Find the problem, agree the definitions, then build
Most reporting projects fail before anybody writes code, because the thing being measured was never properly agreed. We spend the first part of every engagement there. It starts with a free half hour and there is no paid discovery phase.
A conversation
Half an hour, free, nothing to prepare. What the business does and where it hurts. We will say early if we do not think we can help.
A look at your data
We check the question is actually answerable before anybody talks about building, including the unwelcome version where a field you would need is not being captured yet.
A first build
One dashboard, aimed at the sharpest problem. Live on your own data within weeks, reconciled against a figure you already trust.
Iteration
Expect three or four rounds of 'that looks wrong, what is it doing'. That is the process working, not failing.
Whatever comes next
Once the data is connected and trusted, the second question is cheap to answer. Most of what we have built was never in the original brief.
No paid discovery phase. Some firms sell you a diagnostic before they will build anything. We would rather work out whether there is something worth building during a conversation, and start charging when we start making something.
BigChange first, then whatever holds the rest of the answer
Most questions are answerable from BigChange alone, because it already holds jobs, CRM contacts, sales opportunities, financials, stock, equipment, assets and journey reports. Some need a second system, and that is a connector rather than a problem.
| System | What it contributes | Role |
|---|---|---|
| BigChange | Jobs, CRM contacts, sales opportunities, financials, stock, equipment, assets and journey reports | Primary |
| Accounting | Xero and similar, for cost, margin, payment behaviour and invoice status | Supplementary |
| HR and people | WorkSmarter and similar, for absence, holiday, training and certification | Supplementary |
| Other CRM and sales | Salesforce, Pipedrive and similar, where opportunities live outside BigChange | Supplementary |
| Stock and ERP | SAP and similar, where stock is managed centrally rather than in the field system | Supplementary |
| Anything else | Any system with an API, or a scheduled file drop from one without | Supplementary |
Named products are examples rather than a fixed list. If it has an API, or can drop a file on a schedule, it can feed a dashboard.
Who sees what, and how a figure gets proven
These dashboards carry pay figures, customer profitability and compliance evidence. The access model matters as much as the maths, and a number nobody can trace is a number somebody will argue with.
Where we would start, depending on what you do
Forward looking, based on what these businesses have in common rather than on a case study we cannot show you.
Fire and security
Certification is the product, so unfindable evidence is unbillable work.
Where we would start. Compliance evidence first, because the audit date is fixed. Remedial conversion second, because that is where the unclaimed money sits.
Building services and HVAC
Planned and reactive work compete for the same engineers, and reactive always wins.
Where we would start. An operations view that separates planned from reactive, then engineer and parts analysis to attack the return visit rate.
Lifts, access and mobility
An installed base built over decades is a pipeline, and most operators treat it as history.
Where we would start. Installed base and replacement forecasting, then a reporting pack per funding authority in the shape each one asks for.
Facilities and property
Margin is per site, but reporting is per job, so the loss making site hides in the average.
Where we would start. Profitability by site and contract, then subcontractor performance against the same measures as your own engineers.
Utilities and infrastructure
Evidence of what happened on site matters as much as the work itself.
Where we would start. A compliance and evidence view, then the reporting pack your client contract already demands.
Start with the free half hour
Nothing to prepare and nothing to sign. Tell us the question you cannot answer and we will tell you whether your data can get to it.