Trades Quote-to-Invoice Workflow (AU)

When to use

Triggers:

• "Quote [job] for [client]"
• "Draft an invoice for [client]"
• "Chase this unpaid invoice — X days overdue"
• "Job costing for [client]"
• "What should I charge for [specific work]?"
• "Margin check on this job"
• Any AU trades / construction operator at any stage of sales-to-cash

Don't fire for:

• Tender responses > ~$200k (different workflow — use thl-tender-takeoff-assistant if it's internal to THL)
• Manufacturing / workshop quoting (different cost structure)
• Retail goods sales (different GST + returns model)

The AU trades quote-to-invoice cycle

Six stages, skill-supported at each:

Site visit
  ↓
Scope capture
  ↓
Itemised quote
  ↓
Signed acceptance
  ↓
Invoice (progress or final)
  ↓
Payment + follow-up

Stage 1 — Site visit / scope capture

Before a quote exists, capture:

• Client — name, ABN (if applicable — commercial clients), billing address, site address if different
• Scope — what the work is, in plain English
• Materials — brands/models specified vs "or equivalent"
• Site conditions — access, power, parking, working hours
• Constraints — body corporate rules, heritage overlay, council permits, tenant access, operating hours for commercial
• Timeline expectation — start date, duration, hard deadlines (settlement, lease start, event)
• Decision maker — who signs off
• Payment history — new vs returning client; if returning, any history of slow payment
• Compliance needs — Certificate of Electrical Safety (CoES) for electrical; Compliance plate for plumbing; white card confirmation for construction sites
• Variations likely — "we'll probably find more rot behind the bathroom wall" flags for a provisional sum or day-rate clause

The skill produces a structured scope doc from photos, notes, and voice memos — not just blank form-fill.

Stage 2 — Itemised quote

The quote must include (AU standard):

1. Your business — legal name, ABN, licence number(s), contact
2. Client — name, billing address
3. Site address (if different)
4. Quote number + date
5. Expiry — most trades use 30 days
6. Scope — description per plain English
7. Line items — labour (hours × rate), materials (each line), sub-contracts, allowances, provisional sums
8. Subtotal (ex-GST)
9. GST (10%)
10. Total (inc-GST)
11. Payment terms — e.g. 50% deposit, 50% on completion. Or 7 days from invoice. Or Net 14.
12. Inclusions — explicit list
13. Exclusions — explicit list (this is where most disputes originate)
14. Assumptions — access, existing conditions, working hours
15. Warranty — what's covered, how long
16. Signature block — client signs + dates

GST treatment

• Most trades services and materials: 10% GST
• GST-free items are rare in trades. Water, basic food, some health items — not usually relevant.
• Quote net (ex-GST) in the line items, then show GST as a line, then total inc-GST. This matches how Xero / MYOB / QuickBooks Online export to a BAS (see au-bas-gst-quarterly-prep).

Retention (commercial / larger residential)

For jobs > ~$10k or any commercial client, the client may withhold retention — typically 5% of the contract value, held for a defect liability period (usually 12 months).

The quote should state upfront:

• Is retention applicable? (yes/no)
• If yes, what %?
• What triggers release?
• Where is the retention held? (most common: principal withholds; less common: retention trust)

Flag retention as a cashflow consideration — a $50k job with 5% retention means $2,500 you don't see for a year.

Progress claims (jobs > ~$20k or contracts > 30 days)

For larger jobs, structure the invoicing as progress claims rather than one final invoice:

• Claim at pre-agreed milestones (30%, 60%, 90%, final) OR
• Claim monthly for % of work complete
• Each progress claim is a separate invoice
• Each triggers the Security of Payment Act clock (statutory payment timeframes by state — NSW 10 business days for head contractors, etc.)

The skill flags when a job is likely to need progress-claim structure.

Stage 3 — Signed acceptance

Don't start work without signed acceptance. "Signed" in AU trades = written (email OK), electronic signature (preferred for traceability), or ink — not "verbal agreement at the kitchen table".

The skill produces an acceptance email template the client can reply to with "accepted" in writing. Attach the quote PDF.

Stage 4 — Invoice

A tax invoice for a GST-registered business must include:

• The word "Tax invoice"
• Your business name + ABN
• Invoice date
• Description of supply
• Total price including GST, or price ex-GST + GST amount
• If total > $1,000: buyer's name (and ABN if supplying to a business)

The skill produces Xero/MYOB/QuickBooks-ready line items, GST-correct, matching the quote structure.

Stage 5 — Payment + follow-up

Average AU SME debtor days: 30–45. Trades typically sits at the higher end, especially for builder clients.

Payment chase cadence (skill-assisted drafting):

• Day 0 — invoice issued. Friendly confirmation email with invoice attached + payment options.
• Day 7 (if unpaid, terms are 7-day). Friendly reminder. "Just a nudge — invoice #X is now due. Let me know if you need it resent."
• Day 14. Direct reminder, same tone. "Invoice is a week overdue — everything OK?"
• Day 21. Firmer. "If the invoice isn't paid by [date] I'll need to add a late fee per our terms." State the specific late-fee rate (if your quote specified one — e.g. 2% per month compounding).
• Day 30. Escalate. Phone call. If a commercial debtor, consider a Payment Claim under the relevant state's Security of Payment Act. If a residential debtor, offer a payment plan before going to small-claims tribunal.

The skill drafts each email in the operator's voice; the operator sends.

Common margin leaks (audit layer)

Run this check on recent completed jobs:

• Allowance / provisional sum overruns — if jobs consistently go over allowance, your allowances are too tight
• Unbilled variations — every "while we're here, can you also..." should be a variation quote, not absorbed into the original
• Unclaimed warranty labour — if you're fixing faulty materials, claim against the supplier, not eat the labour cost
• Overlooked sub-contract markups — if you sub out plumbing/electrical, you're entitled to a mark-up (typically 10–15%) for coordination
• Travel time on multi-site days — capture as billable time where the client terms allow
• Site-specific surcharges — after-hours work, weekend, confined space, heights — apply per your rate card, don't forget

For each job, the skill produces a margin report after close-out.

Tools integration

• ServiceM8 — job management + quotes + invoices; strong for service-trades (electrical, plumbing)
• AroFlo — job management + scheduling + invoicing; strong for larger trades
• Tradify — lighter-weight, good for solo / small operators
• simPRO — bigger commercial, stronger for fit-out and services companies
• Xero + a light quoting tool — solo trades, straight to accounting

The skill outputs a CSV / JSON format that most of these accept as a quote import. Where integration isn't available, the operator copy-pastes.

Output format

Per request:

• Quote (PDF-ready Markdown) — client-facing, signed-acceptance field included
• Internal job brief — sale-to-delivery handover notes for the operator's team
• Invoice (when job complete) — ATO-compliant tax invoice structure
• Chase email sequence — 5 emails in the cadence above, merge-tagged
• Margin check — post-close, with specific leaks identified if any

What this skill does NOT do

• Issue payment claims under the Security of Payment Act. That's a specific statutory filing; use a solicitor or a SoP-specialist service.
• Provide licensing or compliance advice. Electrical CoES, plumbing compliance plates, building certifier sign-offs are the licensed tradesperson's responsibility.
• Resolve contract disputes. If a client refuses to pay and a dispute emerges, it's tribunal / small-claims / lawyer territory, not AI territory.
• Handle hourly job tracking or timesheets. Your job-management software does.

Tier access

Base. The quote-to-invoice cycle is core daily work for trades SMEs. Pro-tier members get a rate-card integration (upload your rate card, skill uses it across quotes) and a post-job margin auto-calc against Xero data.

Related skills

• au-bas-gst-quarterly-prep — invoice GST lands in BAS; these are sequential
• au-cold-outreach-spam-compliant — if growing the trades business through B2B referral campaigns
• ai-roi-measurement-for-sme — measure what AI-assisted quoting is actually saving

References

• ATO — Tax invoices
• Security of Payment Acts by state — summary
• ACCC — Unfair contract terms