Construction software development: from the glovebox note to the invoice.
Construction software development for trade businesses and contractors: hours, measurements and defects land on paper, get typed up on Friday, and forgotten items are never invoiced. We build capture that works on site in seconds, with no signal.
No invented references
In this sector we have no publicly nameable client reference. What you read here describes what we build.
Check the standard first
Good standard software exists for the trades. If it covers your case, it is cheaper, and we say so.
Offline is mandatory
Basements, roof spaces, dead spots: capture that needs a signal does not get used. Offline is our starting point.
Digitalization for the trades: what we build.
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Field service app for hours and materials
A handful of fields, large buttons, picking instead of typing: done in under a minute, straight after the job. No signal needed; syncing happens automatically.
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Extra work while it is still fresh
One entry with a photo, made on site, signed off by the client on the screen. These are exactly the items that otherwise never get invoiced.
More on this
The same goes for hours filled in on Friday from memory, and for measurements copied from a scrap of paper into a spreadsheet and into the quote: two transfers, two sources of error.
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Site diary, defects and photos together
Weather, attendance, progress and photos retrievable day by day, defects with photo, owner, deadline and status. In a warranty dispute that is the evidence.
More on this
The defect list travels by email as a spreadsheet in three versions, photos sit on private phones. Scheduling sees the status with no call to somebody on a ladder. Your client's side: Real Estate.
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Your trade software stays in charge
Quotes, invoices and accounting stay in your trade software. We hand over through its interfaces and start small: one trade, one crew.
More on this
Two half-maintained systems are worse than paper. What holds up in one crew gets rolled out. The office side, from quote to invoice, is described under Administration & Back Office.
Does this sound like your sites?
Notes in the van, photos in a private chat, extras with no record: describe your process. We say whether standard software is enough.
Frequently asked questions from construction and trades.
There is off-the-shelf trade software. Why build something of our own?
Usually you do not need anything of your own, and we say so. Quoting, invoicing, time recording and materials are covered by mature standard products. We come in where the standard does not fit: trade-specific measuring, a handover procedure your client dictates, an integration that does not exist yet.
Does a site diary app work without a signal?
It has to. In shell construction, basements and the countryside, connectivity is the exception. Capture, photos and signatures work locally and sync as soon as there is a signal again.
What about time recording and co-determination?
Time recording and employee location data touch employment and data protection law; with a works council, co-determination is virtually always needed. We build with data minimization, one entry's location is no continuous tracking, and raise it early. The legal assessment stays with you.
Do you have references from the trades?
None we can show publicly, and we invent none. What we have is experience with the same patterns: capture by external people, proof to the outside, mobile capture in poor conditions. A delivered project with that pattern is described under Public Sector & Municipalities.
We get enough work. Do we need a website?
If your order book is full and you do not want to grow: no. To reach main contractors or refurbishment projects, you get selected online. More on Established Businesses & Growth, the technology behind it at the Astro Agency.
Further reading.
How much extra work appears on no invoice?
Hardly any business knows that number, and it is usually bigger than assumed. Tell us how things get recorded at your company.
From the notepad to the invoice.
What do your people note on site, and what gets typed up later? You get an assessment, even if standard software is the better answer.
We usually reply within 24 hours.
Remote and on site in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. International projects on request.