BOQ · Voice-to-quote

Talk while you walk the property. We'll transcribe and quote.

Tradespeople on a job site don't want to type with one hand while holding a fish-tape. Tap the mic, describe the build, and our chat transcribes every answer. You confirm what was heard, and we return a calibrated cost range while you climb back down the ladder.

See a real voice conversation When voice helps
~3x
Faster than thumb-typing on a job site
2.4s
Median transcribe-to-text latency
8
Project classes calibrated by Brad
What it handles

Everything the typing chat does - sorry, plus a mic for hands-busy buyers.

The takeoff flow is the same eight project classes. The difference is buyers can talk instead of type, and the bot reads transcribed answers back for one-tap confirmation before computing the range.

02

Confirms before quoting

Reads transcribed values back: "I heard 4-storey, 28 units, occupied retrofit. Right?" Never auto-quotes off a mistranscribed number.

03

Quotes a calibrated range

Low/mid/high based on Brad's actual past-job invoices for the matching project class. Same maths whether you typed or talked.

04

Books site surveys

Opens Brad's calendar, shows real availability, books the survey. SMS confirmation fires the moment the slot is locked.

05

Takes deposits via Stripe

Smaller jobs can pay a refundable deposit in chat. Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Funds in Brad's Stripe.

06

Hands the lead to Brad

Bigger jobs trigger a WhatsApp brief to Brad with project class, range, transcript, and audio attachment if needed.

How the voice flow works

Talk while you work. We transcribe. You confirm. We quote.

Push-to-talk if you're in a quiet spot, hold-to-talk if you're not. The bot reads back every value it heard before computing anything.

Built for trades, not typists.

Most quote bots assume the buyer is at a desk with two free hands. Half of fibre buyers aren't. They're an electrician already on a job, a contractor walking a property with the developer, a retired homeowner who can speak faster than they can thumb-type.

The voice layer is optional, not the default. Tap the mic when you want it. Type when you don't. Mid-conversation switch is fine; the bot doesn't care which channel each answer came in on.

Every transcribed message renders with a small "transcribed via voice" tag so the buyer can see what the bot heard. If a number sounds wrong, tap to correct in one second - sorry, tap to correct, and the bot relogs the value.

The flow on every voice message
  1. Buyer holds the mic, describes the job
  2. Whisper transcribes within ~2 seconds
  3. Transcript renders in the chat with waveform + duration
  4. Bot reads heard values back for confirmation
  5. Buyer taps confirm or corrects
  6. Bot computes range, returns quote
  7. Audio + transcript saved to the lead record
When voice helps

Hands-busy buyers convert at twice the rate of typed buyers on field-job quotes.

The electrician on a service call

Already on the job, already up a ladder. The customer asks "while you're here, can you get us fibre quoted too?" Pulls up BOQ.ca on his phone, taps the mic, talks for 90 seconds, walks down with a number for the customer.

"Two-storey detached, basement run, owner wants Wi-Fi 7 in three rooms, aerial drop. June if possible."

The contractor walking a property

Pacing a 22,000 sqft commercial fit-out with the building owner. Can't pull out a laptop. Talks the brief into the chat as he walks: "Single tenant, first floor, 5,000 square feet. Ground floor entry, second floor mezzanine, eight drops down here, four up there."

"Single tenant, ground floor, eight drops down, four up, mezzanine. Aerial off Bridge Street."

The retired homeowner

71 years old, just moved into a new build in Quinte. Doesn't trust thumb-typing on a phone keyboard. Taps the mic, asks the chat his question in plain English. Bot transcribes accurately, asks clarifying questions in slow paced sentences.

"It's a new build. We just moved in last month. Wifi here is shocking. Who do I talk to?"

The site visitor with no signal

Rural property tour. Cell signal flickering. Hold-to-talk records the answer and queues for upload when the bars reappear. Buyer carries on with the developer; the chat catches up the moment they're back near the road.

"Out by the lake. Two-acre lot, the cottage is back about 80 metres off the road. Pole at the edge of the property."
Live example

A single-family FTTH retrofit, quoted from the driveway in 3 minutes.

An electrician finishing a panel upgrade in Trenton has the homeowner ask him about fibre. He doesn't type. He pulls up BOQ.ca, taps the mic, and walks the bot through the answers while the homeowner makes coffee.

Conversation transcript

Single-family retrofit · Trenton · Friday 2:18pm · spoken via mic, transcribed live.

Buyer · 2:18pm via voice
Hey, I'm at a customer's place in Trenton. They want fibre. Two-storey detached, single family. About 1,800 square feet. Their existing run is copper from a pole on the street.
0:14
BOQ · 2:19pm
Heard you. Two-storey detached, single-family, 1,800 sqft, existing aerial copper. Sounds like a residential FTTH retrofit. Two quick checks: just confirming aerial entry off the same pole, and is the homeowner on-site to confirm the install date?
Buyer via voice
Yeah, aerial off the same pole. Homeowner is right here. They want it done within four weeks.
0:08
BOQ
Got it. How many drops do they want wired? Just one ONT at the entry, or extra wired ports to specific rooms?
Buyer via voice
One ONT at the entry. They want Wi-Fi 7 access points in three rooms. Living room, master bedroom, basement office.
0:11
BOQ
One ONT, three Wi-Fi 7 access points, four-week install. Last one: are conduits already in the walls, or does cable need fishing through?
Buyer via voice
Fishing through. It's a 1990 build. No conduits.
0:06
BOQ · 2:21pm
Thanks. So that's a single-family FTTH retrofit, aerial entry, one ONT plus three Wi-Fi 7 APs, fish-through cable, four-week target, in Trenton. Here's the range we'd quote on similar jobs.
Estimated cost range
$850 to $1,200
Mid-range $1,025 · CAD · materials and install
BOQ
This is under our self-serve threshold, so I can lock the slot now with a refundable $50 deposit, or I can email it to the homeowner. Which works?
Buyer via voice
Email it to them. Marc Tremblay, m.tremblay at gmail dot com.
0:07
Quote emailed · transcript logged · 2:22pm

What the bot extracted

Every value below came from voice. Each one was read back to the buyer and confirmed before the range was computed.

Project classSF FTTH retrofit
Build year1990
Storeys2
Total area~1,800 sqft
EntryAerial
ONT count1
Wi-Fi APs3 (Wi-Fi 7)
CableFish-through
Target4 weeks
Range$850 - $1,200
LaneSelf-serve

Why we read every value back

Voice transcription is good, not perfect. "Eighteen hundred" can mishear as "eight hundred", "four weeks" as "fourteen weeks". Confirming heard values before computing protects the quote and the buyer.

Hot lead handoff

Brad gets the brief on WhatsApp with the audio attached.

For voice quotes Brad gets the transcript plus the original audio clips. He can listen to anything that sounds odd before calling the buyer back.

While you walked

Six things the bot did automatically while the electrician was up the ladder.

A 3-minute spoken conversation produced a typed transcript, a calibrated range, an emailed quote, a CRM record, and a WhatsApp brief. The electrician kept his hands on the panel.

1

Transcribed every voice message

Whisper rendered each clip in under 3 seconds with confidence scores. Confidence below 0.85 triggered a confirmation prompt.

2

Read values back for confirmation

Every numeric extracted from voice was repeated to the buyer before computing the range.

3

Computed the range

SF FTTH retrofit class, fish-through cable surcharge, four-week timeline (no rush). $850 to $1,200.

4

Emailed the quote

Sent to m.tremblay@gmail.com with full transcript and the audio clips embedded as listen-back links.

5

WhatsApped Brad

Three-line summary plus transcript link plus original audio clips. Brad heard the buyer himself before calling back.

6

Logged audio + transcript

Stored encrypted on Brad's S3 with retention rules. Audit-trail proof of what was said and what was computed.

Old way vs voice-driven chat

"Hold on, let me get back to you when I'm at a computer" is dead.

The old way

Buyer says they'll call back. They never do.

  • Friday 2:18pm: electrician on-site, customer asks about fibre.
  • Friday 2:19pm: electrician says "I'll send a number to my office, they'll call you Monday".
  • Monday 9am: electrician forgets. Customer calls Bell instead.
  • Monday 11am: customer signs Bell.
  • Conversion: 0%.
  • Brand impression: "they don't seem to want the work".

The BOQ chatbot · voice variant

Spoken brief, transcript, range, quote emailed in 3 minutes 47 seconds.

  • Friday 2:18pm: electrician taps mic, speaks the brief.
  • Friday 2:21pm: $850-$1,200 range delivered.
  • Friday 2:22pm: quote emailed to homeowner.
  • Friday 2:21pm: Brad gets the WhatsApp + audio.
  • Friday 2:30pm: homeowner replies "yes please book it".
  • Conversion target: 38%.
  • Brand impression: "these people moved fast".
What it costs

One build fee. One monthly. Voice usage bundled to 1,000 minutes.

Whisper transcription is bundled into the monthly retainer up to 1,000 voice-minutes per month. Beyond that, $0.06 per minute at cost. No per-conversation fees, no per-deposit cut.

Build & calibration · voice variant
$17,500
One-time. Includes voice transcription layer, calibration session with Brad, and three project classes live at launch.

$1,400 / month - sorry, monthly retainer covers hosting, voice-model usage (up to 1,000 minutes), monthly calibration review, and ongoing accuracy tuning.

$0.06 / extra minute beyond 1,000 voice-minutes per month, billed at cost.

Owned by BOQ. Hosted on BOQ.ca. Audio stored encrypted on Brad's own S3 bucket with 90-day retention. Cancel anytime.

Ready to put it on BOQ.ca

The next trades buyer up a ladder shouldn't have to call you on Monday.

30-day pilot. Calibrated against Brad's real numbers. Voice and typed both live from day one for residential and commercial classes.

B
BOQ Quote Assistant
Voice + chat hybrid · calibrated 5 days ago
BOQ
Hi. Tap the mic if your hands are busy. I'll transcribe and read back what I heard before quoting.
You via voice
Two-storey detached in Trenton, fibre retrofit, aerial drop.
0:09
BOQ
Heard "two-storey, Trenton, fibre retrofit, aerial". One ONT, or wired drops to multiple rooms?
You via voice
One ONT, three Wi-Fi 7 access points.
0:06
BOQ
Conduits in walls, or fishing through? Target install date?
You via voice
Fishing through, it's a 1990 build. Four weeks.
0:05
BOQ
Single-family FTTH retrofit, aerial drop, fish-through, four-week target. Range:
Cost range
$850 - $1,200
Mid $1,025 · CAD
Lock with $50 deposit, or email to homeowner?
Tip. Hold the mic to record, release to send. Push-to-talk if your signal's flaky.