Approval chains
Budgets, material requests, wage runs, work orders, subcontractor and client bills, client updates, piece work, permits and more need approval. They go to the right people in order, set up without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A site engineer orders material on the phone, and the bill arrives before anyone agreed to it.
- A subcontractor's running bill is paid on the supervisor's word, with no QS check.
- The wage run is paid in cash before anyone counts the muster roll.
- The day's update reaches the client with a photo of an accident in it.
How it works
- Each kind of request has a chain per entity, ready to use. To start with, a Construction Manager approves, and wage runs a Construction Wages Manager.
- Add levels in order, such as the site engineer, the QS, the project manager and accounts. At each level any one of its approvers decides.
- Add a second chain for some requests only, such as material requests above an amount with the director on it. Chains are tried in order and the first that fits is used.
- When a request is sent, the first level is told and gets a to-do. They find it in To Approve, on the record, on the portal or in the app.
- Each level approves or sends back with a reason. When the last level approves, SmartMy Construction does its part. The budget becomes current, the bill becomes a draft invoice, the update goes to the client.
Everything it does
What goes through approval in SmartMy Construction
- Building Budget and Budget Revision (every plan): the approved budget becomes the project's, and its costs are counted
- Site Material Request (every plan): approved, then ordered from a supplier or sent from another site
- Site Wage Run (every plan): the attendance in it is locked; with accounting, the wages are booked
- Subcontract Work Order and Subcontractor Bill (every plan): the work order before it runs; the running bill before it is paid. The bill is refused once the insurance or licence has run out
- Client Progress Bill (every plan): with accounting, the draft customer invoice is made
- Client Site Update (every plan): a client update set to wait for approval goes out when approved
- Piece Work Measurement (Growth): the amount is shared out among the gang and paid in the wage run
- Permit to Work (Growth): the permit becomes active
- Stage Override (Growth): to move a project past a stage whose checks are not met
- Asset change (Scale, own plant as a fixed asset): revaluing, impairing, a new life, selling or scrapping it
- Loan Drawdown (Lending add-on): approved inside, then marked as requested from the lender
Who approves with no set-up
- Construction Managers for budgets, material requests, client bills, client updates, piece work, permits and drawdowns
- Construction Wages Managers for wage runs
- Project managers for work orders, subcontractor bills and stage overrides; every Construction Manager is one
- Asset managers for asset changes
Who approves a level
- Named users, a group, or the usual approvers of the request
- Any one approver of a level decides; for two signatures, add two levels
- If a level has nobody: the request cannot be submitted (to start with), the level is skipped, or the usual approvers decide
Rules
- Requester May Approve: on to start with for every Construction chain; turn it off on a chain so nobody approves their own request
- Only For: a chain for some requests only, such as an amount above a value
- Approved at Once: a chain with no approval, when you do not need one
- A reason is needed to send back; a wage run, budget or drawdown sent back returns to draft for correction
Record
- An Approvals tab on each request: level, approver, status, decided by, date and reason
- The document's history shows sent for approval, approved by and rejected by
- Changes to the chains themselves are recorded
- A new entity copies the chains of its parent
Not a chain in SmartMy Construction
- The client's decision on a variation: Agree or Refuse on the portal or the app
- Certifying a subcontractor's measurement: a manager presses Certify
- Closing a snag or an NCR: a manager closes it
- Reminders after some days and passing a request to a stand-in: not built for Construction
Who uses it
Project managerApproves material requests, work orders, running bills and client updates for their sites.
QS or billing engineerIs a level for subcontractor bills, client bills and piece work when you set the chain that way.
Accounts or finance headIs the last level for bills, wage runs and budgets.
Approvals AdministratorSets up the levels, who approves them and the conditions, without developer mode.
Where you use it
- Web: Approvals > To Approve and My Requests
- Web: on each record in Construction Projects (budgets, material requests, wage runs, work orders, bills, status updates, piece work, permits), with its Approvals tab
- Portal: the Approvals page at /my/approvals for approvers who use the portal
- The SmartMy Construction app: Approvals, and status updates to approve (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Levels and their approvers, per kind of request and entity
- If a level has nobody: cannot submit (to start with), skip, or usual approvers
- Requester May Approve (on to start with), Only For conditions, Approved at Once
- Per project: whether the client update waits for approval or goes by itself
Notifications
- Request Waits for Your Approval: to the approvers of the level that is next, for every Construction chain. A phone notification when they use the app, otherwise email; always in the app
- A to-do for each request waiting, for the approvers
- Client Update to Approve: to the project manager; phone notification and in the app
- No notice of its own to the person who asked when a request is decided; they see it on the record and in My Requests
Questions
Can a material request need two signatures?
Yes. Give the Site Material Request chain two levels, such as the project manager and then the purchase head. Any one person on each level decides.Can large bills go to a director and small ones not?
Yes. Add a Subcontractor Bill chain with Only For an amount above a value, with the director as a level. Smaller bills use the general chain.Can a manager approve the material request they raised?
With no set-up, yes: Requester May Approve is on. Turn it off on the chain and someone else must approve.Can an approver decide from the phone?
Yes. Approvals in the SmartMy Construction app lists what waits for them, and approvers who use the portal can decide at /my/approvals. The app is built and in testing, not in the app stores yet.Do requests remind the approver or move to someone else after a few days?
Not in SmartMy Construction today. Approvers are told when a request reaches them and get a to-do. Put two people on a level so one can decide when the other is away.Related features
MONEYBuilding budget with 80 and 100 % alertsOne budget per project, by cost code and place, approved once and changed only by approved revisions. Costs from site flow into it every hour. The project manager is told when a line passes 80 % and 100 % used.MONEYMaterial requests, orders, transfers and issuesSite staff ask for material from the site or the app, and a manager approves. The request becomes a purchase order to the site store or a transfer from another site. What arrives is issued to the work, a place or a subcontractor. Every order carries the project, cost code and place.SITEWage runs, advances, bank file and slipsPay site workers from their attendance. A wage run fills itself and works out basic, overtime, deductions and advance recovery. It goes for approval, then is paid by a bank file or in cash against the worker's signature. Wage slips print in each worker's language.MONEYWork orders and subcontractor billsA work order to each subcontractor with items, rates and terms, approved before work starts. Running bills come from certified measurements. They take off retention, advance, back-charges and TDS, and become the vendor bill.MONEYClient progress billsBill the client on the contract items. Each bill shows this bill, previous and up to date per item, the retention the client keeps and the advance taken back. It is approved inside first, prints as a progress bill, payment application or interim payment certificate, and becomes the customer invoice.SITESite updates to the company and the clientEvery submitted site report makes two updates: a full one for your own people and a clean one for the client. The client one has progress and photos but never your costs, crews or notes. Each goes by email or WhatsApp, as a link or as a picture card, after a manager's approval if you want one. Weekly and monthly round-ups add up the days, and clients can comment.
See your next site report on it.
Tell us what you build, how many sites you run and how your client hears about progress today. We will set up a project with you and send your first daily update.