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SPECIALIST TRADES · REFERENCE

Systems, metrics and reports we set up for specialist contractors

The long version — cost-to-date against budget per job, forecast margin at completion, variations raised and agreed, labour and plant recovery, profit per contract, productive hours per person, planned visits due, done and missed, WIP and accrued income, retentions, CIS and application-to-cash days. If you'd rather see it on your own numbers, the 48-hour prototype is here →

SYSTEMS WE WORK WITH ACROSS THE TRADES
ERP & FINANCE
NetSuite · SAP · Microsoft Business Central · Sage 50/200/Intacct · Xero · QuickBooks
FIELD SERVICE & MAINTENANCE
Joblogic · SimPRO · BigChange · Commusoft · Commusoft · Procore · Re-flow · ServiceTitan (US)
SITE & OPERATIONS
SafetyCulture · PlanRadar · Smartsheet · Microsoft 365 & Power BI
SALES
HubSpot · Pipedrive · Dynamics 365

And the one everyone actually runs on: Excel

TOP 20 METRICS WE SET UP FOR SPECIALIST CONTRACTORS
PROJECTS & PORTFOLIO
  • Portfolio profitability, live
  • Cost to Complete by project and category
  • Estimate at Completion (EAC)
  • Margin movement month-on-month
  • Committed cost vs budget
  • Variations: identified / submitted / approved
  • Delivery vs programme
  • WIP
REVENUE & FORECAST
  • Revenue forecast: secured / probable / pipeline
  • Recurring vs project revenue mix
  • Order book & backlog coverage
  • Application → certification → cash cycle (DSO)
COST & PROCUREMENT
  • Open POs vs required-on-site dates
  • Subcontractor liabilities & accruals
  • Retention held and due
SERVICE OPERATIONS
  • Engineer utilisation
  • First-time fix rate
  • Remedials → quoted works conversion
  • Contract renewal rate
SALES
  • Pipeline value, win rate and average contract value
TOP 20 REPORTS, IN THE ORDER TEAMS ASK FOR THEM
01PROJECT MANAGEMENT
  1. 01Project tracker: one live view per job
  2. 02Portfolio dashboard: every job, RAG, margin, cash
  3. 03Month-end pack: CTC, EAC, margin movement, frozen versions
  4. 04Variations register
  5. 05Programme & delivery report
  6. 06Procurement status: orders vs required-on-site dates
02FINANCE
  1. 01WIP report
  2. 02Applications & certifications status
  3. 0313-week cash flow forecast
  4. 04Aged debt & DSO
  5. 05Retention ledger
  6. 06P&L by project and division
03COST MANAGEMENT
  1. 01Committed vs budget by project and category
  2. 02Cost movement since last close
  3. 03Subcontractor accruals & liabilities
04SERVICE
  1. 01Engineer utilisation
  2. 02Contract profitability per maintenance contract
  3. 03Remedials conversion
05SALES & FORECAST
  1. 01Sales forecast
  2. 02Pipeline & bid board