Built for plumbers
Meet the AI hire for your shop
You’re under a sink. Prentice answers the phone.
Answers customers at any hour. Books service calls. Drafts quotes and invoices for your OK.
Talk to Prenticestart free
Prentice
Prentice
Your AI hire
By texting or calling Prentice, or giving Prentice your number, you agree to receive calls and texts from Prentice, an AI assistant, and to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Msg and data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.
You're messaging an AI. Privacy Policy
Demo: A pipe bursts late at night. See how I help stop the water and book the job.
Working with Prentice is like working with a person.
Prentice can be reached by phone, text or email.
Prentice talks with everyone your business works with: customers, your team, even suppliers.
You’re Wes, and you run Brandt Plumbing.
It’s 11:20 PM, and you’re asleep.
Priya finds you online. The pipe under her kitchen sink just burst.
Prentice has your shutoff steps and prices. You told Prentice to book night leaks for the morning and let you sleep.
- Priya: Pipe under my kitchen sink just burst, water everywhere!!
- Prentice: Hi, I’m Prentice, the AI assistant at Brandt Plumbing. First, turn the two small valves under the sink clockwise until they stop. If it keeps spraying, shut the main valve where the water line comes into the house.
- Priya: Ok did it. It stopped
- Prentice: Good. Wes can be there first thing tomorrow at 7:30 AM. The service call is $95. Want it?
- Priya: Yes please. Thank you!
- Prentice: Booked: Wes, tomorrow at 7:30 AM. Keep the valves off and a towel down until then.
- Prentice: I booked Priya as your first call this morning at 7:30 AM. The pipe under her kitchen sink burst last night. I had her shut the valves, and the water stopped.
Prentice got the water shut off and booked the job while you slept.
Demo: Your plumber finds a water heater that’s rusted through. See how I get it quoted and booked.
You’re Wes, and you run Brandt Plumbing.
Teo is one of your plumbers.
He’s at Colin’s house, where the hot water is out.
You’ve given Prentice your water heater prices.
- Teo: At Colin’s. His water heater is rusted through, 14 years old. He needs a new 50-gallon gas one.
- Prentice: Teo says Colin needs a new water heater. Here’s the quote for your OK: $1,950 installed.
- Prentice: Quote for Colin · $1,950
- (Approved)
- Prentice: Hi Colin, I’m Prentice, the AI assistant at Brandt Plumbing. Here’s the quote for the new water heater Teo talked about: $1,950 installed.
- Prentice: Quote 1042 · Brandt Plumbing · $1,950
- Colin: Looks good, go ahead. How soon can you put it in? We’ve got no hot water.
- Prentice: Our first opening is Tuesday at 8 AM. It takes about three hours. Does that work?
- Colin: Yes, please.
- Prentice: You’re booked for Tuesday at 8 AM.
- Prentice: Colin said yes to the $1,950 water heater. The install is Tuesday at 8 AM.
Prentice turned one text from Teo into a $1,950 job.
Demo: Tree roots grow back into sewer lines every year. See how I book this year’s cleanings before they clog.
You’re Wes, and you run Brandt Plumbing.
It’s early October. Last fall you cleared tree roots from four sewer lines, and roots grow back.
Sami is one of those customers.
- You: Text everyone I cleared roots for last fall. Offer this year’s cleaning for $325.
- Prentice: Hi Sami, I’m Prentice, the AI assistant at Brandt Plumbing. Wes cleared roots from your sewer line last October. Want this year’s cleaning before they clog it again? It’s $325, and Wes has Thursday at 9 AM or Friday at 1 PM.
- Sami: Yes, good timing. The basement drain is already slow. Thursday at 9 AM.
- Prentice: Booked: your sewer cleaning is Thursday at 9 AM. I’ll send a reminder the day before.
- Prentice: 3 of the 4 customers I texted have booked their sewer cleaning. That’s $975.
Prentice booked $975 of sewer cleanings before the clogs came back.
Answering the call is the easy part
Prentice keeps working after the call.
See how I look after a new customer
- I answer a homeowner’s call or textSaturday, 10:05pm
- Most answering services stop hereI keep going
- I walk them through shutting off the waterRight then
- I book the service callBefore we hang up
- I tell them if your plumber is running lateThe morning of
- I send the quoteAfter the visit
- I book the installWhen they say yes
- I send the invoiceWhen the job’s done
- I follow up on a late paymentA week later
- I remind you when they’re due for a sewer cleaningNext fall
I will draft quotes and invoices, and you approve each one.
Revenue you didn’t have to chase
A drain booked, a water heater sold, an invoice paid. Prentice keeps your schedule full.
- PrenticenowColin said yes to a new water heater, $1,950. He’s booked for tomorrow at 8.
- Prentice1h agoOpal’s clogged kitchen drain is booked for Thursday at 2. I said it usually runs $225.
- Prentice2h agoDwight booked his yearly sewer cleaning for Friday at 9. $325
- Prentice3h agoHazel’s $480 invoice was paid after my reminder.
Prentice will earn your trust
My word to you
- I’ll tell every customer I’m an AI.
- I’ll double-check my work.
- I’ll ask you when I’m not sure.
- I’ll work within the boundaries you set.
We know trusting an AI with your customers is a big ask.
So Prentice never works alone. Prentice asks you when unsure, and calls on us for backup.
The Prentice team
Meet the people behind Prentice
We’re small business owners ourselves. We know what it’s like to lose evenings to admin work, and to wish for someone dependable to hand it to. So we built Prentice on three principles.
- Honesty.
- A straight “I’m not sure” beats a confident guess.
- Integrity.
- Treat every customer the way you would.
- Reliability.
- Show up, every time. For 15 years our team has built software thousands of people count on every day.
And when Prentice needs backup, we answer.
Dan & Jonathan
Prentice goes in your contacts
Just save the number, and your whole crew can start talking to Prentice.
Call Text Email
- You
- Your office staff
- Your plumbers
- Your customers
Your suppliers can text or email Prentice too.
Prentice speaks
- English
- Español
- Français
- Português
Getting started
Your part is small. Prentice does the rest.
-
Can you answer a few questions about your business?
Then Prentice can learn it. Prentice writes the job description and shows you a demo for no cost.
-
Can you share your schedule and your price list?
Then Prentice can run your office. Service calls and reminders by your rules. Quotes and invoices go out only with your OK.
-
When Prentice has earned your trust
Then Prentice can talk to your customers. Forward your calls, or ask Prentice to text or email your customers.
Then you get your evenings back.
Made for plumbers
Prentice learns your services, your prices and your hours, then works in your words.
-
Leaks at night
Answered right away, with your shutoff steps and your first open slot.
-
Service calls
Booked into your open times, with your fee said up front.
-
Running late
Your plumber texts that a job is running long. Prentice tells the next customer and works out the rest of the day.
-
Bigger jobs
Water heaters and repipes, quoted from your prices and sent with your OK.
-
Invoices
Drafted when the job’s done, sent with your OK, and followed up by your rule.
-
Yearly maintenance
Past customers due for a sewer cleaning, texted once on your say-so.
Get closer to your customers
With Prentice, your customers will be able to:
-
Ask the small questions they’d hesitate to call you about
“Is a running toilet worth a visit?”
-
Get an answer at any hour, by call, text or email
“Sorry it’s late, my sink is leaking…”
-
Talk with you in their own language
“¿Pueden venir hoy? No tengo agua caliente.”
-
Book a visit on the spot
“Tomorrow at 8 works.”
-
Move a visit without phone tag
“Can we push it to Friday?”
-
Hear your prices up front
“How much to unclog a drain?”
When you’re easy to reach, you’re easy to do business with.
Costs less than a person
Prentice does the office work, so compare the cost with hiring office help, not with an answering service.
| Hiring a Person | Prentice Solo | Prentice Team | Prentice Crew | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works with | Anyone | Just you | 2-3 people | 4-6 people |
| Counts you and everyone on your team who works with Prentice. Customers never count. | ||||
| Monthly cost | $500 5 hours a week at $25 an hour | $99 | $199 | $399 |
50% off the first month while Prentice learns your business |
||||
| Messages included | As many as they can handle in 5 hours a week | 200 | 500 | 1,200 |
| A message is any text or email, sent or received. Each minute of a call counts as one. | ||||
| Communication methods | Phone, text, email, in person | Phone, text, email | ||
| Customers | As many as they can keep up with | No limit | ||
| Availability | 5 hours a week | Any hour, every day | ||
| Overtime | $25 an hour | $25 for every extra 50 messages | ||
| Offseason | You negotiate fewer hours with them | $39 a month when in Standby modePrentice stays active and will respond to customers. Max 50 messages per month. | ||
| Payroll and taxes | Your responsibility | None | ||
| Commitment | You hire them, and give notice to let them go | NoneCancel anytime. | ||
|
Talk to Prenticestart free
More than 6 people? Register, and Prentice will help you set up a plan. |
||||
Works with
Anyone
SoloJust you
Team2-3 people
Crew4-6 people
Counts you and everyone on your team who works with Prentice. Customers never count.
Monthly cost
$500 5 hours a week at $25 an hour
Solo$99
Team$199
Crew$399
50% off the first month while Prentice learns your business
Messages included
As many as they can handle in 5 hours a week
Solo200
Team500
Crew1,200
A message is any text or email, sent or received. Each minute of a call counts as one.
Communication methods
Phone, text, email, in person
Phone, text, email
Customers
As many as they can keep up with
No limit
Availability
5 hours a week
Any hour, every day
Overtime
$25 an hour
$25 for every extra 50 messages
Offseason
You negotiate fewer hours with them
$39 a month when in Standby modePrentice stays active and will respond to customers. Max 50 messages per month.
Payroll and taxes
Your responsibility
None
Commitment
You hire them, and give notice to let them go
NoneCancel anytime.
More than 6 people? Register, and Prentice will help you set up a plan.
Questions plumbers ask
Will customers know they’re talking to an AI?
Yes. On the first call or text, every customer hears that Prentice is your AI assistant. Prentice never pretends to be you.
What happens when someone calls with a leak at 11 PM?
Prentice answers, walks them through shutting off the water with your steps, and books the job by your rules. You decide once which calls can wait for morning and which you hear about right away.
Will Prentice give prices over the phone?
Prentice can tell a caller what a job usually runs, from the prices you gave, but never promises a price. You approve every quote before it goes out.
Can I send the invoice from the job site?
Yes. Text Prentice what you did and the parts you used. Prentice drafts the invoice from your prices, you approve it on a link, and Prentice sends it.
Do I need a new phone number?
You don’t have to change yours. Your business gets a Prentice number of its own. Give that number to customers, or forward your business line to Prentice when you can’t pick up.
Can my plumbers use Prentice?
Yes. Add your plumbers, and they can text Prentice from the job. Prentice drafts a quote from your prices and what they found, for your OK. When they text that they’re running late, Prentice tells the next customer.
More answers on the FAQ.
Let Prentice show you
Chat or call. Prentice will ask about your services, your prices and your hours.
Talk to Prenticestart free