Valuation week on five projects at once
It is the last week of the month. You have five live projects, each with a valuation date in the contract. For each one you need the contractor's application, your own view of progress from the site visit, the latest position on variations, any materials on or off site, and last month's certified figures to work out the amount due this time.
The site notes are in a notebook and a phone camera roll. The variations log is a separate spreadsheet, updated whenever someone remembered. Last month's valuation is a workbook you copy and edit, which means rolling the previous figures forward by hand and hoping no formula broke in the process.
The real reason valuations drag
Measuring progress is skilled work and it should take time. What takes the extra time is assembly. Each valuation is built by copying last month's file and patching in new information from four or five sources, none of which talk to each other.
- Percentage complete per line of the contract sum analysis is entered from handwritten notes.
- Variations that have been agreed, valued or are still pending sit in a separate log with a different reference system.
- Materials on site claims arrive as photos and delivery notes by email.
- Retention and previous certificates are recalculated each time in the spreadsheet.
- Differences from the contractor's application are explained in an email rather than recorded against each line.
Where the cost shows up
Surveyors spend the most skilled days of the month on copying and reconciling. Arithmetic errors creep in when a row is added and a total does not pick it up. Contractors query figures, and working out why a line moved means opening three versions of the file. When a valuation is disputed later, the evidence for what you saw on the day is scattered or gone.
| Input | Where it lives now | In the valuation record |
|---|---|---|
| Contract sum analysis | Tender workbook | Loaded once, lines fixed for the project |
| Progress on site | Notebook and photos | Entered per line on a tablet, photos attached |
| Variations | Separate log | Linked, with status and valued amount |
| Materials claims | Email attachments | Logged with delivery notes and photos |
| Previous certificates | Last month's workbook | Carried forward automatically |
What we build for valuation week
- Each project gets a record holding the contract sum analysis or activity schedule, loaded once from your tender workbook.
- On site, the surveyor records progress against each line on a tablet or phone, with photos attached to the line they support. It works without signal and syncs later.
- The contractor's application is imported from their spreadsheet or read from the PDF, and shown next to your assessment, line by line.
- Variations come in from the variations log with their status, so only the ones you have decided to include are counted.
- Materials on site claims are logged with their delivery notes and photos.
- Previous certified amounts, retention and amounts due are calculated from the record, not typed in.
- The valuation, the supporting schedules and a line-by-line comparison with the application export in your practice's format for review and issue.
Nothing is certified by the system. The surveyor decides every percentage, every inclusion and every exclusion. The build removes the retyping and the recalculation, and keeps the evidence attached.
What valuation week looks like after
Site notes go straight into the record while you are standing in the building. Back at the office, the draft valuation already carries last month's figures and this month's application alongside your view. Your time goes on the lines where you and the contractor disagree, and when someone asks why a line was valued at a figure, the photo and note are one click away.
Signs this is you
- Every valuation starts by copying last month's workbook.
- Site progress notes are handwritten and typed up later.
- You have found a total that did not include a newly added row.
- Explaining differences from the contractor's application means writing long emails.
- Photos from site visits are not linked to the valuation they supported.