The engineer has finished. The office has not.
At installation companies the money is stuck between the work and the invoice. Every day a work order sits waiting is a day later invoicing and a bigger chance of an argument about what was actually done.
How it works today
The engineer hands in the docket: through an app, as a PDF, or as a photo of a paper docket with a signature on it. The planner or the office transfers hours, materials and extra work into the package.
If something is missing, a message or a phone call follows. Sometimes the docket only arrives a week later. In the meantime nothing has been invoiced and nobody remembers exactly what was agreed on site.
- Installation and technical service companies with 10 to 100 staff
- Engineers working with dockets, an app or photos
- A planner transferring hours and materials into the system
- Maintenance contracts scheduled by hand
What happens, step by step
- 1Collect the docket
From the app, the mailbox or a shared folder. Photos and scans are processed just as well as tidy PDFs.
- 2Read hours and materials
Hours worked, materials used, extra work and any signature are recognised and matched to the right project or customer.
- 3Check against the job
Hours and materials are compared with what was agreed. Differences go to the planner instead of unnoticed onto the invoice.
- 4Set extra work aside
Extra work gets its own route, so it is deliberately approved before it reaches the customer.
- 5Queue the invoice
The invoice sits ready for checking in your package. Nobody has to retype anything; someone only has to look.
- 6Report back
If something is missing from the docket, the engineer is told automatically what is missing — the same day, not a week later.
Where it goes wrong when it is built too simply
These are the questions we ask in the quick scan. If a supplier does not ask them, they surface later anyway — usually once there is already an invoice.
- The docket is a photo with a signature and a quantity crossed out and rewritten. What do you do with that?
- The engineer books four hours, the job was for three. Invoice automatically or put it to someone first?
- Material taken off the van and never scanned. Where does that come from in the administration?
- Two engineers on one job both hand in a docket for the same work.
- The maintenance contract covers the hours but not the materials. Who splits that?
- The customer does not sign. Does the invoice go out anyway, and on what basis?
What it delivers
Invoicing happens faster, usually within a day of completion rather than at the end of the week. That is working capital directly.
Extra work also gets invoiced more often, simply because it no longer falls between two stools. And the planner gets time back for planning.
How much that saves at your company depends on the number of dockets a week and how many currently sit waiting. We measure that in the Automation Check.
Build: €4,500 – €8,500
Category: Extensive automation
Build time: 34 to 55 hours
Lead time: 4 to 6 weeks
Maintenance: Managed, €395 per month
A range, not a quote. What it becomes for you follows from the Automation Check. All prices →
See all prices →Start with one process
Tell us which work gets retyped most often at your company. If automating it turns out to be a bad idea, you will hear that in the first conversation — before there is an invoice.
The first conversation is free and without obligation. Want it substantiated? The Automation Check is €295 — deducted if you have us build within 30 days.