For builders and renovators
An AI receptionist for builders that takes the enquiry while you're on the frame
Hello answers your phone, website chat and email while you're on site. It takes the address, what the client wants built, their budget and timeframe, and books a site visit or a call with you. It answers common questions, like whether you build granny flats or how your quoting works, from information you approve, and leaves consent and design advice to you.
41,268
new homes consented in the year to August 2026, up 21%
30,496
Licensed Building Practitioner licences held at 30 June 2025
24,612
house construction businesses in New Zealand, February 2025
70 m²
the size limit for a standalone granny flat built without a building consent since 15 January 2026
Facts checked 20 October 2026.
What clients ring about, and how Hello handles it
New enquiries
Hello takes the site address, what the client wants (new build, extension, renovation, repair or granny flat), their budget range and when they'd like to start. You get it in writing, not as a scrawled note from a missed call.
Granny flats
Since January 2026, new, standalone, single-storey homes up to 70 m² can be built without a building consent if they meet the rules. Hello says whether you build them and books a site visit. It leaves the question of whether a particular design qualifies to you.
"How do you quote?"
Hello explains how you price work, such as a fixed-price quote after a site visit, and that a written contract is needed for larger jobs.
"Are you available?"
Good builders are often booked months ahead. Hello tells the caller when you can start in the words you give it, and keeps the lead warm with a booked call.
Existing clients and site questions
Clients with a job underway get put through to the right person, after a text telling them who's calling and why. Subbies and suppliers can be routed to your site manager.
Defects and call-backs
Hello takes the address and what's wrong, asks the client to email you photos, and emails the job to you so it gets booked in rather than forgotten.
What Hello does for builders
- Answers every enquiry while you're on site, and says it's an AI assistant
- Captures the address, scope, budget and timeframe before you call back
- Books site visits and phone calls into your Google or Outlook calendar
- Puts existing clients through to the right person, with a text first
- Answers the questions you approve about your services, areas and quoting
- Shows you each month how many new enquiries came in and what they were for
What Hello won't do
- Say whether a job needs consent or meets the granny flat rules
- Give a price for a job you haven't seen
- Give design or engineering advice
- Book into job management software on Solo or Team plans (it uses your calendar, or emails the enquiry for you to follow up)
How it plays out
Example: lunch on site
You're on a roof all morning. Hello takes four enquiries: two renovations, one deck and one granny flat. Each has an address, a budget and a site visit time. At lunch you read four summaries and confirm the visits with a tap.
Example: Sunday evening
A couple browsing your website on Sunday night asks in web chat whether you do extensions in their suburb. Hello answers from your service area list, takes their details and books a call with you on Tuesday. They don't ring the next builder on Google.
Example: the January restart
Your yard is shut over Christmas, but people plan their builds in the holidays. Hello answers every enquiry through the break and has a list of site visits waiting when you're back.
The rules that shape how Hello answers
Residential work of $30,000 or more needs a written contract
Under the Building Act, residential building work of $30,000 or more including GST needs a written contract, plus a disclosure statement and checklist given to the client first. Hello can explain that you'll provide these once the job is scoped.
Restricted building work needs an LBP
Work on a home's structure or weathertightness that needs a consent is restricted building work, and must be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner. Hello can give callers your LBP details when they ask.
Granny flats have their own rules
Since 15 January 2026, standalone single-storey homes up to 70 m² can be built without a building consent if they meet the conditions, including a project information memorandum and licensed trades. The building exemption isn't a planning exemption. Hello books the conversation; you give the advice.
Quotes and estimates mean different things
Consumer Protection says a quote is a set price, while an estimate is a best guess that should usually land within 10 to 15%. Hello uses the word you use and never commits you to a price.
What one missed enquiry is worth
Any residential job that needs a written contract is worth at least $30,000. That's the Building Act threshold. Even at a modest margin, one job like that can cover a year or more of Hello Solo. Hello Solo is NZ$149 + GST a month, about NZ$4.90 + GST a day.
Source: MBIE, Before building work starts
| Calls a day | Plan | Price | About per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to about 5 | Hello Solo | NZ$149 + GST a month | NZ$4.90 |
| 5 to 30 | Hello Team | NZ$299 + GST a month | NZ$9.83 |
| 30+ | Hello Scale | Quoted | n/a |
Getting set up
- 01List the work you do and don't do, and your service area, so Hello can turn away jobs that aren't a fit politely.
- 02Write how you quote in two sentences. Hello uses your words.
- 03Add your site manager to the phone tree for subbies, suppliers and current clients.
- 04Turn on caller recaps so new clients get an email with the next steps after they ring.
Questions from builders
Can Hello tell clients whether they need a consent?
No. Consent and granny flat rules depend on the site and design. Hello takes the details and books a time with you.
Will it give prices?
Only if you approve a guide, such as your minimum job size. Otherwise it explains that you quote after a site visit.
Does Hello work with Fergus, Tradify or Simpro?
On Solo and Team plans Hello books into a Google or Outlook calendar and emails each enquiry. Connecting job management software is a custom job on the Scale plan.
Can it screen out jobs we don't want?
Yes. Tell Hello the work you don't do and the areas you don't cover. It explains politely and takes no booking.
What about the Christmas shutdown?
Hello keeps answering. It tells callers when you're back and books site visits for after the break.
Will clients mind talking to an AI?
Hello says it's an AI assistant at the start of every call. Most callers just want to know you'll come and look at the job, and Hello books that.
Written by Phil Dossett, co-founder of Leadica, the Auckland company that makes Hello. Facts checked 20 October 2026.
Sources
- Stats NZ, Building consents issued: August 2026
- Building Practitioners Board, Annual Report 2024/25
- Stats NZ business demography 2025, via Figure.NZ
- MBIE, Building a granny flat: homeowners
- MBIE, Before building work starts
- MBIE, Restricted building work
- Consumer Protection, Quotes and estimates
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