Ten prompts cover most of an electrician's paperwork: turning site notes into a quote, writing scope and exclusions, offering options, chasing a quote, explaining a fault, asking for extra work, confirming a visit, and drafting, summarising and cross-checking terms and conditions. Each comes with a filled example and a check; none asks ChatGPT for wiring rules.
ChatGPT writes the words around the job, not the job itself. It does not know your rates, what you found behind the plasterboard, or what your local wiring rules require, so every prompt below makes you supply those facts and then checks the draft against them. Certificates, test results and compliance statements stay with you, signed in your name.
Set up once: a firm profile every prompt starts from
Before the first prompt, give ChatGPT a standing brief so you are not retyping your sign-off, spelling and payment terms every time. A ChatGPT Project keeps instructions and reference files together for every chat inside it. Projects are available on the free plan too, and the number of files you can attach rises with the plan (as of October 2026, 5 on Free and 25 on Plus). Use a Project rather than a custom GPT, because OpenAI has scheduled custom GPTs to stop running on 11 December 2026.
Paste something like this into the Project's instructions and change the bracketed parts to match how you really work.
You help me write customer paperwork for [firm name], a small electrical contracting firm with [number] electricians doing domestic and light commercial work.
Rules you never break:
- Use only the facts I paste into the chat. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing.
- Never say or imply that work complies with, meets or is certified to any regulation or standard. I decide what we claim.
- Copy every figure exactly as I give it. If I ask for a total, show the sum line by line so I can check it.
- No guarantees, discounts, deadlines or "limited slots" unless I state them.
Voice: British English, plain and polite, short paragraphs, no exclamation marks, no jargon without a one-line explanation.
How we work: quotes are valid for 14 days; 30% deposit on jobs over $1,000; balance due 7 days after completion; extra work only after written approval; completion paperwork is issued by me after testing.
Sign every customer message: [your first name], [firm name], [phone number].The profile holds habits, not data. There are no customer names, no addresses and no supplier price list in it. Its two guards matter most. "Never imply compliance" stops the most dangerous kind of fluent nonsense: a confident sentence about regulations that you did not write and may not be able to stand behind. "Copy figures exactly" exists because a draft is the wrong place for a sum to appear for the first time. You work the numbers out in your own costing sheet and ChatGPT only places them.
On a personal plan, switch off the model-training option in the data controls settings (business plans do not train on workspace content by default), and write [first name] and a job description instead of identities. If a chat is ever shared or leaked, it then reveals a kitchen and a price, not a person.
Quotes: site notes, scope lines and a choice of options
The three quote prompts share one imaginary job so you can see the pieces fit together: a kitchen where you add four double sockets, run a new circuit for an oven and hob, and fit six dimmable downlights. Every figure is illustrative. Swap in your own rates and your own costing.
1. Site notes to a priced domestic quote
Use this straight after a visit, while the notes are still in your head. They can be rough; the prompt forces an order onto them. The costing stays yours: hours, rate, materials at cost and your price to the customer all come from your own sheet.
Write a domestic quote from my site notes.
Customer: [first name]
Job in one line: [what the customer asked for]
What I saw on site: [rough notes, as they are]
Work included: [list every item]
Labour: [hours] at [rate] an hour
Materials: my cost [figure], my price to the customer [figure]
Other charges: [waste, parking, call-out]
Total I have worked out: [figure]
Layout: two sentences on what we will do; price lines for labour, materials and other charges; the total; then "What this price assumes" and "What is not included" as short bullet lists; then how to accept.
Add no work, brands, guarantees or compliance statements I have not given you. Copy my numbers exactly. If my total does not match my lines, say so instead of correcting it.For the kitchen job the inputs were four double sockets, a new circuit for the oven and hob, six dimmable downlights, and testing with your usual completion paperwork. Labour came to 16 hours at $72.50. Materials cost $380.00 and were priced to the customer at $456.00 (cost plus 20%). Waste and parking added $45.00, for a total of $1,661.00. The kind of draft that comes back looks like this, trimmed and illustrative.
Hi [first name], thanks for showing me the kitchen. Here is the price to add four double sockets, a new circuit for the oven and hob, and six dimmable downlights, with testing and our usual completion paperwork at the end.
Labour: 16 hours at $72.50 = $1,160.00
Materials: $456.00
Waste and parking: $45.00
Total: $1,661.00 (tax added where it applies)This price assumes clear access to the work areas and the loft, and that the existing kitchen circuits are in sound condition.
Not included: making good plaster and decorating; any work on circuits not listed above.
This quote is valid for 14 days. Reply to accept and I will suggest a start date.
Check before sending. The sample has one problem worth catching. "The existing kitchen circuits are in sound condition" is a technical judgement that ChatGPT invented from a note about an old fuse board. Delete it, or replace it with your own wording such as "any faults found in existing wiring will be quoted separately." Then confirm four things: every figure matches your costing sheet, the number of sockets and lights matches your notes, the validity period matches your standing terms, and the draft claims nothing about regulations.
2. Scope and exclusions you can paste under any price
Most disputes about electrical quotes come from what the price silently left out: making good, decorating, access, hidden problems. This prompt builds the two lists from your own habits rather than from ChatGPT's idea of what a quote should say, and it flags vague lines in the quote itself. For a full domestic template built around the same idea, see the electrician quote template tutorial.
Below are the lines of a quote I have written. Draft two short lists to go under it: "What this price assumes" and "What is not included".
Use only these facts about how I work: [for example: I do not decorate or repair plaster; the customer clears access to the loft and the work areas; hidden problems found once walls or floors are open are quoted separately before I carry on].
Quote lines: [paste the lines; no names or addresses]
Rules: no more than six bullets per list; plain English; no mention of regulations. Then list any line in my quote that is vague enough to cause an argument later, and suggest a clearer wording for me to approve. Do not change the quote itself.Fed the kitchen quote, a good run returns the two lists plus a short note on vague lines. A realistic one reads: "The line 'new lighting in kitchen' does not say how many fittings, who supplies them or whether switches are included. Suggested wording: 'Supply and fit six dimmable downlights chosen by you, on a new switch position beside the door.'" That single catch is worth the prompt, because the original line would have let the customer expect pendant lights over the table at the same price.
Check before sending. Every exclusion must be something you will actually hold to. If you would in practice fill a small hole in the plaster as a courtesy, write "making good beyond filling cable chases" rather than a blanket exclusion that your own behaviour contradicts. Keep both lists to six bullets. Long exclusion lists read as a way of dodging responsibility, and customers skim them.
3. A choice of three options instead of one price
A single price invites a yes or a no. Three options give the customer a way to say yes to something smaller than your full scope, and they show what each extra piece costs. This prompt dresses your own three scopes and prices; it does not invent options.
Turn these three scopes into a choice of options for the customer. I will give you the price of each; copy it exactly.
Options: [A: name, scope, price], [B: name, scope, price], [C: name, scope, price]
For each option write one sentence on what it covers and one on what it leaves out. Then add one short paragraph on how to choose, based only on what I have said about the customer's priorities: [for example: wants the oven working before a family visit; has a tight budget]. If my notes do not support a recommendation, do not make one. End by asking the customer to reply with a letter.For the kitchen the options were A, four double sockets at $585.00; B, option A plus the oven and hob circuit at $1,090.00; and C, option B plus the six downlights at $1,661.00, the same total as prompt 1. The draft describes each in a sentence and ends "Reply with A, B or C and I will send dates." Because option C equals the single quote, checking that the three prices stack is the first thing to do with the draft: if they do not add up to the same job, one of them is wrong.
Check before sending. Each option must stand alone as a job you would be happy to do. ChatGPT sometimes labels the middle option "most popular" or "best value" to nudge the customer; delete that unless you can prove it. Make sure option A is a real job rather than a decoy priced only to make B look reasonable.
Emails: chasers, fault explanations, extra work, visit notes
These four prompts write the messages that eat an electrician's evenings. They follow one pattern: you supply the facts in your own words, ChatGPT supplies the structure and the manners, and you read the result as if you were the customer.
4. A three-message chaser for a quote that has gone quiet
Quotes go unanswered for ordinary reasons: the customer is comparing prices, waiting for a partner's view, or has simply forgotten. The sequence below is polite, spaced and free of pressure tactics. If you want the whole follow-up process automated rather than drafted, the quote follow-up automation tutorial covers the timing and the opt-out wording.
Write a three-message follow-up for a quote I sent and have not heard back on.
Job: [one line]. Quote total: [figure]. Quote sent: [date]. Valid until: [date]. My usual lead time from yes to start: [for example, two weeks].
Message 1 (day 3): check they received it and offer to answer questions.
Message 2 (day 7): give one useful fact about what happens after they say yes.
Message 3 (day 14): close politely and say when the price expires.
Rules: under 90 words each; no discounts, no made-up urgency, no "limited slots" unless I say so; sound like a tradesperson, not a salesperson. Sign off as in the project instructions.Message 2 for the kitchen job might read: "Hi [first name], one practical point in case it helps your decision. Once you say yes I confirm a start date within two working days, order the materials the same day and ask for the deposit. Nothing is booked until you reply. Happy to talk through any line of the quote." The usual slip is an extra sentence such as "We only have a couple of slots left this month." Cut it unless your diary says so. An invented scarcity claim is exactly what makes a customer stop replying.
Check before sending. Count the days from the date the quote was sent, not from today. Compare the expiry date in message 3 with your standing terms, and check whether the customer has already replied somewhere else, such as a text. Send the messages yourself, from your usual address or number, so replies reach you.
5. A fault explained in plain English, in your words
After a fault-finding visit the customer wants three things: what was wrong, what you did, and what happens next. The prompt lets you dictate those facts in your own words and returns something easier to read than your notes. It is explicitly forbidden from adding reassurance.
Explain what I found to the customer in plain English.
What I found (my words; do not add to them): [your notes]
What I did: [your notes]
What I recommend next: [your notes]
Cost of today's visit: [figure]
Rules: about 150 words; short sentences; no technical term without a clause of explanation; no statement about whether the installation is safe, compliant or in good condition beyond my words; no blame on previous electricians; one clear next step for the customer at the end.Say the notes are: kitchen sockets cut out when the dishwasher heats; damaged cable found behind the dishwasher; that section replaced and the circuit tested; one cracked socket cover beside the cooker to be replaced on a return visit; visit cost $135.00. The draft comes back as a short, clean note ending "If you are happy for me to replace the cracked cover, reply with a day that suits you." The line to cut is the one ChatGPT likes to add: "There is no danger to your household." It sounds kind, but it is a safety statement, and only you can make it after your own tests.
Check before sending. Compare the message with your notes sentence by sentence; every fact should trace back to something you wrote. If the finding is a safety risk, write the warning yourself in plain words and tell the customer what to do tonight. Do not let a draft soften it.
6. Extra work found mid-job, asked for in writing
Verbal "while I'm here" agreements are where margins and relationships go wrong. When a job changes, a short written approval request protects both sides. This prompt produces one in a tone that does not read as a demand.
Write a short message asking the customer to approve extra work on a job in progress.
Original job and price: [one line, figure]
What I found or what changed: [one or two sentences, my words]
Extra work: [list]
Extra cost: labour [hours at rate], materials [figure], total extra [figure]
Effect on timing: [days, or none]
New total: [figure]
Say plainly what changed and why, the extra price, what happens if they say no (the realistic options), and how to approve (reply "approved"). No pressure or fear. Offer a call if they want to talk it through.Suppose the cable route behind the base units turns out to be blocked, so you propose running the oven circuit through the loft instead of cutting into the cabinets. The extra is 2 hours at $72.50 = $145.00 plus $60.00 of materials, $205.00 in all, taking the job from $1,661.00 to $1,866.00 with no change to the finish date. The draft sets out the change, the price and the alternative: "If you would rather not, the original route means cutting back the cabinet, which I would price separately."
Check before sending. Confirm that the new total equals the old total plus the extra, and that tax is treated the same way as in the first quote. Keep the customer's "approved" reply with the job record. If the message runs longer than one screen, trim it; customers who face a wall of text phone instead of reading.
7. A visit confirmation with the access checklist
No-access visits and surprise power cuts can each cost a day. A confirmation sent the day before, listing the few things you need from the customer, heads off many of them.
Write a confirmation message for a visit.
Date: [date]. Arrival window: [time to time]. Job: [one line]. Expected duration: [hours].
Power will be off: [when and for how long, or "not needed"].
I need the customer to: [for example, clear access to the work areas, move fragile items, keep pets away from the work, make sure an adult is home, tell me where to park].
Under 120 words, friendly and direct. Include my phone number for the day. Do not ask for or include gate codes, key-safe numbers or alarm details; tell the customer to give those to me by phone.For the kitchen start, the draft gives the Thursday arrival window of 8:00 to 10:00, says the kitchen sockets will be off for about two hours before lunch, asks the customer to empty the base units along the oven wall and to keep the fridge door shut while it is off, and ends with your number. The slip to watch for is a timing promise you never made, such as "the job will definitely finish today". Remove anything that commits you to a time you have not planned for.
Check before sending. Does the arrival window match your diary, is the power-off period one you can keep, and is there a line saying how to reach you if you are running late? If you send the confirmation by text rather than email, keep it short enough to read on a lock screen.
Terms and conditions: draft, summarise, cross-check
Terms and conditions are where ChatGPT is most useful and most dangerous at once. Useful, because a blank page is one reason terms get copied from a rival and never read. Dangerous, because a fluent clause about liability or cancellation can sound right and still be wrong where you work. These three prompts use ChatGPT for structure, plain wording and consistency, and leave the law to a person qualified to give it. The tutorial on AI-written electrician terms and conditions covers the legal-review side in more depth.
8. A first-draft set of terms for domestic work
The prompt builds a draft from your real practices and refuses to state any legal rule. Wherever a clause depends on local consumer law, such as cancellation rights for work agreed at the customer's home, how deposits must be held or what you may charge for late payment, it leaves a capitalised placeholder for your solicitor.
Draft terms and conditions for my domestic electrical work as a first draft for my solicitor to review.
How I actually work:
- Quotes valid for [14] days.
- Deposit: [30% on jobs over $1,000]. Balance due [7] days after completion.
- Extra work only after written approval (an email or text counts).
- Hidden problems found once walls or floors are open are quoted before I carry on.
- Access: the customer provides clear access and a working power supply where needed.
- Delays outside my control (supplier delays, weather, no access) move the programme and I tell the customer promptly.
- Workmanship guarantee: [period]. Manufacturers' guarantees on materials pass through to the customer.
- Complaints: the customer tells me in writing, I reply within [5] working days, then offer a visit.
- Cancellation by the customer: [my rule]. Cancellation by me: [my rule].
- Insurance: [type only; do not state amounts].
Rules: numbered clauses, plain English, under 900 words. Where a clause depends on local consumer law, write [LEGAL CHECK: topic] instead of stating a rule. Do not mention wiring regulations, certification or standards. After the draft, list the three clauses you are least sure about.A good run returns about twenty numbered clauses. One reads: "Extra work. If we find something that needs extra work, we will tell you in writing, with a price, before we do it. We will not start it until you approve it in writing. An email or text reply counts as writing." Another is simply "[LEGAL CHECK: customer cancellation rights for work agreed at their home]". The closing list of least-sure clauses is the one to take to the solicitor.
The slips are predictable: a liability cap ("our total liability is limited to the value of the contract") that you never asked for, interest on late payment at a rate you never chose, or a paragraph of legal Latin you would never say to a customer. Any sentence that states a legal effect belongs to the solicitor, not to you.
Check before sending. Do not publish or send AI-drafted terms until a solicitor, or your trade body's advice service, has read them once. Then check each clause against what you actually do. Terms you do not follow are worse than none, because a customer can quote them back at you.
9. A one-page summary customers will actually read
Customers rarely read four pages of terms, and nobody is helped when a dispute starts with "but it was in the small print". A one-page summary attached to the quote puts the key points where they will be seen. It must be a faithful squeeze of the full text, not a second document with its own promises.
Here are my full terms and conditions: [paste].
Write a one-page "What you need to know" for customers, with the headings Before we start, Payment, If something changes, and If something goes wrong. Maximum 250 words. Use only what is in the terms, in simpler words. Do not add promises or remove limits. After the summary, list any sentence in it that does not map to a numbered clause.An extract of a good result: "Payment: a 30% deposit on jobs over $1,000, and the rest within 7 days of finishing. Extra work: only after you approve it in writing, with a price. If something goes wrong: tell us in writing and we will reply within 5 working days and offer a visit." The closing list of unmapped sentences is the safety net. If the summary says "we always finish on time", that sentence appears on the list because no clause says it.
Check before sending. Read the summary against the full terms yourself, because ChatGPT's own mapping can be wrong. Put the date and version of the terms in the summary's footer so the two documents stay paired when you update one.
10. A quote-against-terms contradiction check
Quotes and terms are written months apart and drift. A typical conflict is a quote that says 14 days' validity while the terms say 30, or a 30% deposit in one and 25% in the other. This prompt is a proofreader, not a writer: it must not rewrite anything.
Compare my quote and my terms below. List every place where they disagree, and every place where one assumes something the other does not mention.
Quote: [paste, no names or addresses]
Terms: [paste]
Format: a table with the columns Issue, Quote says, Terms say. Quote the exact words in each column. Do not rewrite or suggest wording. If you find nothing, say so. Do not invent clauses.On the kitchen paperwork, a typical result looks like this (illustrative).
| Issue | Quote says | Terms say |
|---|---|---|
| How long the price holds | Valid for 14 days | Prices held for 30 days |
| Deposit | 30% on acceptance | 25% before materials are ordered |
| Hidden problems | Not mentioned | Quoted separately before work continues |
Three rows, ten minutes to fix both documents, and a conflict removed before a customer finds it. Run the check twice with the documents pasted in a different order. If the two runs disagree about a row, check that row by hand.
Check before sending. ChatGPT can report conflicts that are not there and miss real ones, so treat the table as a list of places to look. Fix the source documents, not the table, and run the comparison once more after editing.
The five-minute check before anything is sent
The same short check works for all ten prompts. Keep it beside the screen until it becomes a habit.
- Numbers: every figure traces to your costing sheet, and any total adds up when you add it yourself.
- Facts: every statement about the job traces to something you typed. Anything else is an invention, so delete it.
- Claims: search the draft for "comply", "compliant", "certified", "approved", "safe", "guarantee", "free" and "always". Each must be your claim, not ChatGPT's.
- Terms: validity, deposit and payment days match your standing terms and your terms document.
- Names and placeholders: no [first name] left in, and no wrong name carried over from the last chat.
- Tone: would you say it that way on the doorstep? If a sentence sounds like a brochure, cut it.
- Privacy: nothing identifying went in, and nothing identifying has crept into the draft.
- Send it yourself, from your own address or number, so replies reach you.
The check takes about five minutes at first and nearer two once you know what tends to slip in. If a draft needs a lot of edits, the fault is usually the notes you fed in, not the prompt.
Trying the prompts on three finished jobs first
Before any AI-drafted message reaches a customer, run the prompts on jobs you have already finished. Pick a small job, a medium job and one that went wrong, because they stress different prompts. For each, feed in the notes you had at the time and compare the draft with what you really sent.
Keep a tally in a note: minutes spent editing the draft, invented facts found, wrong figures found, and whether the tone was right. After three jobs you will know which prompts earn a place in your week. I would expect the short, repetitive messages (chasers and visit confirmations) to clear the bar first, and the terms prompts to clear it only once your profile contains your real practices. When the same slip appears twice, add a rule to the Project instructions, such as "never write that there is no danger", instead of fixing it by hand every time.
The free plan is enough for this trial, though its message limits can interrupt a long session. If you hit them, Plus is $20 a month at list price. A firm with several people writing paperwork can look at ChatGPT Business, which needs at least two seats; check the current pricing page before you commit.
What stays out of ChatGPT altogether
- Certificates and test results. They come from your instruments and carry your signature. The tutorial on what AI can draft and what you must sign draws the line in detail.
- Design calculations and "is this allowed?" questions. Use the current regulations and your licensing body. A fluent wrong answer here is worse than no answer.
- Customer identities. Names, addresses, phone numbers, access codes, alarm details, and photos that show documents or faces in the background.
- Safety judgements. Whether an installation is safe to use is yours to state, after your own inspection and tests.
If you would rather have these jobs inside your quoting software than in a chat window, the decision rule for an electrician's AI app by job volume and team size shows where each option pays, and the tutorial on admin yes, code answers no explains the same boundary for a bigger firm.
Questions electricians ask before using ChatGPT for paperwork
Is it safe to paste customer details into ChatGPT?
Treat the chat as a place for job facts, not identities. Leave out names, addresses, phone numbers, access codes and photos of documents, and write [first name] and a job description instead. Personal plans have a switch in the data controls that stops chats being used for model training, and business plans do not train on workspace content by default, but the placeholder habit protects you on any plan.
Can ChatGPT answer wiring regulation questions for me?
It can explain ideas in general terms, but it can be wrong or out of date, and you are the person who signs for the work. Use the current regulations and your licensing body's guidance for anything that affects what you install, test or certify. Keep ChatGPT to the words around the job: quotes, emails, summaries and drafts that you check.
Do these prompts work in Claude or Gemini?
Yes. They are plain instructions, so they run in any chat assistant. Claude Projects hold standing instructions and files in the same way as a ChatGPT Project, and Gemini Gems (becoming a skill from November 2026) do a similar job. Keep the firm profile's rules word for word and run the same pre-send check, because every model can invent a figure or a compliance claim.
Should I run AI-drafted terms past a solicitor before using them?
Yes. ChatGPT is useful for a first draft built from how you really work and for a plain-English summary, but clauses about liability, cancellation and late payment depend on local law. A solicitor reading a structured draft has less to do than one starting from nothing. Never send AI-drafted terms to a customer unreviewed.
Further reads
- Six AI Automations an Electrician Can Set Up in a Weekend — Automations you can set up in a weekend once the prompts work.
- AI Receptionist for Electricians: Call-Outs vs Quote Requests — What an AI receptionist does with call-outs and quote requests.
- Seven Best AI Tools for Electricians, From Calls to Certificates — Seven AI tools for electricians, with what each costs.
- MyBuilder vs Checkatrade for Plumbers: Cost per Job, With AI Replies — How MyBuilder and Checkatrade bill, one month costed per job won on both, and a six-week test of whether faster AI-drafted replies pay.
- AI for Electrical Estimating: Set Fitting Allowances and Provisional Sums — Fitting allowances versus provisional sums in a domestic quote: how to set the amounts, who chooses, how to settle overspend, and where AI drafts the wording.
- AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.
Sources: OpenAI's ChatGPT pricing page and its help-centre articles on Projects, data controls and the custom GPT retirement.