Back Ops Tips
Get more from your back office.
A resource for Back Ops subscribers. What you can send us, how to get better results, and how the whole process works. The more you use it, the more it does for you.
01 /Use cases
What can I send you?
Short answer: anything related to running your jobs. Here are the categories we handle every day, with examples of what you send and what you get back.
Product & Material Research
Find me options
"Client wants something nicer than the builder-grade faucet. Existing valve is Moen Posi-Temp. Budget around $300."
You get back 2-3 options with real pricing, specs, compatibility notes, and purchase links. Tiered by budget so the client can choose.
Client Communication
Draft the email for me
"Rivera job, client is upset about the timeline. We're two weeks behind because of the tile delay."
A professional email acknowledging the concern, explaining the cause, and proposing a revised timeline. Ready for you to review and send.
Change Orders
Write up the change
"Opened the wall on Johnson and found moisture damage behind the shower. Going to need to reframe that section before tile."
A change order explanation with scope, cost framing, and a client-ready email. The change gets documented before you forget about it.
Code & Permit Research
Check the requirements
"Not sure if we pulled the right permit for the deck stairs on Johnson. Can you double-check what's required?"
A summary of applicable requirements for that jurisdiction, with links to the building department pages and code references.
Document Generation
Build the scope doc
"Need to get an electrician in to run a 50-amp circuit to the garage on Chen. Rough-in only."
A subcontractor scope document covering what's included, what's excluded, access conditions, and timeline. Protects you when the invoice doesn't match the handshake.
Safety Flagging
Something doesn't look right
A photo of suspect wiring discovered during demo, with a note: "Found this behind the ceiling."
An immediate flag identifying the concern, relevant code requirements, recommended next steps, and a reminder about documentation obligations before work continues.
Manufacturer Specs
What are the install requirements?
"What's the nailing pattern for Hardie plank in a high-wind zone?"
The relevant specs from the manufacturer's own documentation, installation requirements, and any warranty-voiding conditions. With source links so you can verify.
Pre-Inspection Checklists
What will the inspector look for?
"Rough-in inspection tomorrow on the Chen kitchen. Electrical and plumbing."
A jurisdiction-aware checklist of what the inspector is likely to check, common fail points, and documentation to have on hand.
Client Education
Explain it so the homeowner gets it
"My homeowner wants to know why we can't just patch the stucco instead of doing a full remediation."
A clear, professional explanation citing building science and code requirements. Written to be informative without being condescending. Saves you from having the same conversation for the tenth time.
Notes & To-Dos
Just log this for me
"Third late arrival from plumber on Chen job. Consider replacing vendor."
Logged to the project, prioritized by urgency, and surfaced in your dashboard. Your running project record builds over time without extra effort.
02 /Input quality
How to get better results
We work with whatever you send. Blurry photos, half-finished thoughts, texts from the truck. That said, a few extra seconds of context make the output noticeably tighter.
Name the project or client
If you mention "Rivera kitchen" or "Chen garage," we instantly pull up everything we know about that job. Without it, we're matching context clues, which still works but takes longer and is less precise.
Say what the output is for
A material lookup for your own purchasing decision is different from one you're sending to a client. Telling us who sees the result changes how we frame it.
Give a budget range (if one exists)
When you say "budget around $300," we return options in that range. Without a number, we default to tiered recommendations across budget, mid-range, and premium.
Mention prior context
If you already discussed something with the client, told a sub about a deadline, or promised a specific approach, flag it. "Client already agreed to go with marble" prevents us from drafting a communication that reopens a settled decision.
Don't worry about completeness
We never default to "need more info" when we can produce something useful. If your input is incomplete, you'll get back the best possible output based on what you sent, with stated assumptions and one or two targeted questions to tighten it up. You won't get a form to fill out.
More context beats less
A quick text with context beats a one-line message every time. You're already thinking about the problem while you're driving or walking a job. Just send it. We'll sort it out.
03 /Approvals
The review loop
Nothing reaches your client without your approval. Here's how the review process works so you can move through it quickly.
We draft it
Your operator produces the output: an email, change order, scope doc, whatever the situation calls for. Every draft goes through a quality check before you see it.
You review it
The output appears in your dashboard, organized by project. You see exactly what would go to your client, including tone, pricing references, and commitments.
Three choices
Approve it as-is. Request changes with a note about what needs adjusting. Or defer it for later (it'll resurface in 48 hours so nothing falls through the cracks).
Quick edits
Small changes (a word swap, a number correction) you can make inline and they go through immediately. Larger rewrites loop back to your operator to make sure everything stays consistent.
You send
Once approved, the output is marked as ready. You deliver it to your client however you normally would. We never contact your clients directly.
The 30-second recall window
If you authorize a send and immediately realize something's off, you have a 30-second window to pull it back. After that, it's marked as sent.
Deferred items come back automatically
If you defer something, it reappears in 48 hours. If you defer the same item twice, your operator gets a flag to check in with you about it. Nothing quietly disappears.
04 /Proactive value
What we catch that you might miss
Some of the most valuable work Back Ops does is preventive. Here's what that looks like in practice.
The change order nobody wrote
You text us that you opened a wall and found moisture damage. Your mind is already on the fix.
We draft the change order, the client notification, and the scope adjustment before you move on to the next task. The revenue gets captured instead of absorbed.
The safety flag
You send photos of a demo and there's suspect wiring or materials visible in the background.
We flag it immediately with the specific concern, relevant code requirements, and recommended next steps. Including a reminder about what needs to happen before work continues.
The scope creep nobody documented
A client texts you asking for "one more thing" on the job. You say yes from the truck and keep working.
We document the scope change, flag it as unpriced, and surface it in your weekly summary. The conversation becomes a record before the invoice goes out.
The stalled item
You asked a client for a decision two weeks ago. They never responded. You forgot about it.
Any open item that hasn't moved in 5+ days gets flagged automatically. It shows up in your weekly summary with the option for us to draft a follow-up.
The repeated concern
You mention the same unresolved issue in a text, an email, and a brain dump across three days.
We detect the pattern and merge the mentions into one tracked item. If something comes up three or more times without resolution, it automatically rises in priority. Things that are bothering you get the attention they deserve without you having to explicitly escalate.
The tone check
A client email comes in frustrated. You're tempted to fire back a response from the job site.
We draft a measured, professional response that acknowledges the concern and proposes a path forward. It goes through the same review process, so you can adjust the tone before it sends. No regrettable emails.
05 /Weekly summary
Your weekly summary, explained
Every subscriber gets a weekly summary. It's not a report of everything that happened. It's a filter: the five things that need your attention most, organized so you can act on them in minutes.
Maximum 5 attention items
If more than five things need your attention, we prioritize and show only the top five. The rest are available in your full project view. Long lists get ignored. Prioritization is part of the value.
What each summary covers
For each active project: what changed this week, what's unresolved, where money is at risk, and what was completed. Across all projects: total open items, financial snapshot, and suggested next actions.
Money at risk
The summary surfaces unpriced changes, pending change orders, and any scope items that have been identified but not yet converted to billable work. This is where the revenue recovery happens.
Stalled items highlighted
Anything that hasn't moved in 5+ days shows up here with a note about how long it's been stalled. Open issues don't quietly accumulate. They get surfaced until they're resolved.
06 /Boundaries
What we don't do
Clear boundaries prevent misaligned expectations. Here's what falls outside the service, and what we do instead.
We don't contact your clients
All client-facing communication is drafted by us and delivered by you. You always review and approve before anything reaches your client.
We don't manage your finances
We don't track invoices, payments, or budgets. But if you tell us what's happening ("here's the situation on these three projects"), we can draft billing documentation and flag unbilled work.
We don't manage your schedule
We don't book appointments or coordinate subcontractor schedules. But we can research lead times, document timeline changes, and draft the communications that come from schedule shifts.
We don't replace licensed professionals
Code research, safety flagging, and spec lookups are research support. You remain responsible for all compliance, safety, and professional judgment. We surface the information; you make the call.
We don't guarantee AI-generated research
Every output is reviewed by a human operator. But the system relies on publicly available information. Verify anything with financial or legal implications, especially jurisdiction-specific requirements.
We're not a document management system
We process documents as inputs and produce outputs based on them, but we're not a system of record for contracts, insurance certificates, or legal documents. We handle them; we don't store them long-term.
07 /Getting started
Your first two weeks
The service gets tighter over time. The first two weeks are a calibration phase where your operator learns your projects, your style, and your patterns. Here's what to expect.
Day 1
The onboarding call
A 30-45 minute conversation (not a form) where your operator learns your active projects, clients, pricing style, tone preferences, and how you typically communicate. This is a conversation, not data entry.
Week 1
Calibration begins
Your operator is processing your inputs and learning your patterns simultaneously. Expect slightly more clarification questions than usual. Turnaround may be a bit slower as context builds. This is normal.
Week 1
Your first win
During the first week, your operator prioritizes inputs with the highest financial or risk signal. An unpriced change order discovered in an email thread, unbilled work identified from a project review, a compliance gap. This is the moment the value clicks.
Week 2
Patterns lock in
By the second week, your operator knows your projects, your clients, and how you like things framed. Clarification questions drop. Output quality tightens. The system starts working at the speed you expect.
Week 3+
Full speed
The operator has your context. AI accuracy improves with history. Templates start forming from your recurring needs. The service feels like an extension of your own capacity, not a vendor you're managing.
Ongoing
It compounds
The more you use it, the better it gets. Your project records accumulate. Your templates grow. Your operator's context deepens. Month three is measurably faster and more accurate than month one.
08 /Send it your way
We're built for how you actually work.
No app to learn. No dashboard to check. No workflow to configure. The service meets you where you are.
Texts from the truck
You're driving between jobs and thinking about three things at once. Fire off a text. A quick message with context is the single best input format. We handle decomposition, even if you cover multiple projects in one message.
Blurry photos from the site
A photo of water damage, a handwritten note on a napkin, a receipt from the supply house. We process what you've got, not what we wish you'd sent. If we can't read something, we'll ask. Otherwise we work with it.
Texts and emails
Forward us a client email. Text us a quick note. CC us on a thread. Whatever channel you're already using is the right one.
Your language
If it's easier to send notes in Spanish or Portuguese, do it. We process your input in your language and return polished documents in English for your clients. No translation step on your end.
Brain dumps welcome
End of the day, everything from the last eight hours is rattling around in your head. Fire off a brain dump covering all of it. We'll decompose it into separate tasks across the right projects. You don't need to organize it. That's our job.
Incomplete is fine
Half a thought, a partial memory of a conversation, a vague recollection of what the client said. Send it. We'd rather have the fragment now and ask one follow-up question than lose the signal entirely because you were going to "write it up later" and never did.
Questions about what you can send us, or how to get more from the service? Just text or email your operator. That's what we're here for.
Get started with Back Ops