What is LazyTradie?
LazyTradie is an AI receptionist built for Australian tradies. It answers inbound customer enquiries across SMS, web chat, and phone calls — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When a customer contacts you, LazyTradie's AI handles the conversation end to end:
- Greets the customer professionally on your behalf
- Collects their name, job type, address, and preferred time
- Provides an instant quote based on your pricing
- Books the job directly into your ServiceM8 account
- Sends the customer an SMS confirmation
You get a notification when a job lands. Everything appears in ServiceM8 exactly as if you'd entered it yourself — you never touch admin again.
Creating Your LazyTradie Account
Sign up at lazytradie.com.au
Click Get Started on the homepage. You can sign up with Google or email and password. Takes under 2 minutes.
Choose your plan
Select Solo ($299/month) for SMS + Web Chat, or Business ($499/month) to add Voice calls. Payment is handled securely via Stripe — your card details are never stored on LazyTradie servers.
Land on your dashboard
Once signed up you'll land on your LazyTradie dashboard. Your plan badge (Solo/Business) appears in the top right. From here, connect ServiceM8 and set up your knowledge base.
Connecting ServiceM8
Connecting ServiceM8 takes about 20 seconds and gives LazyTradie permission to create jobs in your account automatically.
Click "Connect ServiceM8" on your dashboard
Find the button in the top action bar of your LazyTradie dashboard.
Review the connection modal
A screen will appear explaining what LazyTradie will access. Click the orange Connect ServiceM8 button to continue.
The ServiceM8 verification screen
You'll see a ServiceM8 screen saying "This Add-on hasn't been verified by ServiceM8 yet."
Authorise access
ServiceM8 will ask you to confirm the permissions LazyTradie needs — creating and reading jobs and clients. Click Allow. You'll be sent back to your LazyTradie dashboard automatically.
Confirm the connection
Your dashboard will show a green ServiceM8 connected badge. LazyTradie is now live and can create jobs in your account.
Setting Up Your AI Knowledge Base
The Knowledge Base is how you teach LazyTradie about your business. The AI uses this to answer customer questions, quote jobs, and book the right types of work.
Click "Edit knowledge base" on your dashboard
It's the orange button in the top action bar — you can't miss it.
Fill in your business details
The knowledge form covers:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Trade type | e.g. Electrician, Plumber, Builder |
| Service area | Suburbs and postcodes you cover |
| Services offered | e.g. switchboard upgrades, ceiling fans, hot water systems |
| Your pricing | Fixed prices or ranges per service — used for instant quotes |
| Available hours | When the AI can book jobs on your behalf |
| Blackout dates | Days you're unavailable — AI won't book these |
| Booking tier rules | Which job types auto-book (T1) vs. need your confirmation (T2) |
| Emergency keywords | Phrases that trigger immediate call transfer (T3) |
Save
Changes take effect within a few minutes. You can update your knowledge base any time.
Dashboard Overview
Your LazyTradie dashboard is the control centre for your AI receptionist. Here's what everything does:
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Edit knowledge base | Update your business info, pricing, availability and booking rules |
| Connect AI agent to your Website | Get the web chat widget embed code for your website |
| Connect ServiceM8 | Connect or manage your ServiceM8 integration |
| View bookings | See your full bookings history with filters |
| Get Website | Order a LazyTradie-built trade website |
| Jobs booked counter | Total jobs your AI has booked since signup |
| ServiceM8 connected badge | Green = connected and syncing. Grey = not yet connected |
| T1 / T2 / T3 tier legend | Shows which tier handled each booking (see Booking Tiers section) |
| Recent Bookings table | Your last 6 bookings — customer name, service, date, time, tier. Click See Bookings for full history |
How Bookings Flow into ServiceM8
Here's the complete journey from a customer contacting you to a job appearing in your ServiceM8 account:
The 3 Booking Tiers
LazyTradie uses three tiers to handle different types of jobs. You configure which services belong to which tier in your Knowledge Base.
Tier 1 — Auto-book ✅
Standard, straightforward jobs you're comfortable accepting automatically. The AI captures all details and books the job directly into ServiceM8 without any input from you. You're notified when it's done.
You're in control: set exactly which services are T1, which hours are bookable, and which suburbs you cover. Nothing gets booked outside your rules.
Tier 2 — Confirmation Required 🔔
Larger jobs, new customers, or any job type where you want to approve before confirming. The AI captures all details, then sends you an SMS notification with the job summary. You reply to confirm or pass, and the customer is notified of the outcome automatically.
Tier 3 — Emergency Escalation 🚨
Urgent situations that need you on the phone immediately. When the AI detects emergency keywords (e.g. "burst pipe", "flooding", "gas leak", "no power"), it stops the booking flow and transfers the call directly to your mobile in real time. No delay, no voicemail.
Instant Quotes — Your Pricing, Your Control
LazyTradie's AI can provide instant quotes to customers based on your own price list. You set the prices — the AI just delivers them.
Setting your prices: In your Knowledge Base, enter prices per service type:
- Fixed price: "Tap replacement — $150"
- Price range: "Hot water system — $800 to $1,200 depending on unit"
- Base rate + variable: "Emergency callout — $250 base + parts"
When a customer asks "how much for a leaky tap?" the AI pulls from your price list and responds with your price instantly. No back and forth, no waiting for a callback.
Rescheduling & Cancellations
How rescheduling works:
Customer sends a reschedule request
Via SMS or web chat — they tell the AI they need to change their booking.
AI checks the 24hr rule
If the appointment is more than 24 hours away, the AI proceeds. If within 24 hours, it informs the customer to contact you directly.
AI offers new time slots
Based on your availability. Customer selects a new time. Booking is updated in ServiceM8 and both parties are notified.
How cancellations work: Same 24hr rule applies. If eligible, the booking is cancelled in ServiceM8 and the customer receives a cancellation confirmation. You receive a notification.
Disconnecting ServiceM8
Go to your LazyTradie dashboard
Click Connect ServiceM8 in the action bar.
Click Disconnect
Your ServiceM8 OAuth token will be revoked. LazyTradie will no longer be able to create jobs in your account.
Your ServiceM8 data is unaffected
Disconnecting LazyTradie does not change or delete any existing data in your ServiceM8 account. You can reconnect at any time.