Zapier for construction industry

Automating with Zapier is a no-brainer. But there are tons of industries that still aren’t taking advantage of it.

Today I’m going to show you one way a general contractor in the construction industry could use Zapier.

Maybe you’re in an industry that doesn’t use automation a whole lot. I’m hoping this post will give you an idea of how to implement Zapier to save time.

The reality is that most people only see tech folks use Zapier and fail to see how versatile it can be.

So let’s dive in.

The Worst Part About General Contracting

My good friend Justin is a general contractor. He told me how much he wishes he could have someone else do cost estimates and place bids on jobs. For him, focusing on the work and getting the job done is more enjoyable than the admin side of things.

So how could we automate the process of assessing a job’s cost when every job is so custom and unique?

Human Judgment

There are so many variables influencing cost estimates that it becomes nearly impossible to completely automate this part of the job. Justin and his human judgment are still mission critical.

So the question is not about how to automate the entire process, it’s about how to best serve Justin.

If we could give Justin a starting point and do some of the work for him, we’d be headed in the right direction. So here’s how Zapier can help.

Zapier and Estimating Cost

Justin didn’t have an estimate template. That part was easy. Create a GoogleDoc template.

Next, I made a list of common job types like bathroom remodel, kitchen remodel, backyard deck, etc.

Now the fun part. Using Zapier’s Interfaces, I created a simple form thatJustin could fill out:

Once the form is filled out, I send it to OpenAI where I’ve created a prompt to provide a 10-step description, cost, and timeline for the job along with a percentage markup. It takes the information filled out on the form, fills out the Google Doc template, and emails Justin the Doc link for the estimate!