Cowart Industrial
§ Proposal · v0.1
§ 02

The new workflow

One entry. One source of truth. The supervisor types it once in the field. Everything downstream is automated handoff.

A
Step
Tablet in the truck
  • ·Pulls the Service Fusion work order
  • ·Line items, hours, materials
  • ·Photos (optional)
  • ·Customer signature on glass
B
Step
Customer email · same day
  • ·Branded PDF
  • ·Work performed at site
  • ·Photos + signature included
  • ·Timestamped, archived
C
Step
Invoice draft for accounting
  • ·Lands in QuickBooks staging
  • ·Steve approves, doesn't transcribe
  • ·Full audit trail
  • ·Job-level profit visible
§ 03

How we'd phase it

Phased delivery means you see value at each step. We don't bet the whole project on the last phase working.

Phase 01

Tablet capture

Timeline
4–6 weeks
Effort
80–120 hours
Outcome

Paper goes away. Customers get same-day PDFs.

  • ·Tablet app supervisors use in the field
  • ·Pulls work order details from Service Fusion
  • ·Captures line items, hours, materials, photos, signature
  • ·Emails PDF to customer; office gets a copy
Phase 02

Office handoff

Timeline
3–4 weeks
Effort
50–80 hours
Outcome

Steve's transcription step is gone. He becomes the approver.

  • ·Default view is a spreadsheet — same mental model, no app to learn
  • ·Every cell editable in place: hours, rates, line items, totals
  • ·Export to Excel anytime — for a single work order, a batch, or a date range
  • ·One-click drill-in to a single work order: photos, signature, notes, full detail
  • ·Approve selected → invoice drafts land in QuickBooks. Full audit trail.
Preview · Steve's dashboard
Working mock · not final design
Pending review · 4
Approved · 12
Sent · 8
Invoiced · 45
Archive
WO #DateCustomerServiceHrsLaborMaterialsSubtotalStatus
WO-2026-014304/14Carrollton Mill Co.Hydro blast · line jetting6.5$1,152.50$165.00$1,317.50Ready
WO-2026-014404/14Southern LogisticsVacuum tank pump · 6,500 gal3.5$752.50$1,255.00$2,007.50Ready
WO-2026-014504/15Greenway SteelLine jetting · 240 LF3.0$495.00$60.00$555.00Edited
WO-2026-014604/15Acme ManufacturingFrac tank rental · 21,000 gal$1,250.00$640.00$1,890.00Unsigned
4 work orders13.0$3,650.00$2,120.00$5,770.00
Preview · interactive · click any row to open detail · or switch views above

Built like Excel because that's how Steve already works. Spreadsheet by default. Drill into a single work order when you need to. Export to Excel any time.

The dashboard isn't the point. Cutting out the manual re-entry is. Automation handles the boring, error-prone copying between sheets. Steve handles what only Steve can — pricing calls, customer judgment, running the company. Less time chasing digits. More time on the parts of the business that need a human at the wheel.

Phase 03

Reporting & follow-up

Timeline
2–3 weeks
Effort
30–50 hours
Outcome

Job-level profitability without building it in Excel.

  • ·Per-supervisor productivity views
  • ·Outstanding invoices, aging, customer service history
  • ·Optional auto-send thank-you email at +7 days
Phase 04

Customer portal (optional)

Timeline
Defer
Effort
TBD
Outcome

Decide later. Not part of the initial commitment.

  • ·Customers log in to see service history
  • ·Download past work orders
  • ·Quote requests pre-filled with prior job data
§ 04

Rough order of magnitude

Honest ranges, not commitments. Firm numbers after we sit down and walk the workflow.

PhaseTimelineEffortOutcome
01 — Tablet capture4–6 weeks80–120 hrsPaper out, customer PDFs in
02 — Office handoff3–4 weeks50–80 hrsNo more transcription for Steve
03 — Reporting2–3 weeks30–50 hrsJob-level profit visibility
04 — Customer portalDeferTBDOptional, post-Phase-3
One-time hardware
  • Tablets (1 per supervisor)$400–800 each
  • MDM enrollment per device$5–10 / month
  • Cellular dataExisting business plan covers
Ongoing platform costs
  • Hosting (Vercel + Postgres)$40–60 / month
  • Resend (transactional email)~$20 / month
  • Service Fusion + QuickBooks APIsExisting plans cover