Know what every job really costs, while there’s still time to act.
Job costing, time tracking and quoting from real numbers, built around how your workshop runs. For UK manufacturers of 5 to 250 people who are tired of spreadsheets, guesswork and software that only half fits.
Ten steps. Every one a chance to lose margin.
Most workshops don’t lose money on the work. They lose it in the gaps around it. Flip the switch to see the same job on one system.
Today: the job is spread across nine places and typed in five times, so nobody sees the margin until it’s too late.With one system: typed in once, tracked live, and every finished job sharpens the next quote.
- Places the job lives
- 91
- Times it’s typed in
- 51
- When you see the margin
- Weeks laterLive
- 01
Enquiry
Where it lives: Inbox and phoneYour OSToday: Arrives by phone, email or the website, and lives in whoever took it.
With one system: Every enquiry lands in one list, with an owner and a next step.
- 02
Survey
Where it lives: Paper notesYour OSToday: Measurements on paper, photos on someone’s phone.
With one system: Notes, measurements and photos saved to the job from day one.
- 03
Quote
Where it lives: SpreadsheetYour OSToday: Built from memory in a spreadsheet, a little different every time.
With one system: Priced from the real hours and materials of past jobs.
- 04
Follow-up
Where it lives: Someone’s memoryYour OSToday: Nobody chases, so good quotes go cold.
With one system: Chased automatically, with a weekly list of the ones worth a call.
- 05
Order
Where it lives: Job sheetYour OSToday: Typed again onto a job sheet, the whiteboard and the accounts.
With one system: The accepted quote becomes the job in one click.
- 06
Materials
Where it lives: Supplier emailsYour OSToday: Ordered as needed, with costs that never reach the job.
With one system: Ordered against the job, so every cost lands where it belongs.
- 07
Production
Where it lives: WhiteboardYour OSToday: Hours on the floor go unrecorded, or get guessed on Friday.
With one system: Time tapped against the job, with progress you can see live.
- 08
Install
Where it lives: Phone callsYour OSToday: Planned on a whiteboard and confirmed by phone.
With one system: An install calendar, with job details on the fitter’s phone.
- 09
Invoice
Where it lives: Xero, keyed inYour OSToday: Raised days later, with details keyed in again.
With one system: Drafted when the job is signed off and sent straight to Xero.
- 10
Review
Where it lives: NowhereYour OSToday: Did that job make money? Nobody really knows.
With one system: Quoted against actual, job by job, feeding the next quote.
Your OS
One system for the whole job, from first enquiry to paid, built around how your workshop runs.
Win the work
Every enquiry logged, quotes priced from real job times and chased automatically.
Enquiry · Survey · Quote · Follow-upRun the work
One live job board: materials, shop-floor time and installs against each job.
Order · Materials · Production · InstallGet paid
Invoice drafted the moment the job is signed off, and sent straight to Xero.
InvoiceGet sharper
Quoted against actual on every job, feeding the next quote.
Review
Connects to the tools you keep: Xero or QuickBooks, Microsoft 365 or Google, your payroll. Example job, for illustration.
A two-site trade business went from quoting blind to every job hour tracked.
Two sites, one system. Time is now measured against every quote, so they know which jobs make money.
We’ve also built an operations system for a London fabrication company, replacing an off-the-shelf job management tool with one built around how its workshop runs. Read the case study
See every job’s real cost while it’s still on the floor.
Only the parts that pay for themselves, built around how you work and connected to the tools you keep.
- Job costing and shop-floor time tracking
- Quotes priced from real job times
- A live job board for the office and the floor
- Materials ordered against the job
- Automatic quote and invoice follow-ups
- Weekly numbers: margin, capacity, cash
Start small: one fix, live in 14 days
One workflow automated or one dashboard built, live in 14 days for a fixed price agreed up front. We measure the hours before and after, so you see the saving before you commit to anything bigger.
- Guaranteed. It saves the hours we agreed, or you get a full refund.
- No ongoing fee. Start a build within 30 days and we credit the fee against it.
- Starts with your report. We pick the fix together on the 30-minute call.
How it works
- Take the scorecard or ask for a Savings Report. Within 24 hours you’ll see the hours lost to admin, the software you could cut and the three things to fix first, each with a value in pounds.
- A 30-minute call. We walk through it and agree the first fix. Nothing to prepare.
- Your First Fix, live in 14 days. Measured before and after, guaranteed to save the hours we agreed.
- Then build, or don’t. We build and run it, we build it and your person runs it, or we train your team to build their own.
Common questions
Do we need an ERP?
Most manufacturers of 5 to 250 people don’t need a full ERP. They need the few parts that matter to them, such as job costing, scheduling and purchasing, working together. We build those parts around how you already work and connect them to your accounts, often for less than an ERP licence and without months of implementation.
What does job costing software cost for a small manufacturer?
Off-the-shelf job management tools usually charge per user per month, and costs climb as you add staff. We price a build against the time and money it saves you, measured before and after. Your free Savings Report puts a figure on both before you commit to anything.
Will people on the shop floor actually use it?
Only if it’s quicker than not using it. We design screens for the floor, such as big buttons on a tablet or a scan of the job card, and we watch how work really flows before we build anything.
Can you work with the software we already have?
Yes. Accounts, payroll and email usually stay, and we connect to them. We only replace a tool where it saves you time or money.
How quickly will we see a result?
Your First Fix, one workflow or dashboard, is live within 14 days. On Done For You, within 90 days the time and money saved is worth more than you’ve paid, or we keep working free until it is.
Which manufacturers do you work with?
Workshops and manufacturers of roughly 5 to 250 people across the UK: fabrication, metalwork, joinery, engineering, print and other make-to-order businesses where every job is a little different.
See what your workshop could save
Three fields, thirty seconds. Within 24 hours you'll see the hours lost to admin, the software you could cut, the numbers you're missing, and the three things to fix first, each with a value in pounds. If we can't find a saving worth acting on, you've lost nothing.
We take on 3 new builds a quarter, so each one gets full attention. Start in November or December and go into the new year with the admin already gone.
Not ready for a report yet? Take the 2-minute scorecard first. Rather email? hello@pentatope.io