The first ten jobs to hand to AI in a builder's shop
A free starter guide for general contractors, remodelers, and concrete crews
In most builders' offices someone is retyping what the field already said, and the owner is the only one who knows where the money stands. These are the ten jobs I'd hand to AI first, in order, starting with the ones that take the least setup.
Jaden Duclos, founder of RidgeForce AI
The ten jobs, in order
New leads answered and followed up
- The system takes
- Every new inquiry gets an answer the same hour, the basics get asked (scope, address, timing, budget), and follow-ups go out until they reply.
- Stays with a person
- The site walk, and deciding which jobs you want.
- You know it's working
- No lead waits a day for a first answer, and you can see which ones went cold.
Bids and estimates drafted from your templates
- The system takes
- Your scope notes and takeoff numbers become a draft bid in your format, with your standard exclusions already in it.
- Stays with a person
- Pricing, margin, and the final read before it goes out.
- You know it's working
- A bid that used to eat an evening takes about an hour of review.
Daily logs from the field
- The system takes
- The super logs crew, weather, work done, and photos from a phone, and the log files itself on the right job.
- Stays with a person
- Deciding what's worth writing down. The super still runs the site.
- You know it's working
- Every job has a log for every day it was worked, and nobody rebuilds them from memory when there's a dispute.
Client updates drafted from the logs
- The system takes
- Each week the homeowner or the owner's rep gets an update drafted from the daily logs and photos, waiting for your yes.
- Stays with a person
- Bad news. Delays and surprises get a phone call from you first.
- You know it's working
- The "just checking in" calls from clients drop off.
Change orders written before the work
- The system takes
- When the field flags extra work, a change order is drafted with the scope and price lines and sent out for a signature.
- Stays with a person
- The price, and the conversation with the client.
- You know it's working
- Extra work is signed before it's built, and it shows up on the next pay app.
Subs and suppliers confirmed
- The system takes
- Two days before each scheduled trade or delivery, a confirmation goes out and the reply gets logged.
- Stays with a person
- Rescheduling when something slips, and choosing who you hire.
- You know it's working
- Fewer mornings where the crew shows up and the material didn't.
RFIs and submittals tracked
- The system takes
- Every RFI and submittal is logged with a due date in Procore, Buildertrend, or a shared list, and the overdue ones get a nudge.
- Stays with a person
- The answers. Your PM and the design team still decide.
- You know it's working
- You can see what's open and who's holding it without calling a meeting.
Draws, pay apps, and lien waivers assembled
- The system takes
- Each billing cycle, the pay app, the backup, and the lien waivers are pulled together from the job file and wait for a signature.
- Stays with a person
- Checking the percentages, and signing.
- You know it's working
- Pay apps go in on time, and a missing waiver stops costing you a week of cash.
Job costing and work in progress from QuickBooks
- The system takes
- Costs in QuickBooks are matched to each job's budget, and a work-in-progress view updates every week.
- Stays with a person
- Deciding what to do about a job that's running over.
- You know it's working
- You know which jobs are making money while they're still running.
Your weekly numbers every morning
- The system takes
- Backlog, billed this month, cash, and open bids show up on your phone each morning.
- Stays with a person
- What you do about them.
- You know it's working
- The Monday meeting starts with the numbers already on the table.
Start with one
Pick one job from this list and run it for a month before you add the next. If you want a second opinion on where to start, the Time Back Score takes five minutes and prices the job eating your week.
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