TradeRated — In-Field Reviews, Referrals, & AI Replies (Compliance-Safe)
Turn finished jobs into public proof in under a minute.
Overview
TradeRated gives every technician a QR-to-review flow, follow-up requests, AI-drafted replies, and a leaderboard culture that actually sticks. It's built policy-safe (no shady posting), trust-scored to stop fraud, and SEO-smart so your customers win rankings on their own domains.
Who it's for:
Home-service teams (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing) that want more 5-star reviews, more referrals, and zero drama with platforms.
Core Promise:
- On-site capture that converts (QR → review → referral)
- Compliant distribution (deep-links, not auto-posting)
- AI replies with audit trail + leaderboards & SPIFFs to drive behavior
Platform Modules (V1 → V1.5)
QR → Review Capture (Technician Flow)
Per-job signed link (JWT: job_id, tech_id, exp), GPS check, PWA offline cache. Single-screen capture: stars → text → optional photo/video (autosave + background sync)
Request Automation (Post-Job)
SMS/Email nudges with timing & throttles; resend rules; templates per brand/locale
AI Review Drafts & Reply Assistant (Human-in-the-Loop)
Tone packs (Professional/Friendly/Apologetic), PII scrubbing, approve/edit/decline with full audit log
Compliance-Safe Distribution
Deep-links to Google/Facebook/Yelp native flows (no server-side posting). Copy-to-clipboard helper; per-platform Compliance Mode auto-tunes prompts
Review Aggregation (Read-Only) & Admin
Import last 24 months (Google/Facebook/Yelp); dedupe & job/tech matching. Filters, exports (CSV), roles/permissions, MFA, session revoke, audit logs
Leaderboards, Credits & SPIFFs
Rate-based boards (reviews/jobs) + badges/streaks; credits ledger (charge only on trusted reviews). SPIFF ledger with eligibility, caps, payout export (CSV) and payroll-ready fields
Referrals & Microsites/Widgets (SEO-Smart)
Simple referral capture → CRM lead; server-rendered widgets w/ schema. Company microsite optional; canonical to client site to avoid SEO cannibalization
Integrations & Bridge
ServiceTitan (primary), Jobber/HCP/FieldEdge/Service Fusion (roadmap). CSV Onboarding Bridge day one; integration health cards (auth/webhooks/backlog)
Security & Multi-Tenant
Postgres RLS by tenant_id, role matrix, secrets vault, backups + restore tests
Proof (Targets & Acceptance)
Capture & Quality
≥35%
review capture rate within 30 days of go-live (pilot cohort)
<60s
median time-to-review (QR open → submit)
≥70/100
trust score required for credits/SPIFFs; duplicate/fake detection active
99%+
capture success rate of QR sessions (excl. user abandon)
Distribution & Compliance
- 100% platform routing via native deep-links; zero auto-posting to third-party sites
- "Compliance Mode" enabled per platform; policy audit passes
Ops & Adoption
≥80%
technician adoption in first 30 days
≤60s avg
leaderboard refresh from event (p95 ≤5s)
≥70%
AI reply approvals without edits by week 2
≤10 mins
import backfills complete per 10k reviews (staging parity)
"We used to get 3 reviews a month. Now we're at 40 — and the techs compete for them."
— Pilot Customer
Timeline
Ship value every week; keep it defensible and policy-safe.
Sprint 0 — Foundations (Week 0–2)
Multi-tenant project, MFA/roles, RLS, audit logs. Signed QR links, PWA shell, local autosave; Trust Engine v0 (CRM + GPS). Credits & SPIFF ledgers (tables + basic UI); CSV Bridge enabled
Sprint 1 — MVP (Week 2–4)
Google deep-link routing; media upload + CDN; Admin settings; Stripe + credit wallet. Leaderboard v1 (rate-based) + ticker; microsite + SSR widget with schema
Sprint 2 — MVP+ (Week 4–6)
AI review drafts + reply assistant (suggest-mode default). Referral → CRM lead pipeline; weekly email summaries; Slack alerts
Sprint 3 — v1.5 (Week 6–8)
Contest engine + prize catalog; SPIFF payout workflow; advanced schema; anomaly flags & fraud review queue
Investment
Edit amounts before publish. Phased or plan-based.
Phased (recommended for pilots)
Sprints 0–1 (MVP Go-Live)
{SETUP} one-time • {MONTHLY}/mo
Sprints 2–3 (AI, SPIFFs, Contests)
{SETUP} one-time • {MONTHLY}/mo
Stewardship (post-launch)
{MONTHLY}/mo (monitoring, template governance, policy updates)
Plans (SKU-style)
Starter
Single Location
{PRICE}/mo
+ {SETUP} one-time
QR capture, requests, admin, widgets
Growth
≤5 Locations
{PRICE}/mo
+ {SETUP} setup
Adds AI replies, contests, SPIFFs
Enterprise
6+ & SSO
Custom
Multi-entity, SSO/SAML, advanced controls
Note: Credits bill only on trusted reviews; overages at {CREDIT_PRICE} per additional review. No debit on abandons.
Metrics (Live & Auditable)
Capture Funnel: Sent → Delivered → Opened → Posted
Quality: trust score distribution, duplicate suppression, media share %
Behavior: tech participation %, badges issued, contests entered
Response Ops: AI reply approval rate, time-to-response
SEO Impact: widget indexation rate, microsite → canonical adoption
Finance: credits burn, SPIFF liability, overage spend
How It Works (Under the Hood)
QR & Trust Engine
- Per-job JWT in URL (exp ≤2h) + GPS geofence + CRM job match (address & time window)
- Device fingerprint & cool-downs; trust score 0–100 gates credits/SPIFFs
Distribution (Policy-Safe)
- Deep-links (Google Place ID, etc.), copy-helper; no server-side posting to third-party platforms
- Admin Compliance Mode adjusts prompts to platform rules
Credits & SPIFFs
- Credits ledger debits only on trusted review save; tiered pricing possible for rich media
- SPIFF ledger: earned → pending → approved → paid; payroll export (CSV) with audit trail
SEO Without Cannibalizing
- SSR widgets inject LocalBusiness/Review schema on client site
- Microsite uses canonical to client domain when widget embedded; category pages link back (no keyword squatting)
Security
- Postgres RLS; MFA; role-scoped exports; session/device revoke; full audit logs
- Backups + restore drills; PII minimization; media in private S3 with signed URLs
What You'll See (Key Screens)
Tech QR Page (PWA): stars, text, photo/video; <60s median; offline safe
Admin — Reviews: filters, trust flags, exports; AI reply queue with audit trail
Admin — Requests: templates, timing, throttles; deliverability stats
Admin — Leaderboards/Contests: rate-based ranks, streaks, rules, prize catalog
Admin — Credits/SPIFFs: balances, ledgers, caps, approvals, payroll export
Admin — Integrations: auth status, webhook receipts (24h), backlog & error feed
Public — Widget/Microsite: fast, WCAG AA, schema-rich, shareable
Risks & Mitigations
Platform policy violations
→ Deep-link only; Compliance Mode; periodic policy audits
Fraud/gaming
→ Trust scoring, anomaly flags, manager approvals, snapshot locks
Tenant data leaks
→ Strict RLS, scoped tokens, audit on support impersonation
SEO conflicts
→ Canonicalization rules; SSR widgets by default
Adoption wobbles
→ Rate-based leaderboards, streaks & contests, weekly ROI emails
Next Steps
- 1Upload brand kit (logo/colors), locations & tech roster
- 2Enable SMS/email senders; approve request & reply templates
- 3Grant CRM access (or upload starter CSVs)
- 4Choose contest rules & SPIFF caps; set compliance toggle per platform
- 5Schedule go-live (QR kits + manager training)
FAQ
Do you post reviews to Google/Yelp for us?
No. We route customers via native deep-links (policy-safe). We also capture internal reviews for your site & referrals.
What stops fake/duplicate reviews?
QR links are job-scoped & signed, GPS-checked, device-fingerprinted, and trust-scored. Credits/SPIFFs only apply to trusted reviews.
Will this hurt our SEO with a separate microsite?
No—widgets are server-rendered on your site with schema. Microsites use canonical to your domain once embedded.
How fast can we go live?
Most teams ship MVP in 2–4 weeks: QR capture, requests, admin, widgets. AI replies/SPIFFs/contests follow quickly.