Solutions · Projects & multi-phase jobs
Break a project into phases, schedule crews and subcontractors against each one, quote every change order before the work is done, and invoice as each phase closes. When the last phase is signed off, the equipment becomes a serviceable asset, not a forgotten PDF.
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Phase 2 complete
Rough-in signed off · progress invoice ready
What it is
A multi-phase project is a job that runs over weeks or months, in stages that depend on each other, with more than one crew and often a subcontractor or two. Commercial HVAC changeouts, electrical tenant improvements, sprinkler retrofits, solar and EV charger installations, fibre builds and elevator modernisations all follow this shape: survey, design and permit, rough-in, equipment set, trim-out, inspection, commissioning, hand-over. Unlike a service call, a project is billed progressively, scope changes along the way, and the customer expects to see what has been done before they pay for it.
Service contractors usually run projects in whatever tool they already have, which means a spreadsheet for the schedule, a folder of drawings, change orders agreed on the phone and an invoice built at the end from memory. The costs are predictable: change orders that never get billed, crews that arrive before the equipment does, subcontractors nobody can see, and an invoice the general contractor disputes because the schedule of values does not match what was signed. The project's final insult is that the installed equipment never makes it into the service side of the business.
FSM Flow treats a project as a group of linked work orders, one per phase, under a single customer and site with shared documents. Each phase is scheduled on the same board as service work, so dispatch sees the crew days it consumes. Change orders are quotes with line items, approved before the work proceeds. Each completed phase generates its own invoice from the approved amounts. At hand-over, the equipment installed is created as an asset with its serial numbers and warranty dates, ready for a maintenance agreement.
56%
Of the largest North American security integrators' revenue comes from system sales and installation, the project side of the business (2026)
Source: SDM Magazine, 2026 Top Systems Integrators
5–9x
EBITDA multiples paid for fire and life safety operators with a recurring-service mix, versus 3–5x for project-only installers (2026)
Source: CT Acquisitions, PE in Fire & Life Safety 2026
77%
Of construction firms report hard-to-fill craft positions, making crew time the scarcest resource on any project (2026)
Source: The Roofing Brief, 2026 Roofing Contractor Industry Report
47.5 days
Median solar permit cycle under traditional processes, versus 33 days where SolarAPP+ is adopted; permit gates set the project timeline
Source: NREL SolarAPP+ review, via Rework
The lifecycle
From the signed proposal to the first maintenance visit, each phase is a record with a schedule, a crew, a cost and an invoice.
- Step 1
Proposal built in phases
The quote is structured by phase, with line items, options and an expiry date. Drawings, the scope letter and permit applications are attached to the quote so they travel with the project.
- Step 2
Project record created
On approval, FSM Flow creates one work order per phase under the customer and site, each with its own status, priority, documents and audit trail. The whole set is visible from the customer profile.
- Step 3
Crews and subcontractors scheduled
Phases are placed on the drag-and-drop scheduler as multi-day blocks. AI technician matching proposes crews by skill and proximity; subcontractors are given a restricted role so they see only their own assignments.
- Step 4
Materials staged before the crew
Equipment and parts are linked to the phase they belong to, reserved from the warehouse, and low-stock alerts fire early enough to order. A phase does not go green on the board until its materials are in.
- Step 5
Daily progress captured on site
Crew leaders complete the phase checklist on the mobile app, record hours, attach progress photos and note site conditions, offline if the building has no signal. Everything lands on the work order.
- Step 6
Change orders quoted and approved
Extra scope becomes a new quote with its own line items, attached to the project. Nothing is installed until the customer or general contractor approves it, so nothing is argued about later.
- Step 7
Phase closed, progress invoice generated
When a phase is marked complete, its invoice is generated in one click from the approved quote and change orders, on a template that carries the schedule-of-values detail the customer expects.
- Step 8
Hand-over to service
At commissioning the installed equipment is created as assets with serial numbers, install date and warranty terms. A maintenance agreement is offered while the customer still has the install crew's number.
What goes wrong
Rarely on the quote. Usually in the weeks between phases, where scope moves and nobody writes it down.
The project schedule lives in a spreadsheet nobody else can see.
Phases are work orders on the same scheduler as service calls, so dispatch sees exactly which crews and days the project consumes and can plan reactive work around it.
See how it worksChange orders are agreed on site and never billed.
Extra scope is raised as a quote with line items on the mobile app, sent for approval before the work proceeds, and attached to the project so it flows into the next progress invoice.
See how it worksCrews arrive before the equipment does.
Parts and equipment are linked to each phase and reserved from the warehouse; low-stock alerts and the materials status on the work order stop a crew being dispatched to an empty site.
See how it worksSubcontractors are invisible until they invoice you.
Subcontractor crews are assigned phases under a restricted role, complete the same checklists and photos on the mobile app, and their hours and materials land on the work order.
See how it worksProgress invoices go out late and get disputed.
Each completed phase generates its invoice in one click from the approved quote and change orders, on a customisable template that shows the schedule of values and what has been billed to date.
See how it worksThe project ends and the equipment disappears.
Commissioning creates each installed unit as an asset with serial, install date and warranty, linked to the site. The maintenance agreement offer is a workflow step, not an afterthought.
See how it works
Across the trades
The phases differ; the problems of scope, crews and billing do not.
Electrical
Commercial tenant-improvement work run as rough-in, trim-out and inspection phases, billed through pay applications rather than one-off invoices.
HVAC
A rooftop unit or chiller replacement with a crane day, a controls phase and a commissioning visit, each on its own date and invoice.
Plumbing
A whole-building repipe or new-build rough-in and finish, with inspections between phases and fixtures staged per floor.
Fire protection & life safety
A sprinkler retrofit from design and AHJ submittal through pipe, heads and the witnessed acceptance test.
Solar & battery storage
Site survey, stamped plan set, permit, racking and modules, inspection and permission to operate, all gated by outside parties.
EV charging
A DC fast charger site: switchgear and transformer pad, trenching and conduit, charger set, commissioning and network onboarding.
Telecom & fibre
A fibre build with outside-plant construction, splicing and as-builts, then a hand-off to drop installs and trouble tickets.
Security & low-voltage
An access control and CCTV rollout across several buildings, with subcontracted cabling and a programming phase at the end.
Elevator & escalator
A modernisation project with controller, machine and fixture phases, change orders and retention held until final inspection.
Smart home & AV integration
A design-to-install integration project: pre-wire, rack build, device trim-out and programming, followed by a support plan.
In FSM Flow
Projects touch quoting, scheduling, inventory, the mobile app and invoicing, so FSM Flow connects them rather than adding a separate module.
Phased work orders
One work order per phase under a single customer and site, each with status, priority, documents and a full audit trail.
- Shared drawings, permits and scope letters
- Phase dependencies visible on the board
- Customer-level view of the whole project
Crew and multi-day scheduling
Drag multi-day blocks onto the day, week or month view; AI matching proposes crews by skill and proximity.
- Non-consecutive phase days
- Unassigned pool for unplanned phases
- Service work scheduled around project days
Change orders as quotes
Scope changes are quotes with line items and expiry, raised on site and sent for approval before work continues.
- Attached to the project record
- Approved amounts flow to the next invoice
- Change-order capture rate on the dashboard
Materials by phase
Equipment and parts linked to the phase that needs them, with warehouse stock, reservations and low-stock alerts.
- Serial numbers captured at install
- Parts cost recorded against the phase
- Tools and equipment checked out to crews
Site progress on mobile
Crew leaders complete phase checklists, record hours and attach photos offline; document intelligence reads uploaded delivery notes and permits.
- Daily photos per phase
- Checklists per job type
- AI translation for multilingual crews
Project reporting
Estimated versus recorded hours and materials per phase, billed-to-date, backlog and change-order capture, built with the report builder or asked of the AI assistant.
- Margin by phase and by project
- Open phases past their planned date
- Export for the accountant
Pricing & billing
Progressive, by agreement, and with every change documented. FSM Flow generates the invoice at each step from the approved amounts.
Deposit and phase invoices
A deposit on approval, then an invoice as each phase is completed. The invoice is generated from the phase's approved quote lines, so the amounts match the signed proposal.
Schedule-of-values progress billing
For commercial work, the invoice template carries the schedule of values, work completed this period and billed to date, which is the detail a general contractor checks before paying.
Change orders
Each approved change order is its own quote attached to the project and included on the next progress invoice, with the customer's approval recorded.
Time-and-materials phases
Investigative or open-ended phases are billed from recorded hours and parts linked to the work order, with the customer's rate sheet applied.
Retention
Where the contract withholds a percentage until final acceptance, the retained amount is shown as a separate line on each invoice and released on the final invoice.
Subcontractor costs
Subcontractor hours and materials recorded on the phase give the real cost of the work, so margin per phase is known before the final invoice goes out.
Numbers worth watching
Available as dashboard widgets, reports or a question to the AI assistant.
Gross margin versus bid
Recorded hours and materials per phase against the quoted amount. The earliest honest signal that a project is drifting.
Change-order capture rate
Approved change orders as a share of extra work performed. Low capture means crews are doing unpaid scope.
Phases completed on planned date
Slipping phases consume crew days that were sold to someone else; the board shows which projects are late.
Days from phase completion to invoice
Every day between a phase closing and its invoice is working capital lent to the customer. One-click invoicing should bring this near zero.
Backlog in crew-days
Approved phases not yet scheduled, expressed in the resource you are short of. Drives hiring and subcontracting decisions.
Hand-over to agreement rate
Projects that end with a maintenance agreement. The step that turns a one-off install into a service account.
Recurring-mix operators earn 5–9x EBITDA vs 3–5x project-only (CT Acquisitions 2026)
What is a multi-phase project in field service?
How does FSM Flow structure a project?
Does FSM Flow support progress billing?
How are change orders handled?
Can subcontractors work in FSM Flow?
What happens at hand-over?
Does FSM Flow do job costing?
Keep exploring
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