Rear Extension & Loft Conversion
Sarah & Tom Whitfield14 Jul
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BESPOKE AI SYSTEM · BLACKBIRD ARCHITECTURE
Running an architecture practice from WhatsApp
An AI system that runs the back office of a UK architecture practice from a single WhatsApp thread. It logs the work, handles the admin, and drafts the invoices, all on its own.
Blackbird Assistant
AI Assistant · online
How can I help you today, Joe?
9:39 AM
New project for the Willow Lane loft conversion. Log 3h concept design
9:40 AM
Done. 'Willow Lane Loft' is set up at Concept Design and I've logged 3h. I'll remind you to invoice at the end of the stage.
9:41 AM
What's my total outstanding?
9:42 AM
£4,600 outstanding across 2 fee invoices. Both are on your dashboard.
9:42 AM
Message
The challenge
Small practices lose hours a week to admin
On our first call, the owner walked us through where the practice was losing time. It kept coming back to the same thing. The admin just didn’t fit the way they work:
- Generic job tools didn’t fit the way they work. Their projects run through long, regulated RIBA stages, not one-off jobs.
- The details that matter happen on site, like snags, receipts and quick notes. Stopping to type them up isn’t practical, so they got logged late or lost.
- Billable time, mileage and expenses slipped through the cracks and never made it onto an invoice.
- Snagging meant a clipboard and a camera on site, then hours spent typing it all up back at the office.
- Meetings and site notes had to be written up by hand.
- Invoices were pieced together manually from scattered notes at the end of each stage.
- The desktop software they had was clunky, and nobody ever opened it while standing on a building site.
The dashboard
Every project on one board
Everything logged over WhatsApp lands here. The board follows the practice’s own RIBA lifecycle, eight stages that run from inception all the way to construction administration, so the owner can see where every project stands at a glance.
What we built
The key features
The assistant
Talk to the business like you’re texting a colleague
The whole practice runs from one WhatsApp thread. The team sends a message or a voice note in plain English, and the AI works out whether it’s a job, a note, a task or a billable expense, then files it in the right place. Ask it a question about the business and it answers straight back.
- Works with typing and voice notes
- Knows a task from a billable expense
- Answers questions about the business instantly
Snagging mode
Turn a site walk into a finished snag list
On site, the team switches the assistant into snagging mode. They send a photo, name the element and add a quick note. The AI groups it all into a tidy snag report in the practice’s own format, ready to edit, print or send, with no writing up afterwards.
- A photo and a note become a snag
- Grouped by element, ready to edit
- Print-ready in the practice’s format
Timesheets
Timesheets that fill themselves in
Every evening the assistant sends everyone a quick WhatsApp prompt. They reply in plain English with their hours, mileage and expenses, and it all gets logged against the right project on its own. Billable time that used to leak away is now captured the moment it happens.
- A quick prompt at the end of each day
- Hours, mileage and expenses in one reply
- Logged against the right project and rate
Invoicing
Invoices drafted from everything already logged
Because every hour, mile and expense is already captured, invoicing becomes a quick review instead of a data-entry job. The AI drafts the invoice from everything logged against a project, priced at each person’s rate. It comes out consistent, itemised and easy to edit before it goes out.
- Built from the time and expenses already logged
- Priced at each person’s own rate
- Consistent, and easy to edit
From the owner