Build your own Skills: Examples to get you started

Skills are one of the most powerful ways to get more out of Roundhouse. A skill is a simple set of instructions that teaches Roundhouse how to handle a specific task the way you want it done, every time, without you having to re-explain it.

This guide walks through ready-made example skills you can download, look at, and adapt into your own. You don't need any technical background. If you can edit a document, you can build a skill.

What is a skill, really?

Think of a skill as a recipe card you hand to Roundhouse. It tells Roundhouse:

  • When to use the skill (the kind of request that should trigger it)
  • What information it needs from you
  • What the finished result should look like
  • How to approach the task

Each skill lives in a plain text file called SKILL.md  . That's it. You write instructions in everyday language, and Roundhouse follows them.

Why build your own?

  • Consistency: Everyone on the team gets the same quality and format, every time.
  • Speed: No more re-typing the same instructions or fixing the same formatting.
  • Your way: The output matches how your firm actually likes to work.

Five examples to learn from

We've put together five sample skills covering common workplace tasks. Each one shows a different type of job, so you can see the range of what's possible. Download the ones that interest you, open the SKILL.md   file in any text editor, and use it as a starting point.


1. Meeting Notes Formatter

What it does: Takes messy meeting notes or a call transcript and turns them into tidy, shareable minutes with a clear summary, decisions, and a list of action items and who owns them.

Great for: Anyone who walks out of a meeting with a page of scribbles and needs a clean write-up to send around.

What it shows you: How to take rough, unstructured input and reshape it into a clean, consistent format.

📁 Meeting Notes Formatter Example Files


2. Proposal / Quote Builder

What it does: Turns a short brief about a job into a professional client proposal, complete with scope, timeline, and a clear fee estimate.

Great for: Quickly putting a polished, consistent proposal in front of a prospective or existing client.

What it shows you: How a skill can produce a client-ready document from just a few details you provide.

📁 Proposal Quote Builder Example Files


3. Engagement Letter Generator

What it does: Drafts a standard engagement letter from a few basic details about the client, the services, and the fee arrangement.

Great for: Onboarding or renewing clients without starting the letter from scratch each time.

What it shows you: How to build a templated formal document where the structure stays the same but the details change each time.

📁 Engagement Letter Generator Example Files


4. Expense Policy Checker

What it does: Reviews staff expense claims against your expense policy and flags anything that's over a limit, missing a receipt, or needs approval.

Great for: Speeding up expense approvals and catching issues before reimbursement.

What it shows you: How a skill can review something against a set of rules and give you a clear pass/flag verdict.

📁 Expense Policy Example Files


5. Client Onboarding Checklist

What it does: Creates a tailored onboarding checklist based on the type of client (company, trust, individual, and so on) and the services you're providing.

Great for: Making sure nothing gets missed when you bring on a new client.

What it shows you: How a skill can adapt its output depending on the details you give it, rather than producing the same thing every time.

📁 Client Onboarding Checklist Example Files

How to use these examples

  1. Download the skill package (a .zip   file) for any example above.
  2. Open it on your computer. You'll see a folder containing a file called SKILL.md  .
  3. Open SKILL.md   in any text editor (even Notepad works). Read through it to see how it's written, the plain-language instructions, the section for what information is needed, and the layout of the finished result.
  4. Make it yours. Change the wording, add your firm's preferences, swap in your own format. Save the file when you're done.
  5. Upload it to Roundhouse:
    • Open the Skills Centre in Roundhouse.
    • Click Create Skill.
    • Upload your edited skill folder.
    • Enable it for yourself or your workspace.
  6. Test it. Start a new chat and try a real request to see how it performs. Tweak the SKILL.md   and re-upload if you want to refine it.

Tips for writing a good skill

  • Be specific about when it should trigger. The description at the top is how Roundhouse knows to use your skill, so mention the phrases people would actually say (for example "write up the meeting" or "check this expense claim").
  • Spell out the format you want. If you show Roundhouse the exact layout for the result, you'll get it back the same way every time.
  • Tell it what to do when something's missing. A good skill asks you for missing details rather than guessing. You'll see this in every example.
  • Keep it in plain language. You're writing instructions for a capable assistant, not code. Clear, simple sentences work best.
  • Start small and refine. Build a basic version, try it on a real task, then improve it based on what you see.

A quick word of caution

These examples are starting points, not finished firm policy. For anything client-facing or compliance-related (like engagement letters or expense rules), always review the output against your firm's own templates and requirements before relying on it. Roundhouse is here to do the heavy lifting, but your professional judgement stays in the driver's seat.

Ready to go further?

Once you're comfortable adapting these examples, you can build a skill for almost any repeatable task you do. If you get stuck, just ask Roundhouse to help you write or improve a skill, it can guide you through the whole process.

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