Project discount app for building materials development
In building materials, separate prices are agreed for large construction projects, often with the manufacturer involved. The agreement starts outside the office: at the contractor, on the building site or in the showroom. Appfront builds an app that lets your field sales team request a project price with the project details attached, and lets the contractor see their project prices when ordering, integrated with your ERP and office software.
What is a project discount app for building materials?
A project discount rarely starts in the office. A field sales rep hears from a contractor that a large project is coming up, or the contractor asks in the showroom whether a better price is possible. Then the project, quantities, duration and often the manufacturer have to be captured before a price can be agreed.
At many merchants, that request goes by phone, email or a scribbled note. Project details reach the office incomplete, manufacturer approval drags on without anyone noticing, and the contractor doesn't know which project number to quote when ordering. So the order goes through at the standard price, and a correction follows later.
We build an app because the agreement starts outside and is used outside. Field sales request the project price with everything attached, the office and manufacturer approve, and the contractor sees their project prices when ordering. For managing terms, durations and per-manufacturer bonus reporting at the office, we have separate software, and the app and that software share the same model.
Application complete
Project, quantities and specification attached.
Visible status
Approval from the office and manufacturer.
Price when ordering
Contractors see their project prices.
How we build your project discount app for building materials
We start with a recent project discount: how the request came in, which details were missing, how long approval took, and how the order was placed. Then we define who does what in the app: the field sales team who submit requests, the office and manufacturer who approve them, and the contractor who orders. We often begin with the request from the field sales team and the approval status, because that is where most time is lost. The project prices for the contractor when ordering follow after that. After that, we keep the app up to date as your terms or systems change.
Details, approval and ordering.
Field sales, office, manufacturer, contractor.
Requesting, approving, ordering.
Go-live, integrations and maintenance.
What a project discount app for building materials actually does
The components below appear in almost every project discount app. Which ones you need depends on your business and your contractors.
Application
With project and specification.
Quantities
Per item and phase.
Approval
Office and manufacturer.
Project number
For the contractor.
Order
At the project price.
Remainder
What is left.
Who we build a project discount app for building materials for
The app is intended for merchants who agree project prices with contractors and installers. The more projects and field sales staff you have, the more it delivers.
Builders' merchants
Many projects. Complete requests matter.
Installation wholesalers
Projects with manufacturers. Speed matters.
Field service
At the contractor's site. Making requests on the spot matters.
Contractors
Ordering at the right price. Matters most.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we make your idea tangible in a single day for €1,150, so you know whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we deduct the cost in full.
View OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about the app for field sales and contractors. For terms, durations and bonus reporting at the office, see our page on project discount software, for field sales in general our page on a field sales app, and for packaging our page on pallet administration. You can read about our approach at building software.
Why Appfront for your project discount app for building materials?
A request made by phone, an approval nobody can see into, and a contractor who doesn't know the project number cost a merchant margin and time spent on corrections. That is what we build around: a complete request from the field, a visible approval, and a project price that actually gets used.
Complete
Request with everything included.
Visible
Status for everyone.
Used
Price at the time of ordering.
Security and privacy in a project discount app for building materials
The app processes data about projects, contractors, price agreements and contacts. A contractor sees only their own projects and prices, a manufacturer only the requests for their items, and every approval is recorded along with who gave it.
The app and the underlying environment run in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. We record the processing in a data processing agreement.
Frequently asked questions about a project discount app for building materials
Questions that builders' merchants ask before getting started.
The software is for the office: managing terms, monitoring durations and quantities, and producing the bonus reporting per manufacturer. The app is for the field: the field sales team requesting a project price and the contractor ordering against it. They can be built together and then share the same model.
Yes. In the app, the field sales employee enters the project, the contractor, the quantities and the duration, and attaches a specification or drawing. The request goes to the office and, where necessary, to the manufacturer, and you can follow the status in the app.
If you want. The manufacturer gets access to the requests for its products and either approves them or makes a counter-proposal. If a manufacturer prefers to work by email, your office can record its answer in the app.
In the app or in your ordering portal, the contractor sees per project which products have a project price, until when, and how much is left. When ordering, they choose the project, so the order reaches the ERP at the right price.
Yes, that is the core of it. Products, contractors and prices come from the ERP, and approved project prices and orders go back to it. Which integration you need depends on your package and is something we look at in the first step.
The project price then expires on the agreed end date or when the quantity runs out. The app shows the field sales team and the contractor when that is coming up, so the price can be extended or closed out in time.
On iOS and Android, on phone or tablet for the field sales team. The contractor can use the same app or a web version, depending on how your contractors order now.
Requesting and using project prices from the building site?
Tell us how project prices are currently requested, who approves them, and how contractors order. We will show you what the app looks like.