The quantities keep moving. The valuation keeps up.

CompanyTora Build Based inLondon The workGroundworks, structural steel, brickwork Jobs at onceUsually several BeforeExcel, a few hours a valuation NowTwenty to thirty minutes

The old way

Every valuation started from the pile: the scope of works, the drawings, an Excel or his own quantity schedule. On groundworks that meant checking excavation, concrete, drainage, materials, plant and labour; on steel, the members, the quantities and the prices; on brickwork, the masonry quantities, materials and labour. Then the valuation itself was built in Excel, done quantities checked against the previous period, variations added, retention and any advances worked through, and the payment application and documents prepared for the client.

“The worst part was assembling everything by hand from different sources. The drawings, the Excel, site progress, the invoices and the previous valuation all had to agree with each other. On groundworks and steelwork it was especially easy to lose a lot of time just checking quantities and changes.”

Tora Build, London

The moment it clicked

It was the import of his own spreadsheet.

“I did not have to rebuild my sheet or prepare it to any QScope template. The program recognised the structure and showed me what it had found before anything was saved. That mattered to me, because every project can look a little different.”

Tora Build, London

Both halves of that are the import working as designed: the columns are discovered from the file, not from a template, and what was found is shown for checking before it becomes the bill, with anything set aside listed with a reason.

Illustration of the screen, not his project data.

What changed

A typical valuation now takes him twenty to thirty minutes, depending on the number of items, against a few hours before. The difference is biggest exactly where his trades live: projects with a lot of items and a lot of movement.

“Quantity changes and variations, especially. On groundworks the quantities can change while the work is under way, so being able to check quickly against the previous valuation is very useful. I used to do that by hand.”

Tora Build, London

Each line carries where it stood last time, so the checking that used to eat the hours is what the screen opens on.

Illustration of the screen, not his project data. The tradesGroundworks, steel, brickwork BeforeA few hours in Excel, every valuation NowTwenty to thirty minutes Trial30 days, no card

One system instead of a pile

Several jobs usually run at once, and the people who would touch this are the person preparing the valuations, the project manager and whoever holds the commercial side. The point of one system is that they are all reading the same figures: the bill, the valuation, the application and the dates stop being five files that have to be made to agree, because they never separate in the first place.

Illustration of the screen, not his project data.

What was hard

We asked, because a switch that sounds free is a switch nobody believes.

“Understanding the whole process in QScope. The program itself was not the problem, but you have to switch from working across several Excels and documents to working in one system.”

Tora Build, London

What he would still like

We asked that too, and the answer goes on the page, because these pages tell the truth. The comparison against the previous valuation is where the program already does its work: every line carries what was certified before and how far it stands to date, the history follows the line from valuation to valuation, and a percentage that would take a line past what remains gets capped, not guessed. He wants it to go further.

“I would like an even stronger comparison of a valuation against the previous one, so every change of quantities, values and variations is visible at once. On groundworks projects there can be a lot of quantity movement, so a feature like that would be very useful.”

Tora Build, London

That is the most useful kind of feedback there is, and it goes on the page as an ask, not as a promise.

Run your next valuation the same way

“QScope lets me prepare a valuation quickly and check what has actually changed on the project, without digging through several Excels.”

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