For Residential Service Plumbers ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a Claude Project that acts as your personal estimating assistant — loaded with your pricing, your service list, and your communication preferences. Every estimate comes out consistent and professional, whether you're writing it or your helper is.
What you'll need
Go to claude.ai. Create a free account if you don't have one, then click Upgrade to Claude Pro ($20/month). Claude Pro includes the Projects feature you'll need.
In Claude, look for Projects in the left sidebar. Click + New Project. Name it something clear: "Plumbing Business Assistant" or "[Your Shop Name] Estimates."
What you should see: A project workspace with a Project Instructions box and a place to add files/knowledge.
Click in the Project Instructions area and paste in your business information. This stays loaded in every conversation within the project — you never have to re-explain who you are.
Here's a template to customize:
You are a plumbing estimating assistant for [Shop Name], a residential plumbing service company in [City, State].
Business details:
- Owner: [Your name]
- Labor rate: $[X] per hour
- Minimum service call charge: $[X]
- Service area: [City and nearby areas]
Pricing guide:
[List your flat rates for common jobs, or write something like:]
- Drain clearing (standard): $[X]
- Toilet replacement (standard): $[X]
- Faucet repair: $[X]
- Water heater replacement (40-gal gas, no permit): $[X]
- Water heater replacement (with permit): $[X]
- Wax ring replacement: $[X]
- Supply line replacement: $[X]
- Add $[X]/hour for after-hours calls
Estimate format:
Always produce estimates with:
1. A brief scope of work description (2-3 sentences, non-technical)
2. Itemized materials and parts (estimated cost)
3. Labor (hours × rate)
4. Total
5. One-sentence note about what could change the price (if applicable)
6. A professional closing line
Communication style: Direct, friendly, professional. No jargon. The customer isn't a plumber.
Click outside the box to save.
On the right side of the project, look for Add content or Project knowledge. Upload any document:
Claude reads these and references them when answering.
Click New Chat within your project. Type:
"Write an estimate for replacing a leaking garbage disposal. Customer has a standard single-compartment sink. We'll supply an InSinkErator Badger 5 ($120 parts). Estimated 1 hour labor."
What you should see: A formatted estimate with scope, parts ($120), labor (1 hour × your rate), total, and a professional close — all matching your pricing structure.
Still in the same project chat, type:
"Now write a short text to send this customer confirming we'll be there tomorrow between 10 AM and noon."
What you should see: A brief, professional confirmation text you could copy-paste directly.
Standard service call estimate: "Write an estimate for [job]. Parts: $[X]. Labor: [hours] hours."
Competing against a low-ball competitor: "A customer says another plumber quoted $300 less for a water heater replacement. Write a professional response explaining the value in our work (licensed, permitted, quality parts, warranty)."
Parts research: "I'm looking at a [description] from [decade]. What's the replacement part and are there any install gotchas?"
Permit research: "What permits are typically required for [job type] in [city/state] and what's the inspection process?"
Customer in-person script: "Give me a 3-sentence script for telling a customer face-to-face that the job I diagnosed is going to cost $[X] and why it's worth it."