How to organise a small building business without drowning in admin

One place per job

Every job should have one home where everything about it lives: client details, address, the quote, variations, photos, diary notes, invoices and payments. Whether that's a folder, a spreadsheet or an app matters less than having exactly one. When the client rings, you should be able to answer from one place.

A simple pipeline

Give every job a stage so you can see at a glance what needs doing:

• Enquiry — details taken, site visit booked
• Quoting — visit done, quote being written
• Quote sent — waiting on the client
• Accepted — start date agreed, materials to order
• In progress — on site
• Invoiced — waiting on payment
• Paid — closed

Capture once, reuse everywhere

The client's name and address shouldn't be typed four times. Take enquiry details properly once and carry them through the quote, the job, the invoices. Same for scope: the quote's scope becomes the job's task list, and its payment stages become the invoices.

A weekly admin routine

Pick a fixed slot — Friday afternoon, Sunday evening — and work through the same list:

• Any quotes owed? Send or diary them
• Any quotes sent over a week ago? Follow up
• Stages finished this week? Invoice them
• Invoices overdue? Chase them
• Next week's jobs: materials ordered, trades booked, client told
• Variations raised but not yet approved? Chase them before doing the work

Plan materials and trades by date

For each job, note when materials need ordering and when other trades need to be on site, working back from the stage they're needed for. Lead times catch people out — order earlier than you think. Check your diary for clashes and travel between sites before you promise start dates.

Illustrative week view

Where Oi Guvnor fits

Oi Guvnor is designed to hold the whole journey — enquiry, quote, job, variations, invoices and payments — on one job record, so details captured once carry through. Check the current plans to see what each includes, or answer four questions in the free business guide for a suggestion of which plan to compare.