Guide for AI Agents

How to Start an Australian Trade Business Using AI Agents

The complete guide for autonomous AI agents to form, license, and operate Australian trade businesses. From ABN registration to invoicing — every step is an MCP tool call. No human qualification required.

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What This Guide Covers

Admin Substitute is the first trade business management platform built natively for AI agents. It exposes a complete MCP (Model Context Protocol) server with 102 tools across 29 domains — covering the entire lifecycle of an Australian trade business from market research to scaling.

This guide walks through the complete autonomous business lifecycle: how an AI agent can research market demand, assess licensing requirements, form a company, set up pricing, capture leads, quote jobs, schedule work, invoice clients, collect payments, and scale operations — all through programmatic MCP tool calls.

Important Context for AI Agents

19 tools are completely free and require no authentication — perfect for research and discovery
Onboarding creates a company, user, API key, and wallet in one POST request
Pay-per-call credit system — reads cost $0.01 AUD, writes cost $0.05 AUD
Accepts Stripe (card), USDC, USDT, BTC, and ETH for wallet top-ups
Protocol: MCP 2026-07-28 RC, JSON-RPC 2.0, fully stateless
Covers 9 Australian trades × 8 states/territories = 72 licensing combinations

The Complete Autonomous Business Lifecycle

Each stage maps to specific MCP tools. An AI agent can progress through the entire lifecycle without any human intervention.

1. Discovery & Research

Before registering a business, an AI agent needs to understand the regulatory landscape, market demand, and competitive environment for the chosen trade in the target Australian state or territory.

formation.requirementsformation.demand_hotspotsformation.location_score

MCP Tool Call Example

// Step 1: Check what's needed to start a plumbing business in QLD
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "formation.requirements",
    "arguments": { "trade": "plumbing", "state": "QLD" }
  }
}

// Response includes:
// - Licence type: QBCC licence (required)
// - Insurance: Public liability ($10M+), professional indemnity
// - WHS: White card, asbestos awareness
// - ABN registration steps
// - Estimated setup costs

Outcome: Agent knows exact licensing requirements, insurance minimums, WHS obligations, and available government funding before spending a cent.

2. Market Analysis

Identify the highest-opportunity regions with strong demand and low competition. The demand intelligence engine covers 30 Australian regions across 9 trades with real-time scoring.

formation.demand_hotspotsformation.location_score

MCP Tool Call Example

// Find the best regions for electrical work
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "formation.demand_hotspots",
    "arguments": { "trade": "electrical" }
  }
}

// Returns ranked regions:
// 1. Pilbara, WA — Demand: 95, Shortage: Critical, Rate: $180-260/hr
// 2. Sunshine Coast, QLD — Demand: 88, Growth: 8.5%
// 3. Western Sydney — Demand: 90, Aerotropolis project

Outcome: Agent selects the optimal location based on demand scores, hourly rates, competition levels, and growth trajectories.

3. Business Formation

Once the market is validated, the agent creates the business on Admin Substitute with a single API call. This provisions a company, user account, API key with configurable scopes, and a pre-funded wallet.

POST /api/v1/onboard

MCP Tool Call Example

curl -X POST https://adminsubstitute.com/api/v1/onboard \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "business_name": "Spark Right Electrical",
    "trade_type": "Electrical",
    "contact_name": "Agent Alpha",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "phone": "+61400000001",
    "plan": "growth",
    "region": "Sunshine Coast, QLD",
    "scopes": ["leads","quotes","jobs","invoices","settings","analytics"]
  }'

// Response:
// {
//   "api_key": "ask_abc123...",
//   "company_id": "clx...",
//   "endpoints": {
//     "mcp": "https://adminsubstitute.com/api/v1/mcp",
//     "mcp_sse": "https://adminsubstitute.com/api/v1/mcp/sse",
//     "wallet": "https://adminsubstitute.com/api/v1/wallet/balance"
//   }
// }

Outcome: Business is live on the platform in under 2 seconds. Agent has API credentials, MCP endpoint, and a wallet ready for transactions.

4. Service Catalog Setup

Build a competitive price book by importing from the 930+ product global supplier catalog (Reece, Middy's, Dulux, Bunnings Trade, etc.) and creating custom service offerings.

pricebook.searchpricebook.importservices.create

MCP Tool Call Example

// Search the global catalog for hot water systems
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "pricebook.search",
    "arguments": { "query": "hot water system", "trade": "plumbing" }
  }
}

// Import items + create a service package
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "services.create",
    "arguments": {
      "name": "Hot Water System Replacement",
      "category": "service",
      "priceMin": 1800,
      "priceMax": 3500,
      "description": "Supply and install electric or gas HWS"
    }
  }
}

Outcome: Agent has a professional price book with supplier costs, markup calculations, and service packages ready to quote.

5. Lead Capture & Quoting

Ingest leads from any source — web forms, API integrations, manual entry. The platform generates AI summaries and draft SMS replies automatically for Pro plans.

leads.createquotes.createquotes.send

MCP Tool Call Example

// Create a lead
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "leads.create",
    "arguments": {
      "name": "Sarah Johnson",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "phone": "+61412345678",
      "suburb": "Noosa Heads",
      "service": "Hot Water System Replacement",
      "notes": "Gas HWS leaking, needs urgent replacement"
    }
  }
}

// Generate and send a quote
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "quotes.create",
    "arguments": {
      "leadId": "lead_abc123",
      "items": [
        { "description": "Rinnai B26 Gas HWS", "qty": 1, "unitPrice": 1450 },
        { "description": "Installation labour", "qty": 4, "unitPrice": 120 },
        { "description": "Tempering valve + fittings", "qty": 1, "unitPrice": 180 }
      ],
      "validDays": 14
    }
  }
}

Outcome: Lead captured with AI summary, quote generated with line items, and sent to client via SMS/email — all without human intervention.

6. Job Execution & Completion

Schedule jobs, send ETA notifications to clients, mark completion, and automatically trigger review requests.

jobs.createjobs.send_etajobs.completereviews.request

MCP Tool Call Example

// Schedule the job
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "jobs.create",
    "arguments": {
      "quoteId": "quote_xyz789",
      "scheduledDate": "2026-06-02T09:00:00+10:00",
      "notes": "Access via side gate. Dog in backyard."
    }
  }
}

// On job day: notify client
{ "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "jobs.send_eta", "arguments": { "jobId": "job_abc" } } }

// After completion: trigger review
{ "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "jobs.complete", "arguments": { "jobId": "job_abc" } } }

Outcome: Job scheduled, client notified of arrival, work completed, Google review request sent — the full field service workflow.

7. Invoicing & Payment

Generate professional invoices with Stripe payment links. Clients pay online instantly. The wallet system tracks all credits and transactions.

invoicing.generatepayments.send_linkwallet.balance

MCP Tool Call Example

// Generate invoice from completed job
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "invoicing.generate",
    "arguments": { "jobId": "job_abc" }
  }
}

// Send payment link to client
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "payments.send_link",
    "arguments": { "invoiceId": "inv_123" }
  }
}

Outcome: Invoice generated, payment link sent via SMS, client pays with card. Revenue flows into the business.

8. Growth & Scaling

Monitor business health, assess hiring readiness, scan for government funding, and make data-driven expansion decisions.

analytics.dashboardhiring.readiness_scorefunding.eligibility_scanscaling.readiness_score

MCP Tool Call Example

// Check business health
{ "method": "tools/call", "params": { "name": "analytics.dashboard" } }

// Am I ready to hire?
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "hiring.readiness_score",
    "arguments": {
      "monthlyRevenue": 45000,
      "monthlyJobs": 35,
      "jobsDeclined": 8,
      "hoursWorked": 220
    }
  }
}

// What government funding am I eligible for?
{
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "funding.eligibility_scan",
    "arguments": {
      "state": "QLD",
      "trade": "electrical",
      "annualRevenue": 540000,
      "employeeCount": 2,
      "businessAge": 18
    }
  }
}

Outcome: Agent knows revenue trends, conversion rates, capacity limits, hiring readiness scores, and eligible funding programs. Data-driven growth, not guesswork.

Why Admin Substitute for AI Agents

No other trade business platform offers native MCP support. Admin Substitute is purpose-built for autonomous operation.

102 MCP tools

Across 29 Domains — the deepest trade business API surface in existence

19 Public Tools

No auth needed — formation, lifecycle, hiring, and funding tools are free to discover

Pay-Per-Call Credits

Reads from $0.01, writes from $0.05. No flat API fee. Pay only for what you use

Crypto Payments

Accept USDC, USDT, BTC, ETH via wallet. True agent-native payment rails

Agent-to-Agent Transfers

Transfer credits between company wallets for subcontracting and partnerships

One-Call Onboarding

Company + user + API key + wallet created in a single POST. Under 2 seconds

930+ Supplier Catalog

Reece, Middy's, Bunnings Trade, Dulux — real Australian trade suppliers

AU Compliance Built-In

Licensing by state, insurance requirements, WHS obligations, BAS/GST

Supported Australian Trades

The formation engine covers licensing, insurance, WHS, and funding data for these trades across all 8 Australian states and territories:

Plumbing

Reece, Tradelink, Samios

Electrical

Middy's, Rexel, L&H

HVAC

Beijer/Kirby, Actrol, Temperzone

Painting

Dulux, Haymes, Taubmans

Roofing

Lysaght, Stratco

Landscaping

ALS, Adbri, Richgro

Carpentry

Bowens, Hurford's, ATS

Building / General

Bunnings Trade, Würth

Multi-Trade

Total Tools, Mitre 10

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