How we kept site instructions visible through to payment

A photo and a short site note created a numbered item, followed through pricing, agreement, the payment application and money received.

Excel

Client: UK electrical subcontractor
Documents: Site instructions, photos, variations, valuations and payment applications
What we built: Phone capture linked to a numbered register and the payment application
Where it runs: Phones on site, linked to the office Excel payment sheet
Who checks: QS checks contract and valuation; accounts confirms payment

Site instruction

Two extra sockets in meeting room 3. Asked for by the site manager.

Logged as SI-014

Instruction register

SI-012Move socket, level 2Agreed
SI-013Extra cable tray, riserWaiting for agreement
SI-014Two extra sockets, meeting room 3Checked by the QS

QSChecks who asked, the contract and any notice needed

Application for payment

Main contractor’s format

Item	Submitted	Agreed	Paid
SI-012	£420	£420	£420
SI-013	£1,150	Awaiting agreement
SI-014	£260	Not yet	Not yet

AccountsPaid only once the money is received

From a site instruction to money receivedThe register shows whether each instruction has been recorded, agreed and paid. People make the commercial calls.

The record needed to start on site.

By month end, the office was trying to piece together instructions from emails.

Recording an instruction did not make it an agreed variation.

The QS checked the change against the contract and the available record.

The checked items were added to the payment sheet.

We connected the register to the main contractor’s application format.

One numbered item, from site to payment.

The site team records it on the job, and the office follows the same number until the money is in.

Read the full story

An electrical subcontractor was rebuilding the record of site changes from emails at month end. We built a form the site team could complete on their phones, which added each instruction to a numbered register and the office payment sheet.

The record needed to start on site.

By month end, the office was trying to piece together instructions from emails.

Some changes were spoken about on site and never written down. The person preparing the application then had to establish what had been asked for and what work had followed.

The site team could add a photo and a short note about the instruction through the form on their phones. It created a numbered item that the site team and office could refer to throughout the job.

Recording an instruction did not make it an agreed variation.

The QS checked the change against the contract and the available record.

We kept the site record separate from agreement and pricing. The QS checked who gave the instruction, what the contract required and whether further confirmation or a notice was needed.

The team still had to record changes promptly and obtain the required authorisation. A numbered entry could support that work; it could not create an entitlement to payment or resolve a disputed instruction.

The checked items were added to the payment sheet.

We connected the register to the main contractor’s application format.

The office Excel sheet drew on the recorded items instead of starting again from the inbox. The QS checked the valuation and what should be included before the application was submitted.

We kept submitted, agreed and paid amounts separate. An item awaiting agreement stayed visible, and accounts confirmed actual money received before recording it as paid.

One numbered item, from site to payment.

The site team records it on the job, and the office follows the same number until the money is in.

The QS follows up the evidence, price and agreement using that reference. At application time, the office has a record to review, including items still disputed or waiting for a response.

Accounts records receipts separately from the application. The register shows what still needs attention through to payment, while the people on the job remain responsible for notices, approvals and chasing.

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