Setting up the company, people and approvals
You will be able to: List the setup steps in a sensible order; Name the default contractor roles and what each is for; Explain the segregation rules the product applies.
- Read not done yet
- Self-check: not taken not done yet
- Lesson complete not done yet
A contracting system fails more often from poor setup than from missing features. Do these in order and check each before moving on.
- Company, financial year, chart of accounts and VAT registration (the TRN).
- Customers (clients and consultants) and suppliers or subcontractors, each with a valid 15-digit TRN where they are VAT registered.
- Items for the materials you stock or buy, with units of measure.
- The Category Master: your standard breakdown of work categories and items.
- Users and roles, then approval rules.
- Document numbering and the project settings (price tolerance, budget control, numbering).
Zeyto Construction & Contracting installs ten default roles for a contractor the first time, without touching any role of the same name you already made. They can be edited, copied and deleted.
| Role | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Director | Portfolio, margins, approvals of large items |
| Project Manager | Own projects: progress, variations, bills, look-ahead |
| QS / Estimator | Estimates, BOQ, valuations, progress bills |
| Site Engineer | Daily log, progress entries, material requests |
| Foreman | Site tasks and records from the phone |
| Storekeeper | Receiving, issuing, counts |
| Procurement Officer | Quotations, awards, purchase orders |
| Accountant | Invoices, payments, finance hub, month-end close |
| HSE Officer | Permits, toolbox talks, incidents |
| Client viewer | Read-only view |
Segregation built in
- The person who raises an approval request is never its approver. Where a matrix of approval levels is configured it decides; otherwise a built-in policy applies.
- Retention release, budget transfer and budget revision default to two different approvers, neither the creator. Company settings can relax this to one approver; do not, unless the company is very small.
- A timesheet is approved by the site and then the project manager, and never by the person who entered it.
- Rejecting always needs a reason.
Approval rules can depend on the project, department, item of work and amount band. Delegations name a deputy for the days someone is away. All decisions are taken in the Approvals inbox, and My Day shows the ones waiting for you.
Walk it through
- Write the setup order for a fictional contractor and note who is responsible for each step.
- Choose which two people would approve a retention release in a company of five office staff.
- In the demo, open Settings and find Users and Permissions and Approvals and Workflows, then read the default role list. Without access, draw the same table for your own firm.
Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.
- Set up in order: company, parties, items, category master, users, approvals, numbering.
- Ten contractor roles are installed by default and can be edited.
- Approval requests never go to their creator, and nothing approves itself.
Check yourself
4 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.
1. The person who raises an approval request can also approve it.
2. The default contractor roles are installed:
3. Which of these approvals or checks follow the segregation rules of the product?
Select all that apply.