Short answer Paste the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot with your own details and you get a plain-English draft of your terms of trade covering payment, deposits, variations and cancellations, with questions for your lawyer. Works on free plans. Time saved: about 2 hours on a first draft (estimate).
Why it helps
Terms of trade are the rules for how you work: when you get paid, what happens if a job changes, what a deposit covers, what happens if someone cancels. Plenty of small businesses either don't have them or have a page of legal-sounding words copied from somewhere that nobody reads.
AI can turn the way you actually work into clear, short terms your customers will understand. Clear terms mean fewer arguments. It's a first draft to take to a lawyer, not a replacement for one.
The prompt
Copy it, swap the bits in [square brackets], and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot.
I run a [type of business] in [town], New Zealand. Help me write plain-English terms of trade based on how I actually work. How I work: - Quotes and estimates: [how you price] - Deposits: [amount and when] - Payment: [due date, how to pay, what happens if late] - Changes to the job: [how you handle extra work] - Cancellations: [notice and costs] - Who I work for: [homeowners, businesses or both] - Warranty or guarantees I offer: [details] Rules: - Short headings and short sentences. NZ English. Under 450 words. - Only include what I've told you. Don't add penalties, interest rates or legal clauses I haven't asked for. - Don't say customers give up rights they have under the Consumer Guarantees Act or Fair Trading Act. - At the end, list anything that might be unfair or unclear, and questions to check with a lawyer.
Then keep chatting
Write a three-line summary to put at the bottom of every quote.
Rewrite the payment section so it sounds friendlier but just as clear.
Which of these terms might be a problem if my customer is another small business?
Step by step
- Write down how you actually work today: deposits, payment dates, changes and cancellations. Look at your last few jobs for what really happens.
- Fill in the prompt and read the draft. Change anything that doesn't match how you work.
- Read the list of possible problems at the end. Take anything unclear out or ask about it.
- Get a lawyer to check the final version, especially anything about late fees, ownership of goods or security for payment.
- Send your terms with every quote, and get customers to accept them before you start.
Worked example
Example details are made up. Your results will vary, so always read and check before you use them.
Watch out for
- Consumer law still applies. You can't contract out of the Consumer Guarantees Act for consumers, and misleading terms can breach the Fair Trading Act. See consumerprotection.govt.nz.
- Business customers count too. Unfair terms in standard business contracts worth $250,000 or less a year can be challenged under the Fair Trading Act. The Commerce Commission (comcom.govt.nz) explains what might be unfair.
- Get it checked. Late fees, debt collection costs and keeping ownership of goods until paid have extra legal rules. A lawyer can check these quickly. Business.govt.nz has guidance on terms of trade.
- Privacy: you don't need customer details for this prompt.
Go further
Add the quote or estimate note from the quote or estimate explained use case so prices and terms line up. If someone doesn't pay on time, the chase unpaid invoice use case writes the reminder.
