Open build standards. Free to implement.
A written recipe for each job that leaks cash: what it must do, what it must never do, the one step not to build yourself, and the checklist that proves it was built right. That is a build standard. Read them, print them, give them to a developer, or have a crack at building one yourself with an AI coding agent.
Not sure which ones you need? Take the eight-minute diagnosis. It listens to how your week actually runs, then gives you a report for your business: the standard for each thing you said, in plain words, with the first move.
The Loop: enquiry to paid
Five standards, one for each step a job takes from the first call to the money in the bank. Each one stands on its own, and each ends in a pass test you can hold a build to.
Step 1
Ready-made: Front DeskStableTrades & ServicesMissing calls after hours?
Booked After Hours Build Standard
What an after-hours agent must check and in what order: disclosure first, a fixed job taxonomy, the address resolved rather than transcribed, one job written not two, and who gets woken up. Includes a stub to build against and a pass test a stubbed build cannot fake.
- Receptionist / Administration Assistant
- Scheduling Coordinator
- Office Administrator
10 min readSee how it works→Step 2
Free to buildDraftTrades & ServicesJobs sitting there waiting on a quote?
Quote Out Build Standard
The job is in and the quote is not. How to draft one: the price list as the only source of a rate, what gets parked rather than estimated, one quote per job whichever door it came through, the draft written into ServiceM8, Simpro or Xero rather than rendered, and sending left with a person. Includes a stub and a pass test staged on a real tenant.
- Estimator
- Office Administrator
- Operations Manager
9 min readRead the standard→Step 3
Ready-made: Get PaidStableWorkspace readyTrades & ServicesQuotes and paperwork nobody follows up?
Follow-Up Build Standard
The quote nobody answered, the document nobody sent back, chased until it arrives and not one touch after. Ranked by value then age, a capped cadence, consent per channel, the call discloses first, stops on arrival, escalates on a no. Free to implement.
- Office Manager
- Sales Administrator
- Estimator
- Contracts Administrator
10 min readSee how it works→Step 4
Free template: Invoice Out sheetStableWorkspace readyTrades & ServicesInvoices going out days after the job?
Invoice Out Build Standard
The invoice exists the day the job finishes. Completion as the trigger, lines from the job, rates only from the book, a signature on any variation, a stage invoice for builders, one invoice per job, and a release a person or a rule holds. Free to implement.
- Accounts Officer
- Office Administrator
- Bookkeeper
- Contracts Administrator
10 min readRead the standard→Step 5
Ready-made: Get PaidStableWorkspace readyFinance & BookkeepingCustomers paying late?
Debtor Chasing Build Standard
How to chase your own overdue invoices properly. Four buckets, why ranking by age sends you to the wrong end of the ledger, the opener that gets a date rather than a yes, and the compliance gate that is the one step not to hand-roll. Free to implement.
- Accounts Receivable Officer
- Bookkeeper
- Office Manager
- Finance Manager
12 min readSee how it works→
The thread through all five
The Cash Seam Build Standard: one job id from the call to the chase
One record survives from the call to the chase. The job id from the call is the id the quote reads, the accepted quote is what the invoice is raised from, and the invoice id is what the chase reads off the ledger. Free to implement.
Read the standard →Build order: start with the step where your money leaks first. The Cash Seam matters from the moment a second step is running, because it is what lets that step read the first one's job id instead of retyping it. How the standards combine, and the order to build.
Other published standards
Published and free to implement, and still Draft: Stable means a product runs the standard and its pass test can be run today. A Draft can change before it settles.
Old contacts nobody rings any more?
Database Reactivation Build Standard
How to work an agency's own database properly. Four plays with real triggers, the six ranking rules that decide which contact rings first, the opener that works and the one that does not, and the one step not to hand-roll. Free to implement.
- Sales Administrator
- Business Development Manager
- Sales Associate
Vendor asking where your price came from?
Price One-Pager Build Standard
The one page of price evidence a vendor sees: comparable sales chosen by rules written down first, each with its source and date, a range worked out from those sales and never invented, your own estimate shown apart, and underquoting flagged to you before anything is sent. Includes a stub and a pass test a stub cannot fake.
- Sales Associate
- Sales Administrator
- Personal Assistant
Happy customers who never leave a review?
Review Request Build Standard
When a job is finished in your job system, every customer gets the same thanks, the same 1 to 5 question and the same Google review link after a short wait. One reminder, then stop. A job with an open callback or a disputed invoice waits until it clears, and a low score texts you to call without taking the link away. Free to implement.
- Office Manager
- Service Coordinator
- Customer Service Officer
- Marketing Coordinator
Warranty and service dates nobody remembers?
Next Service Build Standard
The equipment taken from every finished job, the next service and warranty expiry worked out from a written schedule, a reminder ahead of each date with the customer's consent, one follow-up, a stop honoured for good, and a yes written back to the job system as one booking request. Free to implement.
- Office Manager
- Service Coordinator
- Customer Service Officer
- Scheduler
Paperwork piling up faster than anyone can file it?
Document Filing Build Standard
The daily office run: every document from email, the copier, site photos, web forms and supplier portals matched to its job, customer or supplier by the number printed on it, details entered, filed once, with one exceptions list and a close that adds up. Free to implement.
- Office Administrator
- Office Manager
- Data Entry Clerk
- Records Officer
- Administration Assistant
One deposit, ten invoices, and Xero can't tell which?
Remittance Split Build Standard
When one payment covers many invoices: each remittance line read as written and matched by invoice number, applied as one batch payment equal to the deposit, and every short or unknown line handed to a person. Free to implement.
- Bookkeeper
- Accounts Receivable Officer
- Accounts Officer
- Practice Manager
- Office Manager
Vendor wants the open-home feedback by Monday?
Open-Home Feedback Build Standard
After an open home: the sign-in register read as written, a follow-up per attendee with one question that you approve before it sends, no follow-up without consent, replies sorted into hot buyers, price feedback, not interested and appraisal leads, offers and complaints handed to you, and a vendor report of counts and word-for-word price comments that you approve before it goes. Free to implement.
- Sales Associate
- Sales Administrator
- Personal Assistant to Sales Agent
A sale nearby and no time to tell the neighbours?
Just-Sold Pack Build Standard
When a property sells, the neighbours and the database contacts near it hear about it, with the real sale facts. Who to tell, a drafted letter, SMS or email each, a short list worth a personal call, and the exceptions. A person approves every send. Free to implement.
- Sales Associate
- Sales Administrator
- Marketing Coordinator
Want Claude on your Simpro, with no official connector?
Simpro Claude Connector Build Standard
Claude answering from your own Simpro, on a key you create and can delete. Answers looked up fresh, every figure traced to its record, no duplicate jobs, nothing sent to a customer, every request recorded. Free to implement.
- Operations Manager
- Office Manager
- Service Coordinator
- Business Systems Analyst
Wrong person, wrong house, or nobody told?
Dispatch Board Build Standard
The right person at the right house at the right time, and everybody told once. Address verified before a slot, licence as a rule, one slot per job, an emergency displaced only by a person, a change that propagates once. Free to implement.
- Scheduling Coordinator
- Service Coordinator
- Dispatcher
- Operations Manager
Shared inbox out of control?
Inbox Triage Build Standard
Nothing in the shared inbox is lost, and nothing is answered by a machine that a person should answer. A closed list of kinds, every message filed against its record, a clock per kind, complaints untouched, no reply without a release. Free to implement.
- Accounts Administrator
- Office Administrator
- Accounts Assistant
- Practice Manager
Job system and accounts don't match?
Two Records Build Standard
The job system and the ledger say the same thing, and when they do not, a person sees both numbers before anything changes. A declared master per field, joins on ids, differences as objects, nothing auto-corrected, a run that publishes regardless. Free to implement.
- Bookkeeper
- Accounts Officer
- Finance Manager
- Assistant Accountant
Timesheets you can't trust at payroll?
Timesheet Check Build Standard
Every hour on the payroll traces to a person, a day and a job. Totals computed never typed, anomalies as a closed list resolved by a person with a reason, a dated award rule cited never interpreted, nothing exported without a release, one export per period. Free to implement.
- Payroll Officer
- Office Manager
- Construction Administrator
- Bookkeeper
Turning up without the right materials?
Material Order Build Standard
Materials ordered from the job's own list, from the supplier's own catalogue, once. Stock checked first, a threshold that needs a person, lead time as data, delivery matched back line by line, no silent substitution. Free to implement.
- Purchasing Officer
- Site Supervisor
- Project Administrator
- Estimator
Monday report late, or nobody trusts the numbers?
Recurring Report Build Standard
The Monday report arrives on Monday and every number traces to its source. One definition per measure, source and as-of on every figure, published on schedule regardless, unavailable said plainly, no narrative invents a number, corrections as a new version. Free to implement.
- Finance Manager
- Operations Manager
- Franchise Manager
- Bookkeeper
Checking subbie invoices by hand?
Invoice Check Build Standard
How to build an automated subcontractor invoice check properly. Four checks in a fixed order, four queues, and the six rules that decide whether anyone still trusts it in six months. Free to implement.
- Accounts Payable Officer
- Finance Administrator
- Project Accountant
Compliance dates that change under you?
Compliance Calendar Build Standard
How to build a compliance calendar that survives a rule change. Store the rule with an effective date and derive the due date, never the other way round. Free to implement.
- Compliance Officer
- Property Manager
- Operations Manager
Every branch doing it differently?
Multi-Site Conformance Build Standard
One operating standard across many branches, franchises or entities. A versioned key contract, four kinds of drift, one score computed once, and why training material is not a control. Free to implement.
- Franchise Manager
- Operations Manager
- Quality Manager
- National Operations
Staff asking about the rules and guessing the answer?
Cited Answer Build Standard
How to build an assistant that answers on the rules you are accountable for without inventing them. A source card on every answer, four queues, and a change feed a person accepts. Free to implement.
- AI Officer
- Compliance Officer
- Quality Manager
- Technical Advisor
Paperwork packs coming back rejected?
Rejected Pack Build Standard
The parent of Invoice Check, the Compliance Calendar and QA Proofcheck. One graph, eight checks in order, four queues, a named person on the gate, and the binding layer that is the hard step. Free to implement.
- HSEQ Administrator
- Compliance Officer
- Document Controller
- Office Administrator
Client interviews that never become a usable file?
Advice File Build Standard
How a multi-office advice or credit network turns every interview into one file the next person can pick up. Verbatim first, keys not vibes, a cited lender clause, a task with an owner, and a recommendation no machine can send. Free to implement.
- Broker Principal
- Head of Credit
- Compliance Officer
- AI Officer
Nobody sure which version of a document is current?
Knowledge Base Build Standard
The phase before the graph. Everything the business relies on, on one register with a person's name on each source, searchable by the page it is on, and watched so the owner is told when it changes. On Microsoft 365 or Workspace. Free to implement.
- Office Manager
- Knowledge Manager
- Compliance Officer
- Operations Manager
Documents too messy for AI to rely on?
Knowledge Graph Build Standard
How to turn a knowledge base into a graph a later standard can trust. Pile, index, graph; a versioned key contract; a person on every acceptance; and a change that lists what breaks. Free to implement.
- AI Officer
- Knowledge Manager
- Compliance Officer
- Systems Analyst
Tenants behind on rent?
Rent Arrears Build Standard
Rent accrues and the escalation clock is written in legislation. The four triage outcomes, the six conditions that must stop a chase, and the point where it becomes a conversation. Free to implement.
- Property Manager
- Arrears Officer
- Head of Property Management
Service records that do not match the asset?
Service Pack
A test recorded against the wrong asset did not happen. Eight checks in a fixed order, required evidence per asset class, and the unbound queue that nothing else in the system has a reason to mention.
- Fire Safety Advisor
- Quality Manager
- Document Controller
- Service Coordinator
Build it on your stack
Not new standards: the same ones, on the tools you already have. Google Workspace is the default: a ready-made sheet you copy, and most businesses already pay nothing extra for it. Microsoft 365 is the next level up for a bigger business. The $0 stack is for the power user on no budget.
Building the Standards on Google Workspace
The same build on the other stack. AppSheet Core is already in most Workspace editions and Looker Studio is free, so this lands on the subscription rather than a purchase. The three ceilings, and the one gate this stack can fail.
- Operations Manager
- AI Officer
- Business Systems Analyst
- Office Manager
Building the Standards on Microsoft 365
An implementation option, not a new standard. SharePoint Lists hold the book, Power Automate holds the gates a person cannot type past, Power BI holds the argument. Two landing paths and the seven traps.
- Operations Manager
- AI Officer
- Business Systems Analyst
- Office Manager
The $0 Stack
For a business with no Microsoft 365 and no Workspace: a published standard run on free tiers. A verified free option for each thing a substrate must provide, the ceiling each one hits, and the one row that never goes to zero, the live phone call.
- Business Owner
- Operations Manager
- AI Officer
- Business Systems Analyst
On Google Workspace: copy the ready-made sheet
Each standard gets a Google Sheet with the checks built in, copied into your own Drive. Ready now: Database Reactivation, Price One-Pager, Open-Home Feedback, Just-Sold Pack, Debtor Chasing, Invoice Out, Follow-Up. More are on the way, in Loop order; cards marked “Workspace ready” have one.
One build plan per standard, on Microsoft 365
- The Compliance Calendar on Microsoft 36512 min read
- Debtor Chasing on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Open-Home Feedback on Microsoft 3659 min read
- Database Reactivation on Microsoft 3659 min read
- Rent Arrears on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Checking Subcontractor Invoices on Microsoft 36510 min read
- The Rejected Pack on Microsoft 36512 min read
- The Cited Answer on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Multi-Site Conformance on Microsoft 36511 min read
- Asking for Reviews on Microsoft 3658 min read
- Service Reminders on Microsoft 3658 min read
- The Filing Run on Microsoft 3659 min read
- Batch Payments on Microsoft 3659 min read
- Comparable Sales on Microsoft 3659 min read
- After Hours on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Quotes Out on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Follow-Up on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Invoicing Out on Microsoft 36510 min read
- The Cash Path on Microsoft 3659 min read
- The Dispatch Board on Microsoft 36510 min read
- Inbox Triage on Microsoft 36510 min read
- The Simpro Connector on Microsoft 3659 min read
- The Just-Sold Pack on Microsoft 3659 min read
- Two Records on Microsoft 36511 min read
- Timesheet Checks on Microsoft 36511 min read
- Material Orders on Microsoft 36511 min read
- The Recurring Report on Microsoft 36511 min read
- The Service Pack on Microsoft 36511 min read
- The Advice File on Microsoft 36511 min read
- The Knowledge Base on Microsoft 36510 min read
- The Knowledge Graph on Microsoft 36511 min read
Building with an agent?
Every standard is written to be handed to a coding agent. Point it here rather than at this page.
- /llms.txt
- The site map for machines: standards listed first, as instructions, then the papers.
- A .md twin of every page
- Add
.mdto any URL, for example /explore-ai/debtor-chasing-build-standard.md. - The skills repo
- One agent skill per standard, published from the same source as these pages.
npx @aipathway/conformance- Runs a standard's checks against your build and says which pass.
Looking for the white papers?
The standards say how to build it. The 58 white papers make the case for why, sorted by who they are for: trades, builders, property, practices and any business.
Browse the white papers →Not sure which of these you need?
Eight minutes, no email. The diagnosis listens to how your week runs and gives you a report for your business: the standard for each thing you said, in plain words, what stays with a person, and the first move. The $500 audit is the plan after that.