to say yes.
A February 2026 report from a job management software company, using data from more than 10,000 Australian tradies, found its users win 76% to 87% of the quotes they send, depending on the trade. It links faster, clearer quotes to higher win rates and names missed customer follow-ups as a common problem. That’s software users, so likely better than average.
Speed sets the bar too. In a 2026 survey of US home service businesses, more than 70% of customers expected a reply the same day. That’s US data, but Australian customers aren’t more patient.
Doing it yourself, an app, an AI receptionist or AI staff
| Option | Typical cost | Writes the quote | Follows it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself at night | Your evenings and weekends | Yes, when you get to it | When you remember |
| Part-time admin person | Clerks Award Level 2 from $29.45 an hour, plus 12% super | If you train them | In office hours |
| Quoting or job management app | A monthly subscription, often per user | Helps you type or talk it in | Some send reminder emails. You still make the calls |
| AI receptionist app | Mostly A$49 to A$399 a month | No | Few do. Most answer and book |
| LeadAI Growth (5 AI staff) | $950 a quarter or $3,040 a year + GST, about $253 a month paid yearly | SAM, by voice | Emily, every quote, until it’s a yes or a no |
What the follow-up looks like
You approve the timing and the wording. A common routine looks like this, and it all sits inside the rules for commercial texts and calls.
- Texts and emails that try to win the job are commercial messages under the Spam Act. They need consent, your business name and a free, working opt-out such as “reply STOP”, honoured within 5 business days.
- Calls follow the telemarketing standard: 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, with no calls on Sundays or national public holidays unless the customer agreed to that time.
| When | What Emily does |
|---|---|
| 2 to 3 days after you send it | A short check-in: did the quote come through, any questions? |
| About a week later | A call to ask if anything is holding them back |
| Before the quote expires | One more note with the expiry date, and a booking if they’re ready |
| Any time they say no or opt out | Thanks them and stops |
Talking a quote through to SAM
Talk to SAM the way you’d talk to an office manager. Tell him what you’d normally scribble on the back of a job sheet:
- The customer, the address and what the job is
- Materials, with quantities
- Labour and how long it will take
- Your price, and whether GST is included
- Whether it’s a fixed quote or an estimate, and when it expires
Say which one you’re sending. In WA Consumer Protection’s words, a quote “can’t be changed once you accept it”, while an estimate is a best guess. On the Scale and Enterprise plans, Advanced Costing also works out margins, markup and cost of goods from your material and labour costs before a quote goes out.
Where your AI staff stop, and you stay in charge
- Pricing: SAM writes the price you give him. Neither SAM nor Emily sets or changes a price.
- Discounts and negotiating: Emily never offers a discount or negotiates terms. Those come back to you.
- Scope and technical calls: what the job needs, variations and anything on site stay with you.
- Promises: Emily never promises work, dates or extras you haven’t approved.
- Emily never writes or sends a quote. She only follows up the ones you’ve sent.
- SAM never speaks to your customers. He works for you.
- Anyone who says no or opts out is taken off the follow-up.