Construction CRM: from bid request to final acceptance
CustomCRM tracks every job from start to finish: bid, estimate, job site, monthly progress statements, invoices and retainage, with documents and site photos in one place.
- Progress statements approved and invoiced
- Subcontractors and suppliers by project
- Retainage tracked through release
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Companies that work with the CustomCRM team
What problems does a CRM solve for a construction company?
A construction CRM stops the money you lose between stages: bids nobody follows up on, progress statements approved late, retainage you forget to claim back.
Bids sent, then forgotten
Bid requests come in by email, by phone or from public tenders. The bid goes out, but nobody follows up with the client on time.
Progress statements stuck in approval
The monthly statement of work completed bounces by email between the site manager, the client’s site supervisor and the client. Until it’s approved, you can’t invoice.
Retainage held and forgotten
Each statement withholds retainage, a performance guarantee. After final acceptance you have to claim it back, and the deadline easily slips by.
Subcontractors that are hard to track
Each subcontractor has its own contract, statements and invoices. Comparing them with what you billed the client is a struggle in Excel.
Site documents lost in phones
Photos of concealed work, signed reports and permits stay on the site manager’s phone or in messaging groups.
Real cost, discovered at the end
Materials, crew hours and equipment are tallied separately, so you only see your real margin against the estimate when the job is over.
What modules does construction company software include?
Construction software built with CustomCRM has modules for bidding, estimates, job sites, progress statements, subcontractors, purchasing, retainage and acceptance reports. It also includes invoicing, contracts and integration with SPV, the online portal of ANAF (Romania’s tax authority). You pick modules based on how you work: general contractor, subcontractor or MEP contractor.
Bid requests and bidding
Every bid request has a client, a submission deadline, documents and an owner. The pipeline shows what’s in progress, what’s been sent and what you’ve won.
Estimates and bills of quantities
Import the estimate or bill of quantities from your bidding file. Quantities from each progress statement are then reported against its line items.
Projects, job sites, crews and equipment
Each job site has its own crews, equipment, subcontractors and documents. Time tracking by project helps you calculate real cost against the estimate. If you run your own fleet, see also CRM for fleet management.
Progress statements and approvals
The monthly statement is built on the estimate’s line items, with the quantities completed. It goes through the approval workflow you set and, once approved, becomes an invoice.
- Cumulative totals from the start of the job
- Retainage calculated on every statement
Subcontractors, suppliers and purchasing
Subcontracts, subcontractor statements and material orders link to the project. For shipped materials subject to e-Transport (Romania’s road freight monitoring system), you can generate the UIT code (the unique transport ID) from the order in the CRM.
Retainage and acceptance reports
Retainage withheld from statements or provided as a bank guarantee letter has amounts and release dates. Substantial completion and final acceptance reports are generated from templates and trigger the release alerts.
Job site documents, from your phone
The site manager opens CustomCRM in the phone’s browser and uploads photos, concealed work reports or permits to the project. The office sees them right away, with the date and author.
Invoicing from progress statements and e-Factura
The invoice is issued from the approved statement, with reverse charge VAT where it applies, and goes to ANAF’s SPV automatically through e-Factura (Romania’s national e-invoicing system). Payments are tracked by due date, with payment reminders.
Contracts, annexes and change orders
Contracts with clients and subcontractors are generated from templates. Change orders for additional work stay on the project, and expiry dates trigger alerts.
Included in every CustomCRM
- InvoicingInvoices, pro formas and recurring invoices, payments, due dates and reminders.
- ContractsContracts, annexes and amendments generated from templates, with expiry alerts.
- e-Factura (SPV, ANAF)Invoices go automatically to SPV, the online portal of ANAF (Romania's tax authority), status shows in the CRM, supplier invoices come in on their own.
- e-Transporte-Transport declarations and UIT codes (the unique transport ID) generated from orders, for goods covered by e-Transport, Romania's road freight monitoring system.
- Reports and dashboardsSales, payments, productivity and profitability, by role.
- Integrations and APICustomCRM can connect to your accounting software, email, calendar, website forms and ad leads, with an API for any other system.
See these modules on a real example
In a demo we walk you through the full workflow on a case close to your business. Or start with a free one-hour consultation where we review your process.
Prefer the phone? Call +40 729 743 719
What does a job look like in CustomCRM, from bid request to final acceptance?
In CustomCRM a job goes through the same stages as on paper, but each one starts from the data of the one before: the request becomes a bid, the bid becomes a project, and statements become invoices.
Bid request
The request is logged with its documents and submission deadline. The owner gets the task and an alert.
Estimate and bid
Your estimating team works on the estimate, and the bid you send stays on the project, with every version.
Contract and site setup
When you win, the contract is generated from a template. The project gets crews, subcontractors and a budget.
Execution and monthly statements
The job site reports quantities and uploads photos. The progress statement goes through approval and becomes an invoice sent to SPV.
Substantial completion
The completion acceptance report is signed, and the warranty period starts running in the CRM.
Final acceptance and retainage release
At final acceptance, CustomCRM reminds you to claim the retainage and closes the project with its full history attached.
Which other industries does CustomCRM have CRM versions for?
CustomCRM also has CRM versions for marketing agencies, service companies, law firms, gyms and spas, recycling, fleet management, real estate, consulting and education. For any other field, CustomCRM builds tailor-made software.
- Digital Marketing CRMRetainers, projects, timesheets and profit per client.
- Services CRMRequests, scheduling, field teams and maintenance plans.
- Legal CRMCases, deadlines, time tracking and billing from hours.
- Fitness & Spa CRMMemberships, check-in, class and therapist bookings.
- Recycling CRMWeighing, waste codes, collection routes and reporting.
- Fleet Management CRMVehicles, drivers, renewals, fuel and cost per km.
- Real Estate CRMListings, buyer matching, showings, commissions.
- Consulting CRMOpportunities, phased projects, billable hours.
- Education CRMEnrollment, groups, attendance, fees and parent updates.
- Another industry?We build tailor-made software around your process.
CustomCRM for construction and MEP contractors
- What it is: CustomCRM for construction is a CRM for general contractors, MEP contractors and subcontractors. It connects bidding, estimates, job sites, progress statements and invoicing on every project.
- Key benefits:
- See what has been built, invoiced and collected on every job site
- Approved progress statements become invoices with no re-entry
- Retainage has a release date and an alert
- Who it is for: general contractors, residential, commercial and industrial builders, MEP contractors, finishing contractors, specialty subcontractors, road and utility network contractors
- What sets it apart: Every project runs on one continuous thread, from estimate to progress statements, invoice, retainage and final acceptance. Documents and photos your site managers take with their phones attach straight to the project.
- Quick verdict: CustomCRM fits construction and MEP firms that run several job sites at once and track progress statements in Excel. In practice, on any given day you know which statements are waiting for approval and which retainage amounts are coming up for release.
How is a construction CRM different from Excel or a generic CRM?
A construction CRM works by project and by estimate. A generic CRM only sees the customer and the sale, and Excel depends on whoever saved the last version.
| Process | Excel or generic CRM | CustomCRM |
|---|---|---|
| Bidding | Files on email, deadlines nobody tracks | Pipeline with submission deadlines and bid versions |
| Progress statements | Excel sheets emailed back and forth for corrections | Statements built on estimate line items, with an approval workflow |
| Invoicing | Invoice re-created by hand from the statement | Approved statement becomes an invoice sent to SPV |
| Retainage | Separate spreadsheet, easy to forget | Calculated on each statement, with a release alert |
| Subcontractors | Contracts and statements in different folders | Everything on the project, comparable with what you billed |
| Job site documents | Photos in phones and messaging groups | Uploaded from the phone’s browser, to the project |
| Cost per job site | Calculated when the job closes | Tracked as you go, against the estimate |
What does a construction CRM integrate with?
CustomCRM can integrate with your accounting software, with ANAF’s SPV for e-Factura and e-Transport, and with bank statements, so client payments match invoices automatically. Estimates are imported from your bidding files or, if your estimating software allows exports, directly.
Repetitive work, such as downloading tender documents, can be handled by RPA automation. For inventory or warehouse management, CustomCRM expands into a custom ERP.
- ANAF SPV: e-Factura and e-Transport
- Accounting software (for example SmartBill, Oblio, Saga)
- Bank statements
- Estimate files and bills of quantities
- Email (Gmail, Outlook) and calendar
- API for any other system
Frequently asked questions about CRM for construction
How much does a CRM for a construction company cost?
The cost depends on the modules you choose and on usage, not on the number of users. You can give access to site managers, estimators and accounting at no extra per-user cost. A subcontractor needs different modules than a general contractor, so we prepare the quote after the free consultation, based on your workflow.
Do invoices from progress statements go to ANAF’s SPV automatically?
Yes, an invoice generated from an approved progress statement goes to ANAF’s SPV automatically, and you see its e-Factura status on the project. Invoices from suppliers and subcontractors are pulled from SPV automatically. CustomCRM can also integrate with your accounting software, such as SmartBill, Oblio or Saga, so nobody enters the same data twice.
Can I import estimates and ongoing projects from Excel?
Yes, you can import estimates, bills of quantities and ongoing projects from Excel. For jobs already underway, we also bring in the statements issued so far, so cumulative totals start out right. We review the file structure together before import, because every company organizes its estimates differently.
How long does it take to implement a construction CRM?
It depends on the modules, the integrations and how many ongoing projects you move over, so we set the timeline during the consultation. We deliver in stages: you usually start with bidding and progress statements, then add subcontractors, purchasing and retainage. Your team learns the platform in 1-2 hours of training.
Why isn’t a generic CRM enough for a construction company?
A generic CRM stops at contract signing, and in construction that’s where the hard part begins. It has no estimates, progress statements, retainage or acceptance reports. CustomCRM starts from a foundation built for construction and adapts to your approval workflow. If your process is very different, the platform can be built as a custom CRM.
Can site managers use the CRM from their phones?
Yes, CustomCRM opens in the phone’s browser, with no app to install. Site managers upload photos, enter completed quantities, attach reports and see tasks assigned by the office. Every document stays on the project, with the date and the name of the person who uploaded it.