The AI Back-Office Handbook

Page 1 — The team most contractors can't afford to hire

A mid-sized contractor employs six back-office roles you probably don't: a CSR who answers the phone, a dispatcher who routes the crew, a bookkeeper who sends invoices and chases payments, an office manager who runs the paperwork, a marketing person who runs campaigns and ads, and a customer-success person handling follow-ups and reviews.

At US national averages, that's ~$348k/year in payroll before you cover benefits, overhead, or HR. Most solo and sub-10 contractors can't hire any of it — and that's exactly why your bigger competitor, with that team in place, keeps winning the calls you miss.

Hero365's thesis: deliver that back office as AI. One agent per role, working ~24/7, reporting to you every Friday. No contract, no per-user fees, 14-day money-back.

Page 2 — Which roles to hire first

You don't need all seven on day one. The order that unlocks the most value for most shops:

1. Concierge (Ava) — picks up every call. If you're currently missing after-hours and overflow calls, this alone pays for the platform. Start here.
2. Sales (Alex) — drafts estimates from a voice note or photo, prices with live market data, follows up until the deal closes. Stops the "I never sent the estimate" leak.
3. Dispatch (Sam) — add this when you have 3+ techs. Routes the crew, matches skills, catches double-bookings.
4. Field (Jake) — a mobile sidekick that closes jobs with photos and notes so your techs can work, not type.
5. Bookkeeper (Maya) — invoices the moment jobs close, chases overdue balances, reconciles the bank feed.
6. Care (Lily) — post-job follow-up, review requests at the right moment, retention signals.
7. Growth (Max) — keeps the pipeline warm. Spots homes likely to need you, runs the campaigns, shifts ad budget to what converts — in your brand voice.

Rule of thumb: hire the agent whose role you'd most regret not having if you answered a 2am call yourself.

Page 3 — The five rules every shop should teach its AI team

Generic AI defaults are fine. Rules that match your business are better. These are the five instructions we see contractors add in their first week:

1. Never auto-invoice under $X. Pick a threshold where you want eyes on the invoice before it goes out. Alex flags everything under it for your approval.
2. Always confirm with the homeowner before dispatching. Sam holds the job in "confirmed" state until a text/call confirmation lands.
3. Hold [day] for [reason]. ("Hold Fridays for maintenance visits." "No installs on Saturdays.") Sam routes around these protected windows.
4. Flag expenses over $X. Maya auto-categorizes under the threshold, queues larger ones for your review with a receipt scan.
5. Wait 48 hours after a job before asking for a review. Lily paces review requests so they don't read as transactional.

All rules are editable from Command Center. Every rule is logged with when it was added and what agent applied it — so you can see it working.

Page 4 — Your first week, step by step

Day 1 — Wire it up

• Connect your phone number (we forward to Ava).
• Import your customer list from wherever it lives today (QuickBooks, Jobber, Housecall Pro, spreadsheet — we've done them all).
• Connect Google Calendar or Outlook so bookings flow in.

Day 2–3 — Listen

• Let Ava handle every call. Review the transcripts in Command Center the next morning.
• Approve or edit Sam's route suggestions for your crew.
• Watch Alex's first 3–5 estimates. Adjust pricing or tier rules if needed.

Day 4–5 — Teach

• Add 3–5 Owner Instructions. The ones from Page 3 are a good start.
• Confirm the agents have your tax rate, default deposit %, and any standard pricing rules.

Day 6 — Check

• You'll get the first Friday Digest in your inbox. Each agent reports what it did.
• Flag anything off. The agents learn from corrections — no one is stuck with a bad decision.

Day 7 — Ship

• If Hero365 isn't earning its keep, email us and we refund. No contract to unwind.
• If it is, the next week is mostly watching — your AI team is on autopilot.