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Turn walkthrough notes into a written scope of work

Today

You take rough notes in the truck, then retype them into a real scope at the kitchen table after dinner. By then some of what you noticed on the walkthrough is already gone.

With Claude

You paste the rough notes in and get back a structured scope with inclusions, exclusions, and the assumptions spelled out. You fix the technical calls and send it while you are still on site.

The prompt

Paste this into claude.ai and replace anything in brackets.

You are helping a [trade, for example HVAC replacement] contractor turn rough site notes into a clear written scope of work for a residential customer.

Here are my rough notes from the walkthrough:
[paste your notes here, messy is fine]

Here is a past scope of work from my company that I want you to match in tone and structure:
[paste one of your past scopes here]

Write the scope of work with these sections:
1. Scope summary in plain language the homeowner will understand
2. What is included, as specific line items
3. What is explicitly excluded
4. Assumptions and site conditions I am relying on
5. What I need from the customer before we start, for example access, parking, clearing the work area
6. Open questions where my notes were unclear

Rules:
- Do not include any prices, labor rates, or dollar amounts. I add pricing myself.
- Do not state that anything meets code or is permitted. Where a permit or inspection is likely relevant, add it to the open questions list instead.
- Do not invent measurements, model numbers, or quantities. If a number is missing from my notes, write [CONFIRM] and list it in the open questions.
- Keep it to one page of plain text. No marketing language.

What to skip in contracting and home services businesses

  • Pricing the job. Claude does not know your labor burden, your material costs, your local market, or the margin you need to stay in business, and a number that looks reasonable is the most expensive kind of wrong. Keep pricing in your own estimating system and use Claude only for the words around the number.
  • Code compliance, permit requirements, and load or sizing calculations. Adopted code cycles and local amendments vary by jurisdiction, and Claude has no reliable way to know what your building department enforces this year. Verify with your local authority having jurisdiction or the licensed engineer of record. Drafting the list of questions you bring to them is a fair use.
  • Contracts, preliminary notices, and anything with a statutory deadline. Mechanics lien timing and contract terms are state specific, and getting them wrong can cost you the right to collect. Have a construction attorney write those templates once, then reuse them.

Want all 4 workflows for contracting and home services businesses in your inbox?

Every prompt on this page plus the rest, so you still have them on Monday. One email, then four short ones on making it stick. Unsubscribe any time.

Or answer four questions and Claude writes three workflows for your specific business rather than the industry generally.

Before you try it

More for contracting and home services businesses

Full guide for contracting and home services businesses