Data Files samples / Builder
Kilnside Builders
Enquiries, site visits, quotes, contracts, stage payments, variations, retentions, job costs and the site diary for a small building firm.
Download 208 KB15 tables, 18 queries, 12 reports, 5 print templates and 7,978 invented records, dated back from 2026-10-22.
The everyday tasks of Kilnside Builders, a step at a time. Each step names the table, form, query, report or print template to open. Inside the database, the Start Here report holds the same steps. Every table has a form of the same name under Forms.
1. Take an enquiry and book a visit
- Open the Clients form. If the caller is new, press New and type their Name, Phone, E-mail and the address of the work.
- Open the Enquiries form and press New. Choose the client, type Received On, choose the Work, write what they want in Description and how they heard of you in Source.
- Agree a day to visit. Type it in Visit Date, choose who is going in Visited By and set Status to Visit booked.
- Each morning open the Site visits, next 14 days query for the visits coming up, with addresses and phone numbers.
- After the visit, write what you found in Visit Notes and set Status to Visited.
2. Price the work and send the quotation
- Open the Quotes form and press New. Type the next Number (QUO-2026-0043 after QUO-2026-0042), choose the Enquiry and the Client, type a Title, the Quote Date and Valid Until, and set Status to Sent.
- In Quote Lines add each line: Line (1, 2, 3 in order), Section, Kind (Labour, Materials or Subcontract), Description, Quantity, Unit, Rate and Tax Rate 0.2. End with a Contingency line of about five percent.
- Add the lines up into Net, the VAT of each line into VAT, and type Total and Weeks on Site. Write what the price leaves out in Notes.
- Open Print templates, choose Quotation, pick the quote and press Print or Save as PDF. Send it, and set the enquiry's Status to Quoted.
- On Friday open the Quotes to chase report and ring round.
3. Turn an accepted quote into a contract
- Open the quote in the Quotes form and set Status to Accepted; set the enquiry to Won.
- Open the Jobs form and press New. Type the next Number, choose the Quote, Client and Site Manager, copy the Title and Work, and type Signed On, Contract Sum (the quote's Net), Contingency, Start Date and Finish Date. Set Status to Booked, Retention Percent and Defects Months.
- In Job Stages add the deposit as Stage 0, then each stage with its Name, Payment Percent, Amount and Planned Finish. The amounts must add up to the contract sum.
- Open Job Ledger and add a Contract entry for the job with the contract sum as Net.
- Open Print templates, choose Contract, pick the job and press Print. Both sign two copies.
- Raise the deposit invoice as the next task describes, with Kind Deposit.
4. Invoice a stage payment
- Each Monday open the Stage payments coming up report to see which stages fall due.
- When a stage is reached, open the job in the Jobs form, type Done On on the stage and change Current Stage.
- Open the Invoices form and press New. Type the next Number, choose the Job, Client and Stage, set Kind to Stage, and type Invoice Date and Due Date (the date plus the client's Payment Days).
- In Invoice Lines add the stage payment, then each variation agreed since the last invoice, then a line taking off the retention (a minus amount). On the completion invoice, add a minus line crediting back the contingency.
- Type Gross, Retention, Net, VAT and Total on the invoice, and choose this invoice in Invoice on each variation charged.
- Open Print templates, choose Stage invoice, pick the invoice and press Print or Save as PDF.
5. Agree a variation on site
- Open the Variations form and press New. Type the next Number, choose the Job, type Raised On, the Description, Reason, Amount (a minus amount for work taken out) and Extra Days, and leave Status as Proposed.
- Open Print templates, choose Variation order, pick it and press Print. The client signs before the work is done.
- When it is signed, set Status to Agreed and type Agreed On. Add a Variation entry in Job Ledger with the amount as Net.
- The Variations awaiting agreement query shows any still waiting for a signature.
6. Book costs and keep the diary
- When a merchant's or subcontractor's invoice comes in, open the Job Ledger form, press New, choose the Job, the Supplier and the Kind (Materials, Plant or Subcontract), and type Entry Date, Description, Their Ref, Net, VAT and Due Date.
- On Friday add a Labour entry for each person on each job: the Staff, Hours, and Net at their Hourly Cost.
- At the end of each day the crew lead opens the Site Diary form, presses New, chooses the Job and types the Weather, On Site, Work Done, Problems and Visitors.
- When you pay a bill, type Paid On. Before each payment run open the Subcontractors to pay report.
- Open the Job costs to date query to see how a job on site is doing against its price.
7. Finish a job and release the retention
- On the last day type Completed On on the job, set Status to Defects period and Current Stage to Finished, and type Retention Due (the completion date plus the defects months).
- Raise the completion invoice with the contingency credit, and add a Contingency entry in Job Ledger with the contingency as a minus Net.
- Each month open the Retentions held report. Before a retention is due, visit, put right anything on the snagging list, then raise an invoice with Kind Retention for the total held.
- Type Retention Released On on the job and set Status to Closed. The Job profit report then shows the job's final margin.
8. See who owes what and send statements
- Open the Invoices due report: every unpaid invoice by client, with days overdue.
- When money comes in, open the invoice in the Invoices form and type Paid On.
- At the month end open Print templates, choose Statement, choose the clients who owe something and press Print or Save as PDF.
- The Contract account report shows each job's contract sum, invoiced, retention held, paid and owing.