Building work quoted from your phone

Building work is priced from the site, not from the office. You walk the plot, measure the area, work out the days and the materials, add the skip and the scaffold, and the customer is asking when they will see the number. YellowTradie lets you say the job out loud and the priced quote writes itself before you leave.

The day, in the order it happens

The call you missed

You are on the scaffold and the phone is in the van. The customer leaves a message and it is written out and sent to you. You read who called and what they want. If they leave nothing you see that too.

The quote for the whole job

You price the extension, the wall, the patio, the kitchen fit. Days of labour, blocks and timber, plaster, waste, travel time and contingency. You say it out loud and each line goes into its own place. The app totals the quote as you speak. You check the form and tap Make quote. The draft is ready to send.

The change half way through

The customer asks to move a door or add a window. You quote the variation as its own lines on the same job, or as a new quote linked to that address. The job keeps the notes, the photographs of the opening, and the extra cost. The next bill carries the revised total.

The subbie you brought in

You pay for a day of help or a specialist price for one part of the job. Log it as a cost on the job with the receipt. It sits with your other costs, and the job total shows what the job really made. There is no second login. The job is yours.

The retention the customer holds back

Some customers hold a small amount back until the snag list is clear. Raise the bill for the work done and record what was paid. The balance is what is still owed and what the chase asks for. Once the retention is paid you can record it so the bill is marked as paid.

The stage payment that keeps you paid

A long job is billed in stages. Set the deposit on the quote. When the customer says yes, raise the deposit bill. When a stage is done, raise the balance bill for that stage, or a bill for the amount agreed for the stage. Each bill has its own reference and the payment log keeps the running total. The chase follows the balance on each bill.

The bill before you drive home

The stage is done. You open the finished job or the completed stage and the next step is Invoice it. The bill carries the lines, the VAT you set, your bank details and the invoice number as the payment reference. You send the PDF and the link from site before you move off.

What builders need in one place

Your quote, built from speech

Open a quote and tap Talk. Say the customer, the address, the work, the materials and the price in any order. Finished sentences are read one by one and each line files itself into Materials, Labour, Travel time or Additional charges. You can type into the same form and you can mix the two. Nothing is saved until you tap Make quote.

A priced quote the customer can answer

Send the quote and the customer gets a link. They press Approve or Decline, with a comment if they want changes. The answer comes back to your phone. Approval creates the job from the same details. A decline shows their words on the quote.

The job that keeps the record

The job holds the address, the day, the quote that made it, the invoice, the expenses, the timesheet, the photographs and the spoken notes. The address card lets you call the customer or open a map for the job. A job is Not Started until its start date, In Progress from that date, and Completed only when you press Finish job.

Photos of the work

Footings, steels, walls, first fix and finish. The photographs live on the job and stay on your phone. You add them from the Photos tab.

A bill from the job

Invoice it from an accepted quote or from a finished job. The PDF and the customer's link both show your bank details and the reference. Part payments are kept and the balance is what the Home screen and the chase use. The customer can confirm the work is done on the bill link while it is unpaid and unsigned.

Stage payments and deposits

Set the deposit on the quote and the customer sees the deposit and the balance when they approve. Raise the deposit bill when they say yes, and the balance when the stage is done. A longer job can be billed in more than one step. Each bill has its own reference and its own due date.

Chasing what is still owed

When a sent invoice is past its due date, the chase card appears on Home. The message asks for the balance, not the original total, and it carries the bank details and the reference and the link. The wording firms up each time and you choose when to send.

Your money without the spreadsheet

Every payment is a row in the log with the date, the amount, the method and the bill it settled. A refund is a negative row so the cash in figure is the sum of the log. VAT sits on the quote and the bill and in the quarterly report. Tax and Making Tax Digital are on the tax pages.

Details that save a return visit

A note you speak on site

Stand on the plot and say what changed. The note is saved against the job, spoken or typed, and it stays with the address.

Labour from your hours

Log hours on the job and they come into the invoice as a labour line. A job with no quote still gets its hours billed.

A receipt you photograph

Take a picture of the receipt and set the category. The cost is filed against the job. The photograph leaves the phone only when you ask the app to read it.

One tap to call or map

You can call or open a map straight from the job. You do not have to copy the address into another app.

What it does not do

• It does not issue a compliance certificate. We do not issue any trade certificate. The job keeps your record and the invoice that carries it. The certificate is your work.
• It does not manage a team. There is no second login and no way to give the job to someone else. Work you pay a subbie for is a cost on your job.
• It does not send a quote or a bill on its own. You write it, you send it, and you send the chase.
• It does not keep a rate card and fill in your prices. The figures are the ones you say.
• It does not hold customer card numbers. Bank transfer is your own details on the bill. Card, when live, is taken on your phone with the customer in front of you.
• It does not take a payment on the customer's link. The customer pays you directly and you record it.
• It does not keep the records in the cloud. The jobs, quotes, invoices and photographs are on your phone.

Questions

Can I quote an extension on site?

Yes. Walk the space and say the job. Labour, materials, waste, travel, contingency. The quote fills itself line by line. Check the total, add VAT where it applies, and send the link before you leave.

The customer wants a change mid job. How do I price it?

Add the variation as new lines on the same job, or raise a new quote for the extra work at the same address. The job keeps the record and the next bill carries the revised total.

How do stage payments work?

Set the deposit on the quote. When the customer approves, raise the deposit bill. When a stage is done, raise the next bill for that stage. Each has its own reference and due date. The chase follows the balance on each bill.

Can I bill labour from hours?

Yes. Log hours on the job and they come into the invoice as a labour line. That works for a direct job with no quote too.

I pay a subbie for one day. Where does that go?

As a cost on the job with the receipt. It sits with your other costs and the job total shows what the job really made. There is no second user.

Related

• The six trades: pick the trade that is yours.
• Quote by talking: speak the job and the form fills itself.
• Quotes: the priced document and the customer's answer.
• Invoices: the bill that comes from the job.

Join the list

The app is not in the shops yet. Join the list and we will tell you the day it opens. £19.99 a month, 14 days free, card needed.