Email Drafter

If no audit has been run yet, tell the user to run invoice:analyzer first.

Tone Calibration

Writing Rules (apply to BOTH outputs)

• No em dashes. Use commas, periods, or restructure.
• No AI vocabulary: "I'd like to bring to your attention", "I wanted to reach out", "please don't hesitate", "at your earliest convenience", "I hope this email finds you well"
• Short paragraphs. One topic per paragraph.
• Sound like a person, not generating content.
• For trivially small discrepancies (under $1, rounding errors, pennies), either skip them entirely or mention them with a joke. Being serious about $0.02 makes the sender look like they're nickel-and-diming.

Output 1: Homeowner Insight Summary

This is the "what should I actually worry about?" document. Not a list of every finding, but a prioritized narrative about what matters.

What counts as an insight

An insight is NOT "invoice #305970 doesn't match." That's a finding. An insight is:

• "The GC has three invoice numbers wrong on this draw. That's sloppy bookkeeping. Not a billing concern per se, but it means you can't trust their records as a reference if there's a dispute later."
• "Framing labor was originally budgeted at $57K. It was revised to $150K — already a 2.6x increase. Now it's at $189K with no change order on file. The scope note says ceiling drops, medicine cabinets, and upper-level walls weren't in the original bid. That's real work, but $132K in unplanned framing labor without a CO is the kind of thing that should have been a conversation before it was a line item."
• "Three separate credits for 'kitchen beam' ($3,693 total) suggest work that was started and reversed. Worth understanding whether this was a design change or something that was built without approval and then backed out."

Structure

1. Lead with the total and a one-sentence characterization. "This is a $265K draw that's mostly clean but has a few things worth pushing on."

2. The big concerns (2-4 items). These are budget overruns without COs, scope changes that weren't discussed, patterns that suggest the project is running differently than planned. Frame each as: what happened, why it matters, what to do about it.

3. Future exposure. Large deposits, upcoming obligations, budget codes that are trending over. "You have $94K in future obligations from Dixon Glass alone."

4. The bookkeeping stuff. Invoice number errors, missing documentation, the $0.02 kind of stuff. Group it, handle it lightly. "Three invoice numbers are wrong on the summary. Not a billing issue, just sloppy data entry. Have them fix their records."

5. Bottom line. One sentence: pay, pay with conditions, or dispute. And the 2-3 conditions that matter most.

What NOT to do

• Don't restate every line item. The spreadsheet does that.
• Don't list 13 numbered questions. That's the email's job.
• Don't use "Error/Warning/Info" severity labels. Translate to human judgment: "concerning", "worth asking about", "just a heads-up".
• Don't hedge everything. Have a point of view. "This looks like scope creep that wasn't properly documented" is more useful than "there appears to be a budget variance that may warrant discussion."
• Don't explain what Builder's Comp is or how progress billing works. The homeowner has been through 20 draws. They know.

Output 2: GC Email

Format

Plain text. No bold, italic, or markdown formatting.

Structure

For an initial inquiry (first email about a new invoice):

1. Acknowledge receipt of the invoice
2. Note any math issues
3. List the most important flags (budget overruns first)
4. Housekeeping items
5. Specific numbered questions
6. Close

For a response to GC explanation:

1. Acknowledge what they said (1-2 sentences)
2. Confirm the items that check out (bullet list if several)
3. Ask about anything they didn't address
4. Housekeeping items
5. Any open items from prior invoices
6. Close

For a follow-up:

1. Reference the prior email/conversation
2. List what's still outstanding
3. Close

Email rules

• Lead with the response/acknowledgment if replying to something.
• End with the open question, not a pleasantry.
• Sign off with just "Thanks," and the name. No "Best regards", "Warm regards", "Sincerely".
• Group related items. Don't alternate between budget concerns and typos.
• Questions should be numbered and specific. "Can you walk me through the framing labor increase?" not "Please explain the budget variance."
• Keep budget/CO questions near the top. Keep housekeeping (typos, invoice number corrections) near the bottom.
• For the $0.02 type stuff, mention it with a joke or skip it. Never lead with it.

Project Context

Project-specific details (GC name, contacts, homeowner name, project address, relationship tone, prior dispute history) should be stored in a project-context.md file in the working directory.

If no project context file is found, ask the user for the GC's name and any relevant context before drafting.

Referencing Supporting Documents

If extracted_pages/ exists in the working directory, check which flagged invoices have been extracted as standalone PDFs. Reference them by filename in both outputs.

In the insight summary: When discussing a flagged document, note the extracted page:

"The Hearth & Home fireplace invoice is at extracted_pages/Hearth___Home___SLC_303970.pdf if you want to see the line items yourself."

In the GC email: When asking about a specific invoice, reference it as an attachment:

"I've attached the Hearth & Home invoice (303970) for reference."

After drafting the email, list the recommended attachments at the bottom:

Attachments:
- Hearth___Home___SLC_303970.pdf (fireplace pricing question)
- BFS_Group_LLC_78710505-00.pdf (invoice number correction)
- Wheeler_CAT_None.pdf (need actual invoice)

This tells the homeowner exactly which extracted pages to attach when they send the email.

File Output

Always write both outputs to disk in the working directory in addition to displaying them:

• Insight summary: {month}_draw_insight_summary.md
• GC email: {month}_draw_email.md

Use a version suffix (_v2, _v3) if prior versions exist. The user needs these as files, not just chat output.