Jobs created from accepted quotes
An accepted quote becomes a job with the scope, price, client and site address carried over, so nobody retypes what was agreed. See quoting software for builders.
Trades × Custom ERP
Know what happened on site before the crew gets home.
Jobs run in stages with a schedule, a crew, a checklist and a budget. The team clocks in with GPS, sends photos and signed-off stages from their phones, and the office sees the day as it happens. It’s the operational half of a custom ERP, sized for a contractor rather than a construction group.
Sound familiar?
The office finds out what happened on site by phoning.
The pour was moved because of rain. A second crew was needed for the finishing. Extra work was agreed on site and never written down. Timesheets arrive on Friday as photos of paper. By the time the invoice goes out, nobody can say whether the job made money. Jobs are won on the quote and lost, or saved, in what happens between the quote and the final invoice.
- The schedule is in the owner’s head and on a whiteboard that nobody else can see.
- Timesheets are paper or messages, and wages are worked out from memory.
- Extra work is agreed on site and never makes it onto an invoice.
- Photos of progress, defects and sign-off live on different people’s phones.
- Job profit is a guess until the accountant says otherwise.
What gets built
The parts, shaped to you.
Pick the ones you need. Each is built around how your team already works, then joined up on one set of data.
Stages with their own checklists
Each job type has its stages (set out, excavation, formwork, pour, finishing, snagging) and a checklist per stage. A stage is signed off before the next payment is due.
Crew scheduling
Crews, vehicles and equipment on a calendar the whole team sees, with clashes flagged and a change reaching the crew’s phones.
Crew app on any phone
GPS clock-in and out, timesheets, checklists and photos from site on an ordinary Android phone or iPhone, installable to the home screen. It’s the same approach as the crew app I built for Storex.
Photos, signatures and site diary
Dated photos attached to the job and the stage, a short site diary (weather, delays, instructions) and a client sign-off on completion, in one record.
Variations and extra work
Extra work recorded on site, priced from the rate card and sent to the client for approval from the phone, so it is on the next invoice rather than forgotten.
Materials and subcontractors
Purchase orders and delivery notes against the job, subcontractor costs and their documents, so cost lands on the right job.
Job costing and progress invoices
Labour and materials against the quote, showing the margin per job, and stage invoices raised as work is signed off. Reports show which job types make money.
A good fit if
- You run several jobs at once with crews across sites, and the office needs to see them.
- Jobs are billed in stages and cash flow depends on stage sign-off.
- Extra work and variations are regularly missed or argued over.
- You want to know, per job, what it actually made.
Not the right call if
- You work alone or with one helper on a few jobs a month. A diary and an invoicing app are enough.
- You need project planning for large commercial builds with critical-path scheduling. That belongs in specialist planning software.
Proof
Built before, running now.
Construction · Live · portal v1Nathan Fenech Concreting
A quote-to-cash portal for a concreting business: inbox, takeoff, pricing, jobs, staged schedules and progress invoices.
Read the case study Storage & logistics · Live · in daily useStorexA crew app with GPS clock-in, timesheets, job checklists, routine vehicle and stock checks and on-site item counts against the quote, in daily use.
Read the case studyHow it runs
From first call to daily use.
The same five steps on every project, sized to yours.
- 01A short call or the quote builder
Tell me how the business runs today: the tools, the workarounds, the bit that drives you mad. The quote builder takes about five minutes and gives me a scoped brief.
- 02A fixed quote, in phases
I reply with a fixed price and a phase plan. The must-haves go first, so you are using the system while the rest is still being built.
- 03Previews as it’s built
You see the real system on a private link while it is being built, with your own data in it as early as possible. Changes are cheap at this stage, so this is where we make them.
- 04Your data moved across
Spreadsheets, an old system, email threads: the data comes with you, checked against the source so nothing is lost on the way.
- 05Launch, then care
Your team gets a walkthrough, and I stay on for fixes and new features, either on a monthly support plan or pay as you go.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Does the crew need special phones?
No. The app runs on ordinary Android phones and iPhones and installs to the home screen. If the signal is weak on some sites, tell me; apps can be built to keep working and sync when they reconnect.
Can it track hours for payroll?
Yes. GPS clock-in and out feed timesheets by person, job and day, ready for whoever prepares wages. It doesn’t run payroll itself; it gives payroll the right numbers.
How are variations handled?
The supervisor records the extra work on site, it’s priced from your rate card, and the client approves it from a link. It is then attached to the job and added to the next stage invoice.
Can I see how much each job made?
Yes, as soon as hours and materials are logged: quoted against actual, per job and per job type. The figures are only as good as what goes in, so the crew app makes entering them quicker than not entering them.
How long does it take?
A first version with jobs, schedules, a crew app and costing is a matter of weeks. Jobs and projects are roughly 40 to 90 build hours, staff and rota 30 to 70, plus 30 to 50 hours of shared groundwork, and a native crew app is a separate, larger item.
Can clients see the progress of their job?
Yes, if you want that. A simple page or a client portal can show the stage, dated photos and the next payment due, so clients stop ringing to ask. Whether to show it is your decision job by job, and nothing appears unless you publish it.
Go deeper
Read next, then decide.
ServiceCustom ERP
Quotes, stock, staff, jobs and invoicing on one shared set of data.
IndustryTrades & constructionEnquiries, priced quotes, schedules, crew app and progress invoices.
SystemQuoting software for buildersTakeoffs to priced quotes from your rate card, online accept and deposit, totals re-checked on the server.
SystemCRM for contractorsEnquiries from WhatsApp, calls and your site, referral sources, quote follow-ups and repeat clients.
Case studyNathan Fenech ConcretingFrom a one-page Malta site to a brand, website and quote-to-cash portal for a concreting business now serving Melbourne.
Case studyStorexA storage and logistics company’s whole operation in one custom system: quotes, clients, invoicing, the warehouse and the crew in the field.
ComparisonCustom ERP vs OdooOdoo’s modular suite against an ERP built for your process: cost, fit and customisation.
GuideHow to write a software briefA one-page brief for a custom system, with a checklist, so quotes arrive comparable.
Often built together
Related systems.
Custom ERP
Quotes, stock, staff, jobs and invoicing on one shared set of data.
Trades & constructionEnquiries, priced quotes, schedules, crew app and progress invoices.
Quoting & invoicingQuotes from your rate card, invoices with VAT, deposits and automatic chasing.
Custom CRMEnquiries, clients, pipeline and follow-ups in one place, shaped to how you sell.
How pricing works · Digitalise Your SME grants · All case studies
Start here
Get a fixed quote.
The quote builder opens with the parts on this page already switched on. Add or remove what you like, and I reply with a fixed quote.