From quote Excel to automated job cards in 14 weeks.
A Singapore CNC precision engineering shop replaces a fragmented quote spreadsheet and paper job travellers with a connected job management system — quote to invoice, no rekeying.
What changed in the actual operating flow
Each case is about the workflow surface that moved, not a generic technology implementation.
Where they were.
The shop ran quoting on a shared Excel workbook. Estimates were manual: material costs from a pricing sheet, machine time from memory, subcon fees from the buyer's email folder.
When a job was accepted, someone retyped the quote into a Word job traveller. Changes — engineering updates, material substitutions, subcon delays — were tracked by handwriting on the printed card.
At job close, actual cost vs estimated was never formally compared. The owner suspected margin erosion on complex jobs but could not prove it or trace the cause.
Three of the company's largest customers had started requesting InvoiceNow-compatible invoices. The existing system had no path to PEPPOL e-invoicing without a full rebuild.
The system.
- A job management system covering the full quote-to-invoice loop: quote builder, job creation from accepted quote (no rekeying), work order routing, subcon tracking, goods receipt, and final invoice generation.
- A quote builder that pre-populates material costs from a live price list, calculates machine time from user-entered estimates, and includes subcon fee lines with supplier reference.
- Job cards generated from the accepted quote — production staff scan a QR code on the job card to log time start and end. Actual vs estimated time comparison is automatic.
- Subcon tracking: when parts leave the shop for heat treatment or surface finishing, the operator logs the dispatch. Open subcon items appear on a dashboard. Return and quality check are logged when the parts arrive back.
- PEPPOL e-invoicing via InvoiceNow: invoices generated from job close data, submitted to the access point automatically. All three requesting customers receive PEPPOL invoices on day one.
What changed in the numbers.
What changed day-to-day.
The owner stopped guessing margin. Every job now closes with an actual vs estimated cost report — the data that drives better quoting next time. The senior estimator stopped being the only person who could quote; junior staff can use the system for standard jobs. The buyer stopped managing subcon by email.
“The first month after go-live, we found three job types where we had been underquoting by 15-25% consistently. The system paid for itself in the next batch of those jobs.”
Fourteen-week build. Paid discovery produced the scope document and EDG application brief. EDG grant covered 50% of qualifying costs.
If your quoting is a memory exercise and your job costs are a mystery until month-end, talk to us about a job management system built for your shop.
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