Help and FAQs
Help and FAQs
How to get started, and answers to the questions we're asked most.
Getting started
Your first hour with a new trial
Six steps, in the order most firms take them.
- 1
Start your free trial
At app.thesubcontractordesk.co.uk, choose Start a free trial and enter your name, work email and a password, then confirm your email. 30 days free, for up to 5 users, with no payment details.
- 2
Set up your company
Give your company its name and you become its admin. In Settings, add your company, CIS and VAT details, and your standard payment terms: application day, notice dates, retention and defects period. New orders start from these.
- 3
Invite your users
In Settings, Team and access, save an invitation with each colleague's work email and their role. They create an account with that email, and the invitation is waiting on their home page. Site users and operatives are free.
- 4
Add your first order
Add your main contractors and an order, with its own payment terms and dates. Or import your order list from Excel: save it as CSV and choose it in Settings, Excel.
- 5
Choose where to start
Most firms start with the Commercial desk and the Cash and dashboard desk: applications, payment notices, variations, retentions and cash. Add Tender, Contract, Estimate and Delivery, with weekly work and pay, when you're ready.
- 6
Export or print
Each order's Documents tab prints applications, payment letters, variation quotations and more. Settings, Excel downloads your orders, applications, variations and cash forecast, and files for Xero or Sage.
Trial and billing
How long is the free trial?
30 days, for up to 5 users. No payment details are needed to start.
What happens when the trial ends?
If no plan is in place, your data becomes read only, so you can still see it and download it. After 90 days it is deleted.
Can I pay monthly?
Yes. Plans are monthly, paid in advance, and you can cancel with 30 days' notice. Pay yearly instead and you get two months free.
Who counts as a user?
Office users run the desks: directors, estimators, quantity surveyors and accounts. Site managers and supervisors who record progress, daywork and delays are free, and so are operatives, however many you have.
What does the founding pilot cost?
Nothing for the first 6 months. After that, founding firms keep 40% off for as long as they subscribe. Join the pilot.
Software vs Excel
Is it software or Excel workbooks?
It's online software. There are no workbooks to buy and keep: you subscribe, and your data is always yours to export.
Can I bring in my spreadsheets?
Yes. Order lists and programme activities import from Excel (saved as CSV). For rates and anything else, send us your spreadsheet and we'll help you set it up.
Can I still use Excel?
Yes. Export any screen to Excel whenever you want, and pay runs and invoices for Xero or Sage.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It runs in the web browser on a computer, tablet or phone. Operatives send their week from their phone, even with no signal, and it sends when they're back in range.
Your data and security
Where is our data kept?
In the UK, in Google Cloud's London region. Each company's data is separate, and only the users you invite can see it. Trust and security has the detail.
Who can see what?
Admins choose each user's role: admin, editor, site user, viewer or operative. Operatives see only their own weeks and pay.
What happens to our data if we stop?
You can export everything before you cancel. After a plan ends your data stays read only for 90 days so you can download it, then it's deleted. We delete it sooner if you ask.
We have a supplier questionnaire. Can you help?
Yes. If you need our security answers for a supplier questionnaire, ask us.
Using the tools
Do our main contractors need to sign up?
No. The desk is yours. Main contractors receive your applications and invoices as they do now.
Which trades is it for?
Any trade, supply and fix, labour only, or both. Price by measured rates, a price per plot and stage, or a lump sum.
Does it work out CIS and the reverse charge?
Yes. CIS is worked out on every pay run from each operative's verified status, and the domestic reverse charge is shown on every invoice that needs it.
Does it work with Xero or Sage?
It exports pay runs and sales invoices as files for Xero or Sage.
Is it legal or tax advice?
No. It works out dates and amounts from the terms and figures you enter, and reminds you of them. Check the terms of each order, and take advice before relying on a payment date, notice or right such as suspension.
Getting help
How do I get help?
Email hello@thesubcontractordesk.co.uk. If you'd like a walkthrough, book a demo.
Can you help us get set up?
Yes. Send us your spreadsheets and we'll help you bring your rates, measurements and orders in.
Can I see it before I sign up?
Yes. Book a demo for a 20-minute walkthrough on a video call.