Automation playbook · Quotra
The Quotra automation playbook for trade quoting
8 min read · Updated 7 September 2026
In short
Automate trade quoting in the order the work happens: capture, price, schedule, record, invoice. Quotra covers that chain, and the first automation worth doing is always the one that removes re-typing.
Start where the re-typing happens
Every trade quoting business has one moment where the same information gets typed twice — usually the handover between winning work and delivering it. That is the first automation, because it pays for itself immediately and nobody has to be persuaded to adopt it. In Quotra it is handled by carrying one record through enquiry to priced quote to branded send to follow-up to accepted job.
The five automations that matter
In order of payback, these are the automations we implement first for electricians, plumbers, paving and driveway firms, builders and landscapers:
- Reusable price lists so every quote is built from your real rates
- Branded, mobile-friendly quotes customers can accept in one tap
- Automatic follow-up on quotes that go quiet
- Win-rate reporting by job type, value and source
- Quote-to-job handover so accepted work does not get re-typed
What to leave manual
Automation should never take a judgement call away from an experienced operator. Pricing exceptions, difficult customers, safety decisions and anything with a legal consequence stay human. The software prepares the decision — it does not make it. That principle is why adoption sticks.
Connecting the tools you already pay for
Most of the value is in the joins, not in new software. Quotra connects to accounting software, calendars, payment links and lead sources such as your website form, and where something bespoke sits in the middle we build the bridge. Keep the software you already use; make it work together.
How to measure it
Pick three numbers before you start and check them monthly: time from enquiry to response, admin hours per job, and days to get paid. If those three move, the automation is real. If they do not, the workflow was wrong and we change it rather than adding more features.
Frequently asked questions
What should we automate first in trade quoting?
The handover where information gets typed twice — usually quote to job, or job to invoice. It is the fastest payback and the easiest change to get crews to accept.
Will automation mean laying people off?
In practice, no. It moves the same people off admin and onto work that generates margin. Most firms we work with grow their delivery capacity without adding office headcount.
Do we need to replace everything at once?
No, and you should not. We start with one workflow, prove the numbers, then extend. Quotra is designed to sit alongside accounting software, calendars, payment links and lead sources such as your website form rather than replace it on day one.
How do we know it is working?
Track response time, admin hours per job and days to payment. Those three numbers reflect nearly every operational improvement worth having.
Where to go next
- Quotra
See what Quotra does and who it is built for.
- All Forth platforms
Compare every platform we build and run.
- Tell us how your business runs
Send us the shape of your operation and we come back with what we would build.
- Free operations audit
A two-minute scan of where admin time and margin are leaking.
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