Enquiry and tender
A tender request arrives and is logged against the customer and the site.
Construction
Bespoke software for UK construction contractors
SENRAB builds bespoke software for construction contractors who want to move off paper job sheets and spreadsheets and connect the work on site with the office. On a construction job the picture keeps moving after the quote is agreed. Variations, site instructions and subcontract work all change what the job costs and what can be invoiced. Our job management software is a configurable foundation for keeping status, cost and margin, notes, documents and approvals in one place. The construction-specific pieces, such as variations tracking, CVR reporting and payment applications, are built to your requirements.
01Who it is for
For the people who run the work.
- Main and specialist contractors running several live jobs at once
- Managing directors and commercial managers who want cost set against budget while work is under way
- Contracts managers and site supervisors who keep their own records
- Finance teams who raise applications and invoices from whatever the sites send in
02Where it gets stuck
Workflow problems we start from.
- Costs arrive after the work
- Labour, materials and subcontract costs are pulled together when a job ends, so the cost position is a surprise rather than something to act on.
- Variations agreed on site, lost in the office
- A verbal instruction becomes a message and then a memory. By invoice time it is hard to show what was agreed, when, and by whom.
- Site records live on phones
- Photos, notes and sign-offs sit on individual devices, so evidence is slow to find when a dispute or a query lands.
- Subcontract work tracked on the side
- Orders, instructions and valuations for subcontractors are kept in a separate spreadsheet that the job record never sees.
- Applications rebuilt by hand
- Each interim application is assembled from several sources, and the effort repeats on every job, every period.
- Cost reports need a weekend
- Comparing cost with value across jobs takes manual work, so it can happen less often than it should.
03How the work flows
A typical sequence, in this sector's terms.
An illustrative scenario, not a customer case study
Quote and agreement
The agreed price becomes the baseline the job is measured against.
Programme and allocation
Supervisors and subcontract teams are assigned to the packages of work.
Site work and records
Notes, documents and photos are attached to the job as work progresses.
Variations and costs
Instructed changes are recorded, priced and set against the baseline.
Application and invoice
Completed work and approved changes feed the application and the invoice.
04Where systems help
What is in the foundation, and what is built for you.
See cost and margin while the job is live
The foundation shows job status, cost and margin. Which cost headings it uses is set up around your own coding.
Track variations from instruction to approval
Built to your requirements, so the approval steps follow how you agree changes with customers.
Keep site evidence with the job it belongs to
Job notes, documents, evidence and approvals are held against each job in the foundation.
Manage subcontract packages
Built to your requirements, using your own engagement and payment arrangements.
Prepare applications for payment
Built to your requirements, so the layout matches what your customers expect to receive.
05In practice
What this looks like in practice
Illustrative scenario
A contractor running several jobs at once
From the enquiry to the invoice on one job. Not a customer project.
TodayThe enquiry sits in an inbox until someone copies it into the quote spreadsheet.
With one connected systemThe enquiry becomes a job record that the quote is built from.
TodayPhotos from site arrive in a group chat.
With one connected systemPhotos attach to the job they were taken for.Built to your requirements.
TodayA change to the agreed work is settled on site and written up later.
With one connected systemThe change is recorded against the job when it is agreed.Built to your requirements.
TodayThe accounts team asks the site team whether a job is finished.
With one connected systemFinished work and its paperwork show on the job, ready for the invoice.
TodayMargin is worked out after the job closes.
With one connected systemCost against the job is visible while work is under way.
Does this look like your business?
06The review
What to bring to a first conversation.
- A recent job, from enquiry to final invoice, with the paperwork it produced
- The spreadsheets you use to follow cost and variations
- How subcontractors are engaged, instructed and paid under your own terms
- Who approves what, and where those approvals are recorded today
- How an application for payment is prepared at the moment
07Questions
Common questions.
Is this a construction product?
It is a configurable foundation for job-based businesses. The parts that are specific to construction, such as variations, cost value reconciliation and payment applications, are built to your requirements and scoped per project.
How would subcontractors be handled?
Subcontractor workflows are built to your requirements. We would agree with you how packages are let, instructed and paid, and leave tax treatment to your accountant.
Will it replace our estimating or accounts software?
Not necessarily. We would look at what you use today and what each system needs to pass to the other. Connecting to other systems is scoped per project, and we say early on whether a link is practical.
Where should a contractor start?
Pick one recent job and talk it through with us in the free 20 to 30 minute review. That can show which part of the process is worth tackling first.
Next step
Walk a recent job through with us.
Bring one job from enquiry to invoice. We will talk through where information is re-entered, where it is lost, and what a connected record could look like.