See the whole job path before you start

Fencify follows the way most fencing businesses already work. An enquiry comes in as a lead. You review the contact and site details, book or record the site visit, build the quote, send the proposal, and wait for the client to accept or decline. Once the quote is accepted, the accepted value and linked details move into a project so delivery, paperwork, payments and handover can be managed from one place.

This guide is most useful for owners, estimators, office staff and operations managers who need a clear mental model before they begin live work. Installers and supervisors will also benefit because the later project stages rely on the quality of the information entered much earlier in the process.

A clean first pass through Fencify usually looks like this:

1. Create or review the lead and make sure the contact, address and job intent are correct.
2. Capture the site visit date and survey notes so the estimator has usable job detail.
3. Create the quote and build out fence runs, gates, materials, labour and pricing.
4. Send the proposal when the commercial detail, documents and payment structure are ready.
5. Convert the accepted quote into a project and manage delivery, files, safety paperwork and variations.
6. Issue invoices or progress claims, record payments, and complete handover when the work is finished.

Start with a lead that can actually be quoted

Leads are the front door of the workflow. They hold the client details, property location, lead source, status, notes and visit timing that the rest of the job depends on. Fencify also supports survey detail on the lead, so the estimator can record what was seen on site instead of relying on memory later.

When you open a lead, focus on the information that will affect price and delivery:

• Contact name, phone, email and service address.
• Lead status so the office can see whether the job is new, contacted, booked for a site visit, quoted, in follow-up, won or lost.
• Visit date and time if the site measure has been scheduled.
• Survey detail such as fence type, height, removal requirements, ground type, slope, access constraints, obstacles and notes.
• Any custom labour or pricing notes that should influence the estimate.

For a fencing contractor, this is where a lot of quoting accuracy is won or lost. If the lead record is vague, the quote builder will still open, but the estimator may need to guess around access, demolition, rock, stairs or tight boundaries. Capture the practical site reality early.

Turn the site visit into a quote that can be defended

Once the lead is ready, create the quote from that lead so the client details and job context stay connected. The quote becomes the commercial record for the work: what you are supplying, how the price was built, what revisions were made, and what the client eventually accepted.

The Quote Builder is where your estimate turns into structured work. Depending on how your account is set up, you may build from fence runs, gate selections, materials, labour allowances and imported visual plan detail. The builder can also pull in survey context from the lead, which helps the pricing stay tied to the measured job rather than a generic template.

As you build, pay attention to these practical checkpoints:

• Make sure the run structure matches the actual site layout, not a rough verbal description.
• Confirm gates, special items and removals are included where required.
• Review totals, margins and GST treatment before the quote leaves draft status.
• Check any split billing or neighbour billing arrangement before sharing the proposal.
• Use revisions carefully so the final accepted version is clear.

If you use Visual Builder, bring that detail back into the quote only after the plan reflects the real fence line. That way the commercial summary and the plan tell the same story.

Send the proposal only when the client-facing record is complete

Sending a quote does more than email a price. In Fencify it creates the public proposal experience that your client reviews. That proposal can show the scope, pricing, staged payments, supporting documents and the acceptance action. Once the quote is sent, its status can progress from draft to sent, then to viewed when the client opens it, and later to accepted or declined.

Before you send, review the quote as a promise you are prepared to deliver:

• Scope and inclusions match what was discussed on site.
• Documents attached to the proposal are the correct ones for this job.
• Deposit, progress and final payment expectations make sense for the contract value.
• Client contact details are correct.
• Any follow-up timing is appropriate for the job and the client.

When the client accepts, Fencify records that acceptance against the quote and can carry the payment structure into the next stage. Where a deposit is part of the acceptance flow, the acceptance process can also feed the project payment schedule and related financial records. If the proposal is declined, the quote status still tells the team where the job finished.

If you need to change a quote after acceptance, review the commercial effect first. Accepted work should stay auditable, and quote changes after signature need extra care.

Move accepted work into a project with the right handover detail

An accepted quote becomes operational work when it is converted to a project. This is the point where Fencify stops being mainly a sales tool and becomes the delivery workspace for the job. The linked quote value, lead details and related plan information are carried forward so the office and field team are working from the same baseline.

At project stage, the team usually manages:

• Install dates and scheduling windows.
• Project files and photos.
• SWMS and supporting site documents.
• BYDA or DBYD records and related plan uploads.
• Variations that change scope, value or timing.
• Purchase orders, goods receiving and supplier follow-through.
• Installer-facing outputs such as job sheets and portal views where used.

Open the project as soon as the sale is real and keep it current as the job progresses. If install dates move, update them. If new site files arrive, attach them. If the crew needs a cleaner field handover, review the job sheet before work starts. Good project hygiene reduces callbacks and internal confusion.

Run delivery with clear records for variations, safety and procurement

Most fencing jobs change once the crew starts or once final measurements are confirmed. That is why the project record matters so much. Variations need to be tracked with their own value and payment state. Safety and site paperwork need to be easy to find. Supplier buying needs to reflect what is actually being installed, not what was assumed at tender stage.

A practical delivery rhythm inside Fencify is:

1. Confirm the install window and crew handoff details.
2. Review the latest quote scope, files and site notes before materials are ordered.
3. Prepare or upload SWMS, BYDA or DBYD information, and other job paperwork relevant to the site.
4. Issue purchase orders from the project when materials need to be bought, then record goods received as stock or deliveries arrive.
5. Record approved variations as soon as scope changes, rather than waiting until final invoicing.
6. Collect sign-off and handover evidence at the end of the job so the close-out record is complete.

Use payment schedules, invoices and payment records together

Once the job is live, Fencify helps you keep the commercial side aligned with the delivery side. Projects can carry a payment schedule with deposit, progress and final stages, and each stage can move through due, issued, pending and paid states as the job advances. That gives the office a cleaner basis for deciding what should be claimed next.

The invoicing area then becomes the list view for money that needs action. It can show draft invoices, sent invoices, paid invoices and cancelled or voided records, along with due dates, reminders and sync status where accounting connections are in use. Record customer payments against the right invoice or project context so the balance, invoice status and payment history stay trustworthy.

Before issuing or recording financial activity, check:

• The project value still matches the latest approved scope.
• The payment stage you are claiming is the correct one.
• Variations that should be billed have been approved and entered.
• The client details and billing arrangement are still correct.
• Any bookkeeping or accounting sync status has been reviewed before you rely on it.

When payments are recorded properly, Fencify updates the financial picture across the project, the invoice and the payment history. That makes overdue follow-up, final claims and end-of-job reporting far easier to trust.

Use Dashboard and Calendar as your daily control points

Once the workflow is in motion, most users stop opening random records and start managing by exception. The dashboard helps with that by surfacing the jobs that need attention first, including upcoming site visits, active installs, quote activity and older quotes that may need follow-up. It is a quick way to decide what the office should act on this morning.

The calendar gives you the schedule view across both sales and operations. Site visits from leads and install dates from projects sit in one place, which helps the team spot clashes, gaps and timing pressure. Use it to keep visits visible, watch installation commitments and adjust dates when the real world changes.

If your team checks the dashboard and calendar daily, the rest of the workflow becomes easier to manage because lead follow-up, quoting pressure and live delivery are visible together rather than being buried inside separate records.

What to check before your first live job

Before you run your first real enquiry through Fencify, make sure your team is following one consistent order of work. The biggest early mistakes are usually process mistakes rather than software mistakes.

• Keep the lead record complete before building the quote.
• Use the quote as the commercial source of truth and avoid side agreements that never make it back into the record.
• Send the proposal only after documents, staged payments and inclusions have been reviewed.
• Convert accepted work promptly so project delivery does not keep running out of the quote screen.
• Enter variations as they happen, not at the end of the month.
• Record payments against the right job and invoice so your balances stay accurate.
• Collect handover and sign-off records before the crew disappears onto the next site.

Your next step is to work through Set up Fencify before sending your first quote so your account defaults, payment settings, business details and customer-facing outputs are ready before you start live quoting.