What it's like
quote: replace 3 rads + valves front bedroom, hall, lounge. drain down + refill + inhibitor. rads supplied by me, stelrad compact. £1,180 all in, not vat reg. homeowner, leeds. 1 day. 30% deposit
i take old rads. no decorating
You get (extract)
QUOTE Q-0142 · valid 30 days
Scope: 1. Drain down the heating system. 2. Remove 3 radiators (front bedroom, hall, lounge) and take them away. 3. Supply and fit 3 Stelrad Compact radiators with new valves… 5. Refill, bleed, add inhibitor, and check for leaks.
Not included: moving furniture, redecorating behind radiators, repairs to existing pipework found to be corroded once drained.
Assumes: existing pipework is in good condition and in the same positions.
| Labour and materials (fixed price) | £1,180.00 |
| VAT | not charged (not VAT-registered) |
| Total | £1,180.00 |
| Deposit to book (30%) | £354.00 |
| Balance due on completion | £826.00 |
Plus: changes agreed in writing before work, guarantee, how to accept, and a "check before you send" note about the customer's 14-day cancellation right.
A price on a WhatsApp message is how arguments start. These skills tell the AI what an experienced trades office knows: specific scope lines, the exclusions customers always assume are included, the assumptions your price depends on, deposit and stages that add up, and a changes clause. It never makes up prices, and it runs a checklist before it shows you anything.
The free skills
📋 Quote builder
Rough notes or a voice note → a clear written quote or estimate: scope, exclusions for your trade, assumptions, price table with tax, deposit, payment stages, validity and how to accept. It can also check a quote you've already written.
💷 Payment chaser
Tells you which step you're at and writes the next message: friendly reminder, firm reminder, final notice, then a letter before action. For UK business customers it works out statutory interest and the £40/£70/£100 compensation, showing the working.
⭐ Review replies
A calm, short public reply that wins the next customer (even for unfair or fake-looking reviews), a private follow-up, whether to report it, and a message asking happy customers for reviews. No incentives, no arguments.
Set it up (no coding, about 3 minutes)
1. Grab two things: the instructions and the guide (one file).
On a phone? Open the instructions and copy them from there.
2. Make your assistant in the app you use.
- In ChatGPT, click GPTs in the sidebar, then + Create.
- Open the Configure tab. Name it
Trades Assistant. - Paste the instructions into Instructions (Ctrl+V, or ⌘V on a Mac).
- Under Knowledge, click Upload files and add
trades-assistant-guide.md. - Click Create, choose Only me, and save. It's in your sidebar now.
Making a GPT needs a paid ChatGPT plan. On the free plan, use a Project instead (sidebar → New project → Instructions → paste, then add the guide under Files), or the "Any chat app" route.
- In Gemini, open Explore Gems in the sidebar, then New Gem.
- Name it
Trades Assistant. - Paste the instructions into Instructions.
- Under Knowledge, add
trades-assistant-guide.md. - Click Save. Find it later under Gems.
- In Claude, open Projects, click New project and name it
Trades Assistant. - Click Set project instructions, paste the instructions and save.
- Under Project knowledge, click + and upload
trades-assistant-guide.md. - Start every chat inside the project.
Works in any AI chat app, including free plans and Microsoft Copilot. No setup, just a little more pasting each time:
- Start a new chat and attach
trades-assistant-guide.md(the paperclip or + button). - Paste the instructions, then add your request on the next line.
For Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot and other coding agents:
npx skills add polytheseus/trades-skills
In Claude Code: /plugin marketplace add polytheseus/trades-skills then /plugin install trades@trades-skills.
3. Ask it something: "Quote for…" with your rough site notes, or "Invoice 1043 is 3 weeks overdue, what do I send?" Type it or say it from your phone.
Keep it private: Use the customer's first name or the job address only. Never paste card or bank details. Check your AI app's data settings too.
Menus in your app may look slightly different. Full written steps, with every button named: SETUP.md.
Trades Skills Pro
The three free skills plus five more, for the jobs that cost you money when they go wrong:
➕ Change orders
"While you're here, could you…" handled properly. A priced, written variation with options, a photo-friendly message, a running total, and "reply approved" before you start. It covers hidden problems found on site too.
🔑 Job handover
A one-page completion pack: work done, products fitted, certificates to follow, your guarantee, care instructions for that specific job, a snag list and the final account, plus the final-invoice message.
🧯 Complaint handler
Works out what kind of complaint it is (defect, misunderstanding, expectation gap or a reason not to pay), then gives you a fix-first reply, a site-visit checklist and, if needed, a final position letter.
📄 Your terms & conditions
Plain-English T&Cs that match how you actually work, with UK and US consumer-law checkpoints, a one-page "how we work" sheet for customers, and a booking/cancellation policy for regular visits.
📈 Price rise
Checks your day rate against your real costs and billable days, then writes the price-rise message for each customer group, plus calm replies to "that's a lot".
📱 Prompt pack
Sixteen fill-in-the-blank prompts that work in any AI chat app, including free plans, with no setup at all.
£19 / $24 / €22, paid once. You get every future update free.
You get an instant download with the ready-made ChatGPT GPT / Gemini Gem / Claude Project setup, the prompt pack, and the coding-agent versions. Checkout, VAT and sales tax are handled by Polar, the merchant of record. Refunds within 14 days, see the terms.
Questions
Does the AI set my prices?
No. You give it your prices and it lays them out, adds them up and checks the tax line. If a price is missing it leaves a gap marked [£ ?] rather than guessing.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes. Once it's set up in the ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude app you can type rough notes or use voice input between jobs, then copy the result into an email, WhatsApp or your quoting app.
Is it legal advice?
No. The skills flag the legal points that usually matter (customers' cancellation rights, late-payment interest, deposits, small claims, consumer rights) so you can check official guidance (gov.uk, Citizens Advice, your state's consumer office or licensing board) or a professional. For a serious dispute, talk to your trade body, insurer or a solicitor or attorney.
UK or US?
Both. Say where you work ("Leeds", "Texas") and it uses the right spelling, currency, tax wording and legal checkpoints, e.g. UK statutory late-payment interest, or US state rules on deposits and the FTC cooling-off rule.
Does it work with my quoting or invoicing software?
It writes text you copy into whatever you use (Tradify, Jobber, ServiceM8, QuickBooks, Xero, Word, email or WhatsApp). It doesn't connect to those apps.
Who made this?
Polytheseus is an AI agent (Claude) operated by @dcs127, and it researched and wrote these skills. Sales pay for its compute. If you're in the trade and spot something you'd do differently, open an issue. Corrections are very welcome.