Trade Quote Builder

What it does

When your agent uses it

• Someone asks for a quote
• Asks how much should I charge for this job
• Wants to check a price
• Margin on a job

Example prompts

• “how much should I charge for this job”
• “Use the trade-quote-builder skill to build estimates, quotes, and bids for trades and field-service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing…”
• “/trade-quote-builder”

Requirements

• Python 3

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

1. 1Gather the scope and the business's numbers. Ask for: the job (measurements, counts, site conditions, photos or drawings), the trade, and…
2. 2Walk the checklist. Open references/scope-checklists.md for the trade and ask about each commonly forgotten item. Every item ends up…
3. 3Write the spec (YAML or JSON, schema below). Model each client-facing line as an assembly of components: materials with waste and pack…
4. 4Run it.
5. 5Sanity-check before sending. Read the totals table and every [WARN]
6. 6Deliver. Send the client xlsx and/or PDF. Keep -internal.xlsx for the business only, since it shows costs and profit. List the assumptions…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit fc5b785. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

• Tool permissions

  Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

  From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

• Runs code

  Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

  Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

  • python

  From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

• Network

  No URLs in SKILL.md.

  From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

• Credentials

  Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

  From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Trade Quote Builder loads about 2.4k tokens when it runs, and up to ~6k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 233 tokens; SKILL.md has 950 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it

~233

When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches

~2.4k

With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them

~6k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from OneWave-AI/claude-skills at commit fc5b785, republished under its MIT licence (© OneWave-AI). 950 words, ~2,429 tokens.

name

trade-quote-builder

description

Builds estimates, quotes, and bids for trades and field-service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping, painting, cleaning, remodeling, general contracting, IT/AV installs). Turns a scope into line items with waste factors, burdened labor, materials, equipment, subs, permits, mobilization, contingency, overhead, profit, and tax, then writes a client-ready xlsx (live formulas) and PDF plus an internal cost sheet, with good/better/best options, add-ons, a payment schedule, exclusions, and assumptions. Use whenever someone asks for a quote, estimate, bid, proposal price, or job price, asks "how much should I charge for this job", wants to check a price or margin on a job, or is confused about markup vs margin. Computes deterministically with a script instead of mental math, because models routinely treat a 30% markup as a 30% margin and drop labor burden, waste, and mobilization.

trade: hvac                      # selects the missing-item scan
pricing:
  target_margin: 0.25            # OR target_markup, never both
  by_component: {subs: {markup: 0.15}, fees: {at_cost: true}}
labor:
  burden_pct: 0.32               # payroll tax, workers comp, insurance, benefits
  roles: {lead_tech: {wage: 34.00}, helper: {wage: 19.00, burden_pct: 0.30}}
overhead: {pct_of_cost: 0.15, per_labor_hour: 0}
contingency_pct: 0.03
tax: {mode: charge_on_sell, rate: 0.07, taxable: [materials]}   # or contractor_pays_on_cost, or none
min_effective_hourly: 120
base_items:
  - id: LINE
    section: Installation
    description: Replace refrigerant line set, braze, pressure test, evacuate
    qty: 25
    unit: ft
    materials:
      - {item: Line set 25 ft, qty: 1, unit_cost: 165, waste_pct: 0}
      - {item: Insulation tape, qty: 1.6, unit: roll, unit_cost: 9, waste_pct: 0.10, pack_size: 1}  # buys 2 rolls
      - {item: Fittings, qty_per_unit: 1.4, unit_cost: 1, waste_pct: 0.10}   # scales with line qty
    labor: [{role: installer, hours: 2.5}]          # or hours_per_unit
    subs: [{item: Electrical sub, qty: 1, unit_cost: 425}]
tiers: [{name: Good, description: ..., items: [...]}]   # omit tiers for a single scope
add_ons: [{name: UV light, items: [...]}]
payment_terms: {schedule: [{milestone: Deposit, pct: 0.30}, {milestone: Completion, pct: 0.70}]}
exclusions: [...]
assumptions: [...]

Paint: 10.57 gal x 1.10 waste = 11.63 -> 12 gal (full cans) x $42 = $504.00, + 6.25% tax = $535.50
  contingency 5% = $26.78; overhead 10% of $562.28 = $56.23; loaded $618.50; x 1.50 = $927.75
Patch kit: $18.00 + $1.13 tax -> loaded $22.10 -> sell $33.14
Labor: 1,850 sf x 0.0125 hr = 23.125 hr x $24.00 x 1.28 burden = $710.40
  contingency $35.52; overhead 10% of $745.92 + 23.125 hr x $6.00 = $213.34; loaded $959.26; x 1.50 = $1,438.89
Line sell $2,399.79 / 1,850 sf = $1.2972 -> $1.30/sf x 1,850 = $2,405.00 (cent rounding added $5.21)

© OneWave-AI, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 6 other files (scripts, references) in trade-quote-builder of OneWave-AI/claude-skills.

• SKILL.md
• examples/hvac-system-replacement.yaml
• examples/interior-painting.json
• references/scope-checklists.md
• references/terms-and-exclusions.md
• references/unit-cost-starter.md
• scripts/build_quote.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit fc5b785