Xero, Procore and a Crew App: How to Stop Double Handling With One Dashboard
Xero, Procore and a crew app each hold part of the picture, so someone retypes it into a spreadsheet. What one dashboard should show a subcontractor instead.
Most subcontractors aren’t short on software. Invoices sit in Xero. Builders’ drawings, RFIs and variations come through Procore. The crew clocks on in an app. Quotes live in spreadsheets; supplier prices in someone’s inbox.
Each system does its job. The trouble is any question that crosses them. Which quotes are open? Who hasn’t sent a price back? Is that job tracking to quoted hours? So someone rebuilds a spreadsheet every Friday, copying numbers by hand. That’s double handling, usually done by the owner after hours.
What does double handling look like in a subcontracting business?
The same number typed two or three times, because the question spans systems. Where it shows up:
| The weekly question | Where the numbers live today | What gets retyped | What one dashboard shows instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which quotes are still open, and what are they worth? | Quote spreadsheets and sent emails | Quote names, values and dates into a tracking sheet | Every open quote, its value and its stage |
| Which quotes need chasing? | Sent folder and memory | Follow-up dates into a calendar or a sticky note | Sent quotes whose follow-up date has passed |
| Which supplier prices are still missing? | The estimator’s inbox | Who was asked and who replied, into a list | Requests with no reply, and which are past due |
| Which jobs haven’t had an update? | Site notes, texts and emails | This week’s notes into a weekly report | Active jobs with no update in the last week |
| Is the job tracking to the hours we quoted? | The pricing sheet and the crew app | Quoted hours and worked hours, side by side | Quoted against worked hours, job by job |
| Have we been paid? | Xero | Invoice status into the job list | Outstanding invoices beside the job they belong to |
No row needs a new system. Every number already exists. Gathering it is the part done by hand.
Why don’t the apps you already pay for fix it?
Each app is made for one job. Accounting for invoices and bills. The builder’s platform for their project, not your business. The crew app for clock-ons. None answers “what needs my attention this week?” across all of them.
So the answer gets rebuilt by hand. One contractor needed drawings, job codes, suppliers asked and prices returned linked per tender, and none of it lived in one place. Another found that when their invoice automation failed, someone still reconciled by hand. A link between two apps doesn’t help if you can’t see when it stopped working.
What should one dashboard actually show?
Start from your weekly checks. For most commercial subcontractors:
- Quotes awaiting review. Drafted, not yet checked.
- Open quote value. What quotes in play are worth.
- Supplier replies outstanding. Prices asked for and not back, past due flagged.
- Late follow-ups. Sent quotes past their follow-up date.
- Jobs needing an update. Active jobs with no site update in a week.
- Quoted against worked hours. Priced labour beside logged hours.
Six numbers you trust beat thirty you don’t. If a number can’t be traced, people check the spreadsheet and you’re double handling again.
What makes a dashboard worth opening every morning?
People must trust it more than the spreadsheet. Four rules:
- Each number is entered once. In its own system; the dashboard reads it from there.
- Every number shows source and age. Stale figures are marked stale.
- It shows actions, not just totals. A late follow-up is a job for today. A total is for looking at.
- Nobody gets another app. The less you ask of the crew, the better the numbers.
Where does the estimate fit in?
Quoted against worked hours is the check most want and few can see. Priced labour is in the pricing sheet; worked hours in the crew app. Comparing means copying one into the other.
Sample data. The internal pricing workbook holds the labour hours you priced, area by area.
That number only exists if the estimate is done properly. Our estimating plugin makes an internal pricing workbook with your markups and labour hours, plus a draft quote on your letterhead without them. It works on your files where they live; workbooks open in Excel or Sheets. If retyping starts before the quote goes out, read simPRO, AroFlo, Procore… and you’re still typing quotes out by hand and our checklist for quoting faster without cutting corners.
How do we set up a dashboard for you?
Dashboards are separate from the estimating plugin. The plugin works on your files. Reading from systems you run, such as simPRO, AroFlo or Microsoft 365, is dashboard work.
We set it up around your weekly checks: quotes awaiting review, missing supplier replies, jobs needing an update. What it reads from depends on what you run; we’ll go through yours on the call.
If someone rebuilds the same spreadsheet every Friday, book a call. Bring the questions you ask every week and where the answers live today.
Frequently asked questions
What should a subcontractor's business dashboard show?
Your weekly checks: quotes awaiting review, open quote value, missing supplier prices, overdue follow-ups, jobs without an update, quoted against worked hours. Each with its source and age.
Do I need to replace Xero, Procore or our crew app?
No. Each does its own job. A dashboard reads from them, so numbers are entered once and checked in one place.
Will my crew have to learn another app?
They shouldn't. One operator would rather get a weekly email than make everyone learn a new app. The dashboard works from what people already enter.
Is the dashboard part of the estimating plugin?
No. Dashboards are separate work. The plugin works on your files; reading from simPRO, AroFlo or Microsoft 365 is dashboard work.
Want to see what needs your attention first?
The App reads from your job system, inbox and Xero and shows what needs a decision each week. It is in build, and the waitlist is open. Estimating is live today as the plugin.