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Run each project from tender to stage bill
An engineering or environmental project is won on an enquiry or a tender, then delivered in stages: site and field work, laboratory and office analysis, a report. DAY ONE keeps the scope, the tasks, the time and the stage fee on one system of record, so the practice picks up the work, tracks it and bills each stage from the same facts.
From tender to stage bill
One project record carries the work from the first enquiry to each stage bill, so project managers, technical leads and finance work from the same facts.
Enquiry or tender
A client enquiry, a tender or a request from an existing client becomes a client and an opportunity, with the site, the services you propose and the people who could deliver them.
Billed: nothing yet. The fee is set next.
How it worksProposal and scope
The proposal sets out each stage you will deliver, for example a desktop review, a field investigation, laboratory analysis and the report. Each stage is a milestone with its own scope, fee and hours by role. Once the client signs, the agreement is locked, and extra work is a new contract in the same engagement.
Billed: the stage fee is agreed here, one for each stage.
Scoping and QuotingSite and field work
Each stage is broken into tasks with an owner, a due date and a priority, such as booking the drilling contractor, collecting samples or carrying out a site inspection. The team logs field hours from the task, and work waiting on site access or a third party stays visible as blocked.
Billed: field time at the role rate, and site expenses such as travel once approved.
Delivery and TimeOffice analysis and reporting
People are placed at the roles on the engagement, each role with its own rate. Laboratory results, analysis, drafting and review are booked to the same stage. A manager approves time and expenses where required, and anything not yet approved stays visible in work in progress.
Billed: office hours at the role rate, once approved.
ResourcingStage completion and bill
When a stage is finished, its completion is approved. A draft invoice is built from the approved stage fee, approved time and approved expenses, then Finance reviews work in progress against the stage and approves the invoice.
Billed: the stage fee, with approved time at rates and approved expenses on the same invoice.
Invoicing and WIPSend the bill and hand over to accounting
The approved invoice goes to the client and across to your accounting system, which keeps the ledger. CSV export is available as a fallback.
Billed: nothing new. The invoice is sent and posted.
Integrations
Pick up the field work and see what is waiting
Every task on a stage has an owner, a due date and a priority. The team picks up the next task and logs time from its menu, and work waiting on site access or laboratory results stays visible as blocked.
To do 4 tasks
- Book the drilling contractor and the underground services locator
- Prepare the soil and groundwater sampling plan
- Send the first batch of samples to the laboratory
- Senior review of the draft site assessment report
In progress 1 task
- Collect soil samples along the northern boundary
Blocked 2 tasks
- Obtain site access approval from the landowner
- Receive the laboratory results for the first batch
How each kind of work is billed
The basis is set when the fee is agreed, so the invoice knows how to treat each piece of work.
Milestone fee
A stage such as the field investigation or the report is a milestone with its own fee. Once its completion is approved, it can be billed.
Time at rates
Field, laboratory and office hours are priced from your price list and the rate for each role on the engagement. Approved hours are billed on the client's cycle: weekly, fortnightly, monthly or on a set day.
Expenses
Expenses on the project are approved, then billed on the same invoice run as the stage fee and time.
Changes to scope
Extra work the client agrees, such as further sampling, is a new contract in the existing engagement, signed again, with its own fee.
See budget and hours build, week by week
On the same example project, field, laboratory and office hours are booked to the contract they belong to. Each week they add up against the budget and the assigned hours, so a project running over budget shows before it is billed.
Budget burn
Sum: Revenue - Cumulative
- Revenue
Time burn
Cumulative hours, weekly
- Entry
- The Hub opens on charts, not a list.
- Revenue builds against the total budget.
- Hours build against the assigned hours.
Pick a situation from your own work
On this project, .
What it means for each role in an engineering or environmental firm
Finance leaders: see which stage is ready to bill
Milestone completion is approved before it is billed, and work in progress shows what is ready. A reviewer can take one invoice line back to the work behind it.
Operations and delivery: book time and costs to the stage
Time, expenses and supplier costs belong to the project they were incurred on, and time is approved before it is billed.
Owners and CEOs: stop two versions of one job
Directors and finance should read the same project the same way. Quickstart starts with a sponsor, a small core team and a defined scope, so you can judge the fit on live work.
Salesforce leaders: the commercial record around the work
DAY ONE holds the stages, time, costs and billing of a project on one Salesforce data model. Your technical tools stay as they are.
Questions from project leaders
Can't see your question? Ask us directly.
Can project directors see unbilled work across projects?
Yes. Work in progress is a register by engagement, with unbilled value on engagements and portfolios. Reports are standard Salesforce reports that you can create and change yourself. What people see follows their permissions.
Can we bill by stage or by percent complete?
Each stage can be set up as a milestone, and milestone completion is approved before it is billed. If you bill on percent complete, bring an example and we will show you how the current product handles it.
How do a subconsultant's costs reach the invoice?
Supplier costs appear on an invoice as their own traceable lines, with a markup over unit cost where one applies. Bring a subconsultant example and we will show how the current product records it.
What if the scope of a stage changes?
A signed contract is not edited in place. Extra work agreed with the client is a new contract in the existing engagement, signed again. Ask us to walk through it on one of your projects.
Does it replace our engineering or site software?
No. Your technical tools stay as they are. DAY ONE holds the stages, time, costs and billing of a project.
Do we have to replace our accounting system?
No. You keep your accounting system.
Do we need Salesforce already?
On Salesforce; works with your Salesforce org, or available as a bundled edition if you don't use Salesforce.
Where is project data held and who can see it?
Project data is held in a Salesforce org (your own, or one provided with the bundled edition). People see records according to the permission sets you assign. Security.
Bring one stage and its costs
Tell us which stage is hardest to bill and we will talk it through.