It is 9:30 p.m. The electrician in Laval, Quebec closes his van and his phone buzzes: a customer wants a quote for a panel upgrade and two EV charger installs. He notes the request; the estimate will go out in three days. The example is fictional, but it resembles many a tradesperson's week: a full day of jobs and paperwork waiting.
An AI agent replaces neither your expertise nor your judgment: it prepares. While you pack the van, it gathers the request, extracts the useful details — address, type of work, timelines, photos — and drafts an estimate from your price list. You check, correct, approve, and the document goes out. In practice, the draft is ready within minutes; the "5 minutes" in the title is an illustrative figure. The word used here: the estimate, in the sense of Quebec's consumer protection office (OPC) — a written evaluation of the cost of the labour and materials.
A quote that sits loses the job
The OPC advises consumers to give their plans to three contractors. While your estimate waits for the end of the week, the customer compares the two others. This is not about statistics; it is the normal course of a residential trade search. The one that arrives second gets measured against the one already in the inbox.
A clear estimate also serves at contract time: the OPC recommends attaching it to the contract, so that what was promised stands in writing — description of the work, type and quantity of materials, total cost, payment terms. A properly prepared document protects the customer and protects you.
What the OPC looks for in an estimate
For residential renovation work, the OPC suggests that the evaluation include at minimum:
- a description of the work and the materials used;
- the total price of the work, with each element itemized;
- the payment terms;
- the start and end dates of the work.
At the contract stage, the OPC recommends a written document — no particular form required unless you are an itinerant merchant — containing at least: the contractor's name and address, any licence and permit numbers, the start and end dates, the commitment to comply with municipal regulations and the National Building Code standards, the liability insurance policy number, a detailed description of the work, the total cost and the payment terms.
Two rules of Quebec's Consumer Protection Act are worth knowing. A contract concluded by phone or over the Internet must be made in writing, and the contractor must deliver it within fifteen days of its conclusion. And if you sell or install doors, windows, roofing, thermal insulation or exterior cladding at the customer's home, you may be operating as an itinerant merchant: the written contract becomes mandatory, and the customer has ten days to cancel. One tenacious myth to put to rest: that ten-day window does not cover every residential renovation contract. These items are general information, not legal advice.
The RBQ licence follows the quote, not just the job site
Quebec's building authority (RBQ) is unambiguous: anyone who carries out or has construction work carried out in Quebec must hold a licence, unless exempted by law. And the obligation starts earlier than most people think: the contractor's licence is also required from anyone who submits quotes with a view to performing such work — quoting itself is already a regulated activity.
An AI agent can draft a hundred quotes; it issues no licence. Your RBQ licence number, Quebec enterprise number (NEQ) and tax numbers stay yours on the contract. The machine speeds up the paperwork; it does not widen in any way your right to operate.
The workflow of an AI agent for estimates
- Capture. Requests arrive by email, text, Facebook and missed calls. The agent gathers them into a single thread, with date and origin.
- Structure. It extracts the type of work, address, timelines and photos, and flags incomplete requests.
- Draft. From your price list and your templates, it prepares a draft aligned with the OPC's recommended contents: description, itemized amounts, payment terms, dates.
- Verify. You review quantities, unit prices, exclusions and timelines. Nothing goes out without your approval: what the customer receives carries your numbers.
- Send and log. Once approved, the document goes to the customer; the request and the reply are kept in a register, for follow-up and for supporting your exchanges in case of a dispute.
Take the fictional example. The panel-upgrade draft is ready by the time the electrician gets home. He reads it: two chargers for two cars, not three; an extra wiring cost in the exclusions. Two corrections, one approval, and the estimate goes out before supper ends.
A caution is due: an agent that reads messages from the public is sometimes fed hidden instructions — an email that slips an instruction to ignore your rules in among the job details. The defence takes three habits: a human review of every estimate before it leaves, agent access limited to the few tools it needs, and an action log recording who did what, when.
GST and QST: the $30,000 threshold
On the tax side, two agencies state the same rule: Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency set the same threshold. You are a small supplier if your total taxable sales do not exceed $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Below that, you need not register or collect GST and QST — voluntary registration remains an option, notably to recover input tax credits on your purchases.
Beyond the threshold, registration is required: GST at 5%, QST at 9.975% in two steps, or both taxes at 14.975%. Then plan for a distinct tax line in every quote, with your tax numbers. The rates quoted here were verified in October 2026; general information, not tax advice.
What it costs
The first cost is your time: eight quote requests a week, thirty minutes each at the end of the day — a common order of magnitude among tradespeople, valued at your billing rate. These figures serve as an illustrative example, not a promise.
On the tool side, the PRO-AI-AGENT plans verified on October 24, 2026 — Canadian dollars, taxes extra: Essential, $1,500 setup and $200 per month, without the quotes module; Professional, $2,500 and $400 per month, with the "Automatic quotes and invoices" module; Premium, $4,000 and $750 per month, with broader integrations. Installation takes one to two weeks, training included. These amounts are as displayed when this was written; they guarantee neither revenue nor contract volume.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AI-written quote valid in Quebec?
Yes: it is a commercial document like any other. What matters is the content: description of the work, itemized amounts, payment terms and dates, as recommended by the OPC. And for construction work, your RBQ licence must be in order.
Can I let the agent send the quote without reviewing it?
Not recommended. You remain responsible for the quantities, prices and exclusions, which stay yours; the agent prepares the draft, but validating the amounts and approving the send remain human steps, recorded in the log.
Do I always have to show GST and QST on my quotes?
No. Below the $30,000 threshold of taxable sales over a quarter or four consecutive quarters, you are a small supplier and can bill without taxes. Beyond it, or once voluntarily registered, every quote must show the GST (5%), the QST (9.975%) and your tax numbers.
Which PRO-AI-AGENT plan includes the quotes module?
The Professional ($2,500, $400 per month) and Premium ($4,000, $750 per month) plans include the "Automatic quotes and invoices" module. The Essential plan ($1,500, $200 per month) does not. Prices in CAD, taxes extra, verified October 24, 2026.
Does AI replace my on-site visit?
No. For a full wiring job, a roof or a foundation, the site visit remains the only sound basis for an estimate. AI speeds up the drafting and sending of the quote; the trained eye remains yours.
Take the next step
A well-organized price list, a few templates for your common jobs, a validation routine: that is what it takes to start. Write to [email protected] or visit the pricing page to ask questions specific to your trade. Nothing in this article goes beyond what has been verified; the rest is your judgment to decide.