The problem
Without written terms, a sitter has nothing to point to when an owner cancels a Christmas booking late, a key goes missing or a cat needs the vet at night. If one late-canceled 10-day Christmas sit at $40£30€36A$58C$56 a day is written off each year, that's $399£300€357A$576C$564 before any argument over a vet bill.
What the AI does
Write bullet notes on how you work: booking and deposit, cancellation charges and notice, key handling and return, what you do if a pet is ill (vet consent and who pays), bad weather, what happens if you're ill, payment, and how you handle personal data. Paste them into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for a plain-English service agreement with numbered clauses, using only your notes. Check it line by line, compare it with any template your insurer or trade association offers, and get anything unclear checked by a solicitor before clients sign. The assistant helps with wording; it isn't legal advice.
A worked example
A cat sitter in Truro has worked from a one-page price list for years and wants written terms before taking Christmas bookings.
Before
No written terms; one late-canceled 10-day Christmas sit at $40£30€36A$58C$56 a day ($399£300€357A$576C$564) written off last year
After
Signed agreement with a cancellation charge; that $399£300€357A$576C$564 is payable as agreed
What it's worth
About $33£25€30A$48C$47 a month, averaged over a year, if clear terms mean one late-canceled 10-day Christmas sit at $40£30€36A$58C$56 a day ($399£300€357A$576C$564) is paid as agreed rather than written off (an assumption). A cancellation charge carries almost no cost, so it is counted in full. The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are enough for this.
How to set it up
- Write bullet notes for each heading: bookings and deposits, cancellations, keys, vet emergencies, bad weather, your illness, payment, data.
- Paste them into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for a plain-English agreement with numbered clauses, using only your notes.
- Delete anything you didn't ask for, such as guarantees or limits of liability you haven't chosen.
- Compare it with any template your insurer or trade association offers, and have anything unclear checked by a solicitor.
- Have every client sign it before their first booking, and keep the signed copy on their record.
What goes wrong
- An assistant may write terms that are unfair under consumer law, such as keeping all the money for any cancellation. Unfair terms can't be enforced.
- This is help with wording, not legal advice; get it checked before relying on it.
- Don't paste client names or addresses into the assistant.
- Your insurer may require particular key-holding or vet terms; check your policy.