Prompts that actually get used
There's no shortage of "100 best AI prompts" lists. Most of them are scraped from Twitter and have never been tested in an actual business. This list is different: these are the prompts that get used repeatedly, weekly, in a real operation. They're built for Australian small business context — GST, ABN, Australian English, local market realities.
Each one includes the actual prompt text and what it's useful for. Swap the brackets for your real details. These work significantly better once you've set up custom instructions for your business — then the AI already has your context loaded before you start.
1. The Margin Reality Check
Most businesses underprice because they only think about materials and time — not the full picture of what it costs to run the business and have that hour available to bill.
"I run a [trade/service type] business in [city]. My costs are: vehicle ($X/month), insurance ($X/month), tools/equipment ($X/month), phone/software ($X/month), marketing ($X/month), admin hours (X hrs/week at $X/hr). I work X billable hours per week, X weeks per year. Help me work out my true hourly cost of operation and what I need to charge per hour/job to make $X take-home after GST and super. Show your working."
2. The Professional Quote Generator
Takes your rough notes from a site visit and turns them into a clean, professional quote document.
"Write a professional one-page quote for a [job type] for a client in [suburb]. Scope: [describe work]. Inclusions: [list]. Exclusions: [list]. Price: $[amount] inc. GST. Deposit: [X]% on acceptance. Balance on completion. Timeline: [timeframe]. My business name: [name], ABN: [number]. Tone: professional but not stiff. Include a simple acceptance line at the bottom."
3. The Suburb Landing Page
For local SEO — a properly written page targeting a specific suburb, not a generic page with the suburb name swapped in. This is one part of a broader AI-first website strategy that's worth reading if you're building or rebuilding your site.
"Write a service landing page for my [trade/service] business targeting clients in [suburb], [city]. I'm based in [home suburb], [X] km away. Services offered: [list]. What makes me different: [2-3 real points]. Typical job types in this area: [describe]. SEO target keyword: '[service] [suburb]'. Include a strong headline, 3-paragraph intro, services section, trust section, and CTA. Australian English. No corporate speak."
4. The Difficult Email Writer
For the conversations you dread — scope changes, late payments, client complaints, bad reviews.
"Write an email to a client about [situation: e.g. 'a variation to the original scope of work due to [reason]', 'an overdue invoice for $X that is [X] days late', 'a complaint they made about [issue]']. I want to: [outcome you want]. Tone: professional, direct, and fair. Not defensive. Not grovelling. Australian English. Under 150 words."
5. The Google Review Request
The right way to ask for a review — specific enough that clients know what to say, natural enough that they don't feel like they're filling out a form.
"I just completed [job type] for a client. Write a short text/message asking them to leave a Google review. Tell them what makes a helpful review: their situation before, what I did, what they'd tell a friend. Keep it warm and casual. Under 4 sentences. Don't use corporate phrases like 'your feedback is important to us'."
6. The SOP Builder
Standard operating procedures — for anything you currently explain from scratch every time.
"Write a standard operating procedure for [task, e.g. 'how we onboard a new client from first enquiry to job start', 'our end-of-day site clean-up process', 'how we handle a warranty callback']. Include: who is responsible for each step, what tools/forms are used, what the output looks like, and what to do if something goes wrong. Format as a numbered checklist."
7. The Google Business Profile Post
Google Business Profile posts improve your local visibility. This prompt generates a week's worth at once.
"Write 4 Google Business Profile posts for my [trade/service] business in [suburb]. Mix of formats: one about a recent job type, one answering a common question, one about a seasonal service tip, one about why local matters. Each under 150 words. Include a call to action. Australian English. Real, not marketing fluff."
8. The Tax/Business Research Prompt
For getting a solid starting point on business questions before talking to your accountant — so you don't pay for questions you could have answered yourself.
"Explain [topic, e.g. 'how the instant asset write-off works for a sole trader in Australia', 'what expenses I can legitimately claim for a trade vehicle', 'how GST works for a business under $75k turnover'] in plain English. Include the key rules, any common mistakes people make, and what I should confirm with my accountant. No jargon."
AI gives you a strong starting point on tax and business questions. Always confirm specifics with a registered accountant or the ATO. Think of AI as pre-research — it gets you informed before the conversation, not instead of it.
9. The Client Brief Template
For capturing all the right information at the start of a job — so you don't get to site and realise you forgot to ask something important.
"Create a client brief template for a [job type] project. Include all the questions I need answered before I can quote accurately: dimensions, existing conditions, access, timing constraints, decision-makers, budget range, special requirements, and anything specific to [your trade]. Format as a fillable form I can send to clients before a site visit."
10. The Competitor Intelligence Prompt
Understanding why competitors win jobs without having to guess.
"I run a [trade/service] business in [city]. My main competitors are [describe: e.g. 'large franchise operations', 'cheap solo operators', 'established local businesses with 20+ years']. Analyse what each type likely does better than me, what I likely do better than them, and what a client who chooses a competitor over me is probably prioritising. Then tell me what I should be emphasising in my marketing to attract clients who value what I'm genuinely best at."
The pattern behind all of these
Every effective business prompt does the same three things: it gives context (who you are, what the situation is), it specifies the outcome (what format, tone, length), and it adds constraints (what to avoid, what Australian business context applies). Generic input gets generic output. The more specific you are, the more the AI sounds like it actually understands your business — because, in the context of that conversation, it does. If you want 50 more tested prompts across every category, the full prompt library is here.
40 more prompts in the free pack
The full 50-prompt PDF includes power phrases, client attraction content, content creation, and the insider toolkit — plus everything above in a format you can keep.