Project discount software for building materials merchants
Appfront builds software that helps building materials merchants manage project discounts: for each construction project, the pricing agreement with the contractor, the associated manufacturer terms, the duration and the quantities, and the assurance that every order under that project receives the correct price and that no other order can claim that price. Along with the manufacturer's bonus, which you can claim afterwards because orders are tallied per project.
What is project discount software for the building materials trade?
Project discount software records, for each construction project, what has been agreed: with which contractor, for which items or product groups, at which price or discount, for which quantity and until when. The manufacturer agreement is linked to this: which purchase condition or bonus applies to this project. Every order placed under the project number automatically receives the project price; an order without a project number receives the standard price, even if it is the same customer.
Without such a system, the project price sits in a quote, the sales rep applies it manually to every order, and the contractor uses the discount for a different job six months later. At year end the manufacturer asks for volumes per project for the bonus, and nobody can extract them from the ERP. And a project condition that has expired often carries on in practice because nobody switched it off.
We build bespoke solutions because project terms work differently from one merchant to another. One agrees net prices, another percentage discounts off gross, a third volume tiers. Manufacturer terms arrive in every format. And the ERP processing the orders is what it is. The software should hold the agreements and tell the ERP which price applies, not replace the ERP.
Project as a file
Contractor, site address, items, price or discount, quantity, duration and the manufacturer condition, all in one place. A single location where the agreement lives, with the quote attached.
Price only under the project
An order receives the project price only with the correct project number, within the duration and within the quantity. Outside those limits, the standard price applies.
Bonus substantiated
Volumes per project, per manufacturer and per period drawn from the orders, as evidence for the bonus or rebate you claim from the manufacturer.
How we build your project discount software for the building materials trade
We start with the agreements as they currently appear in quotes and emails, and with how the ERP applies prices. That is where the work lies.
How project terms are currently recorded, how the sales team applies them, which forms exist, and how the ERP handles prices. We also review last year's bonus settlement.
For each project: the contractor, the items, the pricing form, the quantity, the duration and the manufacturer terms, with the quote and the manufacturer's confirmation attached.
The ERP applies the project price to each order when the project number, duration and quantity match. Deviations go onto a list for the sales team.
Usage per project and per manufacturer as a report for the bonus claim, with alerts when terms are about to expire. After that, we take over maintenance of the software.
What project discount software for the building materials trade does in practice
The components below feature in almost every builders' merchant that works with project terms. Which ones you need depends on the number of projects and on your ERP.
Project file
Contractor, site address, contact person, items, pricing form, quantity, duration, attachments and a history of changes.
Pricing forms
Net price, discount off gross, quantity tiers, per item or per group, depending on what has been agreed.
Manufacturer terms
For each project, the manufacturer's purchase terms or bonus, with the confirmation attached and the duration recorded.
Price application
The ERP applies the project price when the project number, duration and quantity match; otherwise the standard price applies, with a notification.
Monitoring
Alerts when terms are expiring, when a quantity allowance is used up, and when an order falls outside the agreement.
Bonus report
Usage by project, manufacturer and period taken from orders, as evidence for the claim and as a check on the manufacturer's settlement.
Who we build project discount software for the building materials trade for
The software is intended for merchants where project terms make up a large share of revenue and where margin is currently leaking through discounts that are applied for too long or too broadly.
Building materials merchants
Contractors with several jobs running at once, each with their own terms. The project number on the order keeps the discount tied to the right job.
Specialist wholesalers
Insulation, roofing, installation materials: manufacturers with project terms and bonuses settled per project. The bonus report is where the money is.
Merchants with multiple branches
A project collecting from several branches under the same terms. The file is central, and the order can be placed anywhere.
Merchants with their own webshop
Contractors ordering online under their project. The project price in the webshop, following the same rules as at the counter.
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This page covers project terms. For the wider operations of a building materials trade, see our page on timber merchant software, and for the order process itself, our page on a custom order management system. You can read about our approach at software development.
Why Appfront for your project discount software for the building materials trade?
Project discounts are a margin tool that only works when applied solely where they belong. That is what we build on.
The ERP keeps handling the order
We build the layer that tells the ERP which price applies, using the project number as the key. Your order process stays the same; the price is now correct.
Every pricing form you use
Net, discount, tiers, per item or per group. The software follows the agreement as it was made, not a default.
Bonuses with evidence
The sales from the orders themselves. That is what the manufacturer accepts, and what you currently cannot get out of the ERP.
Security and privacy in project discount software for the building materials trade
Project terms and manufacturer terms are commercially sensitive. Access is set by role: sales sees the projects of its own customers, purchasing sees the manufacturer terms, and management sees everything. Every change to a term is logged with the user and time.
A term that has been applied to orders is not changed retrospectively; an amendment takes effect from the date of change, and the previous version is kept. So if a dispute arises with a contractor or a manufacturer, you can check which agreement applied when.
Frequently asked questions about project discount software for the building materials trade
Questions that building materials merchants ask before getting started.
It records the price agreement with the contractor and the manufacturer's terms for each building project, including duration and volume, and ensures the ERP applies the project price only to orders under that project. Expiring terms are flagged, and sales per project provide the evidence for the manufacturer's bonus.
By making the project number a condition: only an order with the correct project number, within the term and within the volume, receives the project price. An order from the same contractor without a project number receives the standard price, and the salesperson sees a warning if someone attempts otherwise.
Yes, and with volume tiers, per article or per article group. The price structure is recorded per project exactly as agreed, and the ERP receives the result. You do not need to change how you agree prices to suit the software.
Purchasing records the term or bonus per project, with the manufacturer's confirmation attached and the duration noted. When an order is placed under the project, the sales count towards that term, so the bonus report at the end of the period comes straight from the orders.
Yes, if the webshop has an integration. A contractor who logs in and selects his project sees the project price, applying the same rules as at the counter. Without a project selection, he sees his standard price.
The software notifies sales and purchasing well in advance, so you can renew or close it. After the end date, the ERP no longer applies the project price; any order after that receives the standard price with a notification, rather than silently keeping the old discount.
Yes, that is the starting point. The ERP continues to process the orders; the software supplies the applicable price for each order, with the project number as the key. We connect to the package you use.
Are your project terms under control?
Tell us how many projects you have running at once, which ERP you use, and how the bonus settlement with manufacturers currently works. We will show you what the project file looks like and what it makes visible in terms of margin and bonus.