Contracts over several projects, with the overall layer
A job too big for one site, such as 1,000 apartments in ten blocks, runs as one project per block under one contract. The contract adds up the blocks: value, per cent done, budget, spent and billed, with a project for the shared works.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- One big contract is kept as one project, so the stores, daily reports and budgets of ten blocks are mixed together.
- Kept as ten separate projects, nobody can see the whole contract: how far it is, what it has cost and what was billed.
- Site offices, the tower crane and preliminaries belong to no single block, so they land wherever someone puts them.
How it works
- A Construction Manager opens Contracts and makes a contract: the name, client, contract manager, value and dates.
- Add Block makes a project of the contract with its client, entity, currency and dates. It copies the type, kind of work and site of the first project.
- Add Shared Works makes the one project for costs of no single block. Each project gets its value and its Share of the Contract %.
- Each block runs as a normal project: its own store, team, daily report, budget, schedule and client bills.
- The contract's Blocks and Sites tab lists every project with its figures, and the top of the contract adds them up.
- When every project is completed, press Close. Reopen it if work comes back.
Everything it does
The contract
- Contract No. (numbered by year), name, client, contract manager, value, start, finish, entity, currency and notes
- Running or Completed
- Value of the Projects and Not Shared Out: the contract's value against what its projects add up to
- Each project: Part of Contract, Share of the Contract %, Shared Works
- Blocks are named '<contract> - Block 1', 2 and so on; rename them as you like
- One Shared Works project per contract
The overall layer
- % Done: each project's activities weighted by their days, and the contract's projects weighted by their value
- Late Activities: open activities past their dates, per project and in total
- Budget, Committed, Spent, Forecast, Variance and % Used from each project's building budget
- Billed and % Billed: approved client bills, gross, against the contract's value
- % Budget Used opens Budget Analysis of every project of the contract, grouped by project
Filters and groups
- Projects listed and grouped by contract
- Budgets, Budget Analysis lines and client bills filtered and grouped by contract
- Contracts list filtered to Running to start with
From a won tender
- Make Project on a won tender can make a contract with a project for each block
- Choose the number of blocks (4 to start with), their names, and a Shared Works project (5 % to start with)
- The shares start equal and must make 100 %; change any row first
- Each project gets its share of the agreed value, of the tender's items as its BOQ, and of the split as its draft budget
- The shared works project gets no items
Who uses it
Construction ManagerMakes contracts, adds blocks and shared works, closes and reopens them, and reads the overall figures.
Contract managerIs named on the contract and follows its projects together.
Project manager of a blockRuns the block as a normal project, with its own store, team, budget and schedule.
Where you use it
- Web: Construction > Projects > Projects > Contracts (Construction Managers)
- Web: the project form's Part of Contract, Share of the Contract % and Shared Works
- The SmartMy Construction app: the project picker shows 'Contract · Block', with a contract's blocks together. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not on the phone: contracts are made and read on the web; a tender won on the phone makes one project
What you control
Settings
- Contract numbers: CCON/year/ and four digits
- Blocks from a tender: 4 blocks named Block, a Shared Works project at 5 %, to start with
Approvals
- None for the contract itself; each block's budget, bills and orders go through their own chains
Notifications
- None of its own; each project keeps its own alerts, such as the budget line alerts
Questions
Does the share % set the project's value?
Only when the projects are made from a won tender. On a contract you make by hand, Add Block makes the project with no value; type its value and share on the project.Can I bill the client once for the whole contract?
No. Client bills are made per project. The contract adds up what its projects have billed, and bills can be filtered by contract.Does the contract have a budget of its own?
No. Each project has its building budget. The contract adds up their budget, committed, spent, forecast and variance.How is % done worked out?
Each project's activities are weighted by their days. The contract weighs its projects by their value, or equally when no values are set.Can I close a contract with a block still running?
No. Close works only when every project of the contract is completed or closed. It names the projects still open.Related features
PROJECTS AND SET-UPProjects, places at any depth and cost codesEvery job is a project: a contract for a client, a development you build to sell, or a building for your own use. Each project is split into places as deep as you need (tower, floor, flat, or a road chainage). Costs are booked to your own cost codes.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.PLANT, SCHEDULE, QUALITY, SAFETYSchedule, critical path, Gantt and look-aheadPlan the building as linked activities by place, with durations in working days. Schedule works out the dates, the float and the critical path, and a baseline shows every slip. The daily site report moves progress on, and the look-ahead shows the next three weeks.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.MONEYTender register: from the tender notice to a won projectEvery tender you might bid for sits in one register. It keeps the last day to submit, fee and EMD, documents, priced items and the split of the bid. The bid is approved before it goes, other bidders are ranked, and a won tender makes the project with its BOQ and budget.MONEYBudget split by cost code, with split templates and the margin leftShare the contract or bid value out over cost codes by per cent, such as materials 50 % and labour 20 %. Start from a split template, change the shares for this job, and see the margin that is left. Apply Split turns the shares into the budget lines.
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.