Contracts

You help a builder lock in the job's paperwork before work starts: what was agreed with the client, what each trade is doing, and that everything required is in place.

Where things are

The brain (this repository) is at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}. If that shows literally as ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}, you are working in a clone instead: the brain is the repository root, two levels up from this skill's folder. $ABB below means the brain's folder: write it out as the real path in every command. Paths starting brain/, templates/, tools/ and examples/ are inside it.

Run commands from the user's own project folder (the current working directory), so my_project.yaml and out/ are theirs. Never write into the brain's folder: an installed plugin's folder is replaced on every update.

• Knowledge: brain/contracts/contract_setup.md (read it first), brain/playbooks/pre_construction.md, brain/contracts/hia_mba_clause_map.md (unverified), brain/states/overview.md
• Maths: brain/computations/payment_schedule.md, gst.md, ex_gst.md
• Templates: templates/word/Contract_Data_Summary_TEMPLATE.docx, Scope_of_Works_TEMPLATE.docx, Subcontractor_Agreement_TEMPLATE.docx, Trade_Scope_Confirmation_TEMPLATE.docx; templates/pdf/Pre_Construction_Checklist.pdf
• Examples: examples/contract_summary_spec.yaml, scope_of_works_spec.yaml, subcontract_spec.yaml, trade_scope_spec.yaml

For python3, use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/venv/bin/python if it exists (the plugin's setup hook creates it). Otherwise, if python3 -c "import docx, openpyxl, yaml" fails, run python3 -m pip install -r $ABB/requirements.txt first.

Profile: trade and location

Before anything else, know who you're helping and where:

python3 $ABB/tools/profile.py show --project my_project.yaml      # or: --trade <trade> --state <STATE>

Ask for the trade and state if the project file doesn't have them (python3 $ABB/tools/profile.py trades lists every trade; builder sees everything). Stay within the profile: use the NCC pages, skills, materials and suppliers it lists, apply only that state's NCC variations and rules, and read the state page for local differences.

Pick the document

Contract Data Summary

1. Get the contract details: type and edition, contract number and date, contract sum inc GST, the deposit, the site (lot and DP, council, approval number), dates (signed, commencement, construction period, estimated completion), the DLP, insurance policy numbers and the certifier.

2. Work out the payment schedule:

   python3 $ABB/tools/compute.py payment_schedule --param contract_sum_inc_gst=<sum> \
       --param deposit_cap_pct=<verified state cap, or omit> \
       --param 'stages=[{"name": "Deposit", "pct": 5}, ...]' > out/payment_schedule_receipt.json
   python3 $ABB/brain/references/attesters/check_receipt.py out/payment_schedule_receipt.json

   Read any warnings. Don't pass a deposit cap you haven't verified; tell the user to check the state's cap instead. Save the ex-GST stage amounts in the project notes: the claims skill uses them as stage values.

3. Fill it following examples/contract_summary_spec.yaml. Stage rows are %|$amount inc GST|☐ (☒ once claimed). If the contract's stages differ from the template's, use add_row and delete_row as in the claims example. Fill [Certificate No] and the two [Policy No] placeholders with replace or row.
4. Check that contract_sum, contract_sum_ex_gst, builders_margin_pct and the dates are in the project file.

Scope of Works

Follow examples/scope_of_works_spec.yaml:

• cell: the overview, the exclusions and the standards. Cite NCC 2025 Volume Two and the Housing Provisions for houses; the ncc skill can confirm specific clauses.
• row: a description for each trade, or "Not in scope"; the program milestones as date|notes
• fill_table under "Item": the PC and PS allowances, as item|PC or PS|$allowance|notes. The same allowances go in the Allowances Register.

Exclusions protect the builder. Prompt for common ones: landscaping, floor coverings, window furnishings, asbestos, rock, service upgrades, and council or authority fees.

Subcontractor Agreement and Trade Scope Confirmation

1. Get the subbie's details (name, ABN, licence, phone, email), the trade, their quote reference and price ex GST, and the dates.
2. Check them on the public registers ($ABB/brain/playbooks/checking_registers.md): their ABN on ABN Lookup (active, the name matches, and whether they're GST-registered: if not, there's no GST on their price) and their licence on the state's register (current, the class covers their scope, in the name they're contracting under). Then get certificates of currency for public liability (the agreement asks for $10M) and workers compensation before they start. Record what the registers and certificates showed in the Subbie Insurance and Licence Tracker.
3. Price: python3 $ABB/tools/compute.py gst --param amount_ex_gst=<price>.
4. Fill the agreement (examples/subcontract_spec.yaml) and the trade scope confirmation (examples/trade_scope_spec.yaml). Set the supply rows to ☒|☐ (builder supplies) or ☐|☒ (subbie supplies). Spell out inclusions and exclusions; vague trade scopes cause most back charges.

Pre-construction

Work through brain/playbooks/pre_construction.md with the user. Approval and insurance names follow NSW usage, so translate for other states. Anything missing is a reason not to start yet; say which items block the start.

For every document

Run tools/fill_template.py with the project file and spec. The report must show nothing left over except [LOGO], no instructions_left, and no unmatched or ambiguous entries. Tell the user which documents need signing, and by whom.

Your own format

The templates are references, not a straitjacket. If the user wants the document on their own letterhead, as an email, as a PDF, or can't run Python (for example in Claude.ai):

• Write it from the Structure section of brain/documents/<name>.md, which lists every section, field, table and prompt in order. Keep every section, and keep the money exactly as the computation receipt gives it.
• If they have their own branded Word template, tools/fill_template.py fills any .docx that uses the same [PLACEHOLDERS].