If you run a small building or renovation business, you know the week: three jobs on the go, a crew split across two sites, a client ringing to ask when the tiling starts, and a supplier bill you're fairly sure you already paid. Job details sit in a notebook, hours in a chat thread, and money across a bank app, a wallet and your pocket.
The cost is familiar. Stage payments get invoiced late, extra work the client asked for is done free because nobody wrote it down, and at month end you can't say where the money went. This guide covers what a small contractor actually needs, how Saauzi's construction setup handles it, and where it stops.
What software a small contractor actually needs
You don't need a system built for a 500-person general contractor. You need a few things done reliably:
- A list of jobs, each with a client, dates and an agreed price or rate.
- Tasks per job, so everyone sees what's next and who is on it.
- Hours on record, split into what the client pays for and what they don't.
- Invoices that go out the day a stage is done.
- A cash book across cash, bank and wallet.
- Staff records, including who to call if someone is hurt on site.
How Saauzi covers a construction business
When you pick Construction at sign-up, Saauzi switches on four apps: Projects, CRM, HRM and Cashbook. They run in any browser on a laptop, tablet or phone, and you can install other apps from the hub later.
Projects: one project per job
Each job becomes a project for a client, with a status (active, on hold or done), start and due dates, a budget, and either fixed-price or hourly billing with an hourly rate. That matches how contractors work: a bathroom refit at an agreed price, repairs and call-outs by the hour. "On hold" is honest for a job waiting on permits or the client's next payment.
The task board has three columns: to do, in progress, done. Break a job into steps your crew recognises, such as strip-out, first-fix plumbing, screed, tiling and snagging, each with an owner on your team and a due date.
Timesheets record hours per project and task, marked billable or non-billable. That split matters at final account: the extra socket run the client asked for is billable, fixing your own snag is not. When a stage is finished, raise a client invoice from the project, add a discount or taxes, and track it from draft to sent to paid. Set VAT once in Settings, and invoices print your business name, address and PAN/VAT. Our guide to Saauzi Projects, timesheets and client invoicing goes deeper.
CRM: enquiries you're pricing
Each enquiry is a lead with contact, company, source, deal value, owner and expected close date. Set stages that match your process, such as enquiry, site visit, price sent, then won or lost. Log the site visit as a meeting and add a task to chase the price on Friday.
HRM: your crew and office
Each person gets a profile: department, job title, employment type (full-time, part-time, contract or intern), join date, emergency contact, salary on record and status. Leave requests go to a manager to approve, so you know before Monday that your tiler is away for Dashain. To hire a site supervisor, post the role on your public careers page and move applicants through to hired or rejected.
Cashbook: money in and out
Record client payments into bank or wallet, cash spent on materials, fuel and equipment hire, and transfers between accounts. Count the cash daily and match it to the book, so a difference shows up the same day. Income and expense by category, plus clean exports, keep your accountant happy.
A hypothetical week for a three-job contractor
Say you run a crew of six with an office manager. On Monday the board shows the extension footings are overdue, so two people move over from the fit-out. On Tuesday the client asks for an extra window; it becomes a task with billable hours. On Wednesday a new enquiry moves to "price sent". On Thursday stage two of a fixed-price job is done and the office raises the invoice. On Friday the payment lands: mark it paid and record it in Cashbook.
A checklist for choosing construction software
- Does it handle both fixed-price and hourly jobs?
- Can you separate billable from non-billable hours?
- Can your supervisor use it on a phone without installing anything?
- Do invoices carry your PAN/VAT?
Where Saauzi fits and where it doesn't
Saauzi suits small contractors, renovation firms and specialist trades with a handful of jobs. The limits:
- No estimates, BOQs or material take-offs. Price jobs in your usual tool, then enter the agreed figure as the project's price and budget.
- No site diaries or document management, e-signatures or client portal.
- No payroll, attendance or shift rostering for daily-wage crews.
- Cashbook is not full accounting and doesn't file VAT returns.
- No integrations with other software.
A larger contractor needing estimating, scheduling and document control is better served by a dedicated construction platform. Our plain-English guide to ERP for small businesses explains what bigger systems add.
What it costs
Your first app is free forever, so you could start with Projects alone. One flat subscription unlocks every app: NPR 1,500 or US$20 per user/month, or NPR 12,000 or US$200 per user/year. For a hypothetical owner, office manager and supervisor, that's NPR 4,500 or US$60 a month, with no commission. See the pricing page or the Saauzi page for construction businesses.
FAQ
Can Saauzi produce estimates or BOQs?
No. Price the job in your usual tool, then set up the project with the agreed price, budget and dates.
Does it pay my crew?
No. HRM holds profiles, salary on record and leave, but there's no payroll or attendance.
Can my site supervisor use it from site?
Yes, in the phone's browser. There's no app-store app to install.
Start where the business leaks most, usually jobs and invoices, and add the rest later. See how the apps fit together on the Saauzi construction industry page, or start with one Saauzi app free.
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