Work orders and subcontractor bills
A 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.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Work is given on a phone call and the rate is argued at the first bill.
- Bills are paid on the subcontractor's own figures, past what was ordered.
- A subcontractor is paid while their insurance has lapsed.
How it works
- Open Construction > Projects > Subcontracts > Work Orders > New: project, subcontractor, the work and trade, dates.
- Add the items: item number, description, place, unit, quantity, rate and cost code. With the BOQ, pick BOQ items; only the quantity not yet given to others is offered.
- Set the payment terms: retention %, mobilisation advance and its recovery % per bill, withholding tax %. Add the dates the insurance and licence are valid until. Write the scope and terms.
- Press Send for Approval. The order waits in the Subcontract Work Order chain; once approved it is Running and its value shows as committed in the budget.
- Site staff measure the work; a manager certifies it. Then a manager makes a Subcontractor Bill and presses Fill from Measurements.
- The bill shows billed before, this bill and up to date per item, the deductions and the net to pay.
- Send it through the Subcontractor Bill chain. Approved, it becomes a draft vendor bill in accounting, with minus lines for each deduction.
Everything it does
Work order
- Items: item number, description, place, unit, quantity, rate, amount, cost code, measured and billed so far
- Retention %, advance paid, advance recovered %, withholding tax %
- Insurance Valid Until and Licence Valid Until
- Draft, Waiting for Approval, Running, Closed, Cancelled
- A sent or running order is not changed; Send Back returns it to draft only while it has no bills
- Close when the work is done (no open bills); Cancel only without approved bills
- From a key event: Make Work Order on a contract booking, such as concreting per m³
Running bill
- Bill No. per order, Final Bill, the subcontractor's own bill number
- Fill from Measurements: the order's certified measurements not billed yet
- Per item: ordered, billed before, this bill, up to date, rate, amount
- Billing past an item's ordered quantity is refused: amend the order first
- Advance recovered: the order's % of this bill, up to what is left of the advance
- Back-charges: typed (material, rework, water and power, penalty) or added by a closed non-conformance charged to the subcontractor
- Net to pay = this bill - retention - advance recovered - back-charges - withholding + retention released
- Approval is refused while the insurance or licence has run out on the bill date
Tax and accounts
- India: TDS under section 194C, 2 % by default on new work orders (1 % for an individual or HUF)
- United Kingdom: CIS at 20 % as the default (0 % gross payment, 30 % unregistered)
- Approving a bill makes the draft vendor bill: a line per item with the Entity's default purchase tax. Minus lines cover retention, advance, back-charges and withholding
- Accounts for retention, advances and withholding set once in Accounting > Settings > Construction
Cost
- Running orders are committed and approved bills actual in the building budget, and money out in the cash flow plan
Who uses it
Construction ManagerMakes and approves work orders, certifies measurements, makes and approves running bills, closes orders.
Quantity surveyorChecks bills, adds back-charges, approves a level.
Site engineerSees work orders and measures the work on the web or in the app.
AccountsPosts and pays the vendor bill made from the approved running bill.
SubcontractorSees their work orders, certified measurements and approved bills on the portal.
Where you use it
- Web: Construction > Projects > Subcontracts (Work Orders, Measurement Book, Subcontractor Bills)
- Subcontractor portal: My Work, read only (Portal Access for the Subcontractor on the work order)
- The SmartMy Construction app: running work orders with items, measuring the work, and approvals in My approvals. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not built: the subcontractor sending their own bill from the portal
What you control
Settings
- Retention %, advance and recovery %, withholding % per work order
- Withholding default per country: India TDS 194C 2 %, UK CIS 20 %
- Accounts for retention, advances and withholding per Entity
- The Subcontract Work Order and Subcontractor Bill approval chains
Approvals
- Subcontract Work Order: project managers (Construction Managers) approve to start with; add levels, or set it to Approved at Once
- Subcontractor Bill: the same to start with; for example site engineer, quantity surveyor, project manager, then accounts
Notifications
- Approvers get each work order and bill in Approvals and as a to-do
- Not built: a message to the subcontractor when a bill is approved; they see it on the portal
Questions
Can we stop paying a subcontractor whose insurance has lapsed?
Yes. A running bill cannot be approved once the insurance or licence date on the work order is before the bill date. Renew the date on the order, then approve.What stops a bill from going past the order?
Each item's up-to-date quantity is checked against the ordered quantity. Past it, the bill is refused until the work order is amended and approved again.Is TDS worked out?
Yes. In India new work orders start with TDS under 194C at 2 %; change it per order. It is taken off each bill and goes to its own account in the vendor bill.Can the subcontractor see their bills?
Yes. Give them portal access from the work order. They see their running and closed orders, items, certified measurements and approved bills, read only.Related features
MONEYMeasurement book, retention and advancesSite staff measure each item's work by place, as Nos. x length x breadth x depth with photos; a manager certifies it, and only certified quantities reach the running bill. Retention is kept from every bill and released in one step, and the mobilisation advance is recovered bill by bill.MONEYFree issue to subcontractors and material reconciliationMark material given free to a subcontractor as free issue. Then compare, per project and material, what the BOM needs with what was requested and issued, so wastage shows up.MONEYCommitments, forecast and over-budget checksEvery budget line shows what is already ordered or contracted, what is spent, what is still to come and where the line will end. A project purchase order that goes past what is left of its line needs a Construction Manager to confirm it.PLANT, SCHEDULE, QUALITY, SAFETYLab tests, non-conformances and the quality gate on billingTrack every sample from the pour to the lab result: cubes at 7 and 28 days, steel, soil, brick and water. Each is due on its date and passed or failed against its limits. A failed test raises a non-conformance by itself; a closed one charged to a subcontractor comes off their next running bill. With the quality gate on, work is certified for billing only when its hold points have passed.PORTAL AND APPPortal for clients, subcontractors, buyers and borrowersPeople outside your company sign in at /my/construction and see only their own part. Clients see their projects, site updates, variations to agree and approved bills. Subcontractors see their work orders, certified measurements and retention. Buyers and borrowers get their own pages when you sell homes or lend.ACROSS SMARTMY CONSTRUCTIONApproval chainsBudgets, 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.
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