Application day, and the spreadsheet disagrees with site
Your subcontract with the housebuilder pays by plot stage: foundations, substructure, oversite, drainage, and external works. At month end your QS or contracts manager works out what was done since the last application, prices it at the rates for each house type, adds variations and dayworks, and sends it. The housebuilder's QS replies with a payment notice that takes off several plots, because their site manager says they were not complete, and adds a note asking for evidence.
You know some were complete. Proving it takes photos from gangers' phones and a series of calls.
Why applications miss or overclaim
Plot stages are completed on site but recorded in the office later, from the gangers' say-so. The last application is the only record of what has already been claimed. Different house types have different rates for each stage. And the housebuilder's QS works from their own site manager's view, which may differ from yours.
- Stages completed are worked out from memory at month end.
- What has been claimed before is in the last spreadsheet only.
- Rates differ by house type and stage.
- Evidence for each stage is not attached.
- Payment notices are not reconciled against your application line by line.
What weak applications cost
Stages left out of applications are paid a month or more later, if they are remembered at all. Stages knocked off by the housebuilder for lack of evidence take time to argue back. Overclaims damage trust with the housebuilder's QS. And your cash flow, already tight in groundworks, suffers from all of it. What the subcontract says about applications and payment notices is for your commercial team and advisers; we deal with the numbers and the evidence.
Applications we build from plot records
- Plot stages are recorded on site as they are completed, with dated photos, by the gangers.
- Your rates per stage per house type are loaded from the subcontract.
- At application date, completed stages not yet claimed are gathered automatically and priced.
- Variations, dayworks and extras approved in the period are added from their own records.
- The application is produced in the housebuilder's format, with a plot-by-plot schedule and links to the photos for each stage.
- When the payment notice arrives, it is compared with the application line by line, and differences are listed for your QS to take up.
- Items not paid are carried to the next application, with the history of why.
| Plot | Stage | Completed | Claimed | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Oversite | Early in the month | This application | Pending |
| 41 | Substructure | Last month | Last application | Paid |
| 42 | Foundations | Mid-month | This application | Pending |
| 43 | Foundations | Mid-month | This application | Disputed, photos sent |
Applications the housebuilder's QS can check
Every completed stage is claimed in the month it was done. Each line has a date and a photo the housebuilder's QS can check without phoning anyone. Differences between your application and their notice are listed automatically, so your QS spends time on the few that matter. Arguments shrink to the handful of plots where the two sides genuinely see the work differently, and those come with photos already attached. And you always know what has been claimed, paid and disputed on every plot.
It also helps when a site ends. The final account starts from a complete record of every plot and stage, rather than a year of spreadsheets.
Is your application process like this?
- Applications are worked out from memory and spreadsheets.
- Completed stages have been missed from applications.
- Housebuilders knock off stages for lack of evidence.
- Payment notices are not checked line by line.
- You are unsure what has been claimed on a given plot.