How Zipflow Works June 2026 · 5 min read

From voice note to professional quote in 10 seconds — how Zipflow works

Most tradespeople hear "AI quoting app" and picture a complicated system requiring hours of setup. Zipflow is the opposite. Here's exactly what happens from the moment you hold the mic to the moment the customer receives your quote — step by step, with real examples.

The scenario

You're a plumber. You've just finished a bathroom survey — new suite, remove and dispose of old one, retile the floor. It's 11am. Normally you'd drive to your next job and quote this one tonight at home. With Zipflow, you quote it in the driveway before you start the engine.

Here's exactly what happens.

The complete walkthrough

1
Open Zipflow and tap New Quote
Zipflow runs in your phone browser — no app download required. Add it to your home screen and it opens in one tap, straight to the quoting screen.
timer5 seconds
2
Hold the mic and speak the job
Hold the large microphone button and describe the job in your own words. No special format, no keywords — just talk as if you were explaining it to a colleague.
micYou say:
"Supply and fit new bathroom suite — standard white, bath, basin, toilet. Remove and dispose of old suite. Retile the floor, standard ceramic."
timer15 seconds
3
Zipflow confirms what it heard
The app shows you the transcript of what it heard and what it understood. You can tap to correct anything — a misheard word, a trade it got wrong. In most cases it's spot on and you move straight to the next step.
timer10 seconds
4
Answer a few quick questions
Zipflow asks the questions needed to price accurately. For a bathroom suite these might include suite quality level, floor area for tiling, and whether disposal is skip or van. You tap buttons — no typing required.
timer20–30 seconds
5
Quote generated — fully itemised
The AI generates a complete quote with every task listed separately, materials costed, labour calculated, your markup applied, and a professional total. It takes about 3 seconds.
timer3 seconds
6
Review and adjust if needed
You read through the quote quickly. Every line is editable — tap any figure to change it. Add tasks, remove tasks, adjust the markup slider. Most quotes need no changes at all.
timer30–60 seconds
7
Send to the customer
Add the customer's name and number if they're new, or select from your contacts if they're existing. Tap Send via WhatsApp or Send via Email. The customer receives a professional quote link on their phone within seconds.
timer30 seconds

Total time from holding the mic to the customer receiving the quote: under 2 minutes. The quote itself is generated in under 10 seconds. The rest is your review and the sending step.

What the generated quote looks like

The quote the customer receives is a professionally formatted document — not a WhatsApp message with figures, and not a PDF attachment they have to open. It's a clean, mobile-optimised quote page with your business name, the job breakdown, and a clear total.

Example quote — Bathroom suite installation
Supply & fit standard bathroom suite (bath, basin, WC)£920
Remove & dispose of existing suite£240
Floor tiling — standard ceramic, 4m²£380
Materials & consumables£180
Total£1,720

The customer can view this on their phone, call you with questions, or accept it — all from the link you sent them. When they accept, you get notified and can generate the invoice immediately.

What happens after the quote is sent

Every quote you send is tracked in Zipflow automatically. You can see at a glance which quotes are outstanding, which have been accepted, and which jobs are scheduled. Smart reminders alert you when a quote has been sitting unanswered for too long — so you never forget to follow up.

When a customer accepts, tap Generate Invoice. Zipflow creates a PDF invoice from the accepted quote in one tap — all the same line items, your business details, invoice number, and payment terms. Send it via email or WhatsApp the same way you sent the quote.

The competitive advantage: A customer who receives a professional, itemised quote within 30 minutes of a site visit is significantly more likely to accept it than one who waits two days. In competitive quoting situations, the first professional quote wins most often. Zipflow's on-site quoting means you're almost always first.

Getting set up — what it actually takes

The most common assumption tradespeople make about switching to a new quoting tool is that setup takes hours. With Zipflow, the entire setup is:

  1. Sign up at zipflow.co.uk — takes 60 seconds
  2. Add your business name and logo — 2 minutes
  3. Set your default day rate and markup — 1 minute
  4. Describe your first job — you're quoting

Total setup time: under 5 minutes. You don't need to import a catalogue, configure a pricing database, or complete a training module. The AI learns from your rates and preferences as you use it.

Trades supported

Zipflow currently supports 10 UK trades with over 912 specific job types detected automatically: electricians, plumbers, builders, painters and decorators, tilers, carpenters and joiners, landscape gardeners, roofers, gas engineers, and handymen.

Each trade has its own specific question sets and job type library. A plumbing job gets plumbing-specific refinement questions. An electrical job gets electrical-specific ones. The AI doesn't just detect the trade — it asks the questions that trade actually needs to quote accurately.

Try it on your next job visit

30-day free trial. No credit card. Your first quote in under 60 seconds.

boltStart free trial
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