Hands full, ladder up, van running. Say the job out loud and the paperwork writes itself.
9 October 2026 · 5 min read
Typing is the bit that kills trade admin. You have gloves on, you are halfway up a ladder, and the customer is stood next to you waiting for a number. Voice notes remove that step entirely: say what the job is and a branded PDF quote comes back into the chat.
Hold the microphone button in WhatsApp, describe the job in ordinary speech, and send. GraftG transcribes it, pulls out the customer, the work, the labour and the materials, and replies with a quote or an invoice as a PDF you can forward straight on. The same route works for mileage, materials and receipts.
Say the same things you would write. "Quote for Dave Jones, replace the boiler, two days labour, four hundred and eighty pounds parts" has all four pieces — who, what, labour, materials. Prices spoken as words are understood; you do not need to say "pounds sign".
Speaking a job description takes about fifteen seconds. Typing the same thing with cold or dirty hands takes a couple of minutes, which is exactly why it gets postponed to the evening and then forgotten. The quote that goes out while you are still on the drive is the one that wins the work — see following up quotes.
Loud sites are the main one — a compressor running three feet away will defeat any transcription. Strong background noise, several people talking, or a very long rambling note all reduce accuracy. Keep notes to one job, step somewhere quieter if you can, and check the figures on the PDF before you forward it.
Anything with an unusual spelling — a customer’s surname, a street name, a part number — is worth typing. A good habit is to voice-note the body of the job and type the name, which gets you the speed without the spelling risk.
The PDF comes back to you, not to the customer, so there is always a moment to read it. Glance at the customer name, the labour figure and the total. If something is wrong, say what it should be and GraftG amends it — see editing an entry.
Yes. Record a WhatsApp voice note describing the customer, the work, the labour and the materials, and GraftG transcribes it and sends back a branded PDF quote, usually within about half a minute. You check it, then forward it to the customer.
Up to a point. Ordinary site background noise is usually fine, but machinery close by, several people talking, or wind straight into the microphone will reduce accuracy. Step somewhere quieter for the ten seconds it takes, and always check the figures on the PDF before forwarding.
No. Speak them naturally — "four hundred and eighty pounds parts" works fine, and so does "two days labour". The one thing worth typing rather than speaking is anything with an unusual spelling, such as a customer surname or a street name.
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