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Civil construction configuration

Construction purchase order software that codes every order to the job

Safock configures Bollard for civil contractors buying materials and plant across live jobsites. Every requisition carries a project and cost code, and every invoice is checked against what the site actually accepted.

What is construction purchase order software?

Construction purchase order software manages buying from the site request to the supplier invoice. A foreman requests materials against a project and cost code, a project manager approves, the purchase order fixes the price and delivery site, the site records what arrived, and the invoice is matched against both before the contractor pays.

Civil construction, as configured

The same loop, in civil construction terms.

Civil contractors ordering for bridges, rail and roadworks across live jobsites.

Sites are called
Jobsites, such as Pier 14
Requests come from
site foreman
First sign-off
Project manager
Stock is held at
equipment yard
The request is a
Site material requisition (SMR)

Approval chain

Project manager, then Commercial director.

Rules written in

  • Every request coded to a project and cost code
  • Plant hire tracked from on-hire to off-hire
  • Bulk deliveries checked against weighbridge tickets
A sample site material requisition, SMR-2026-0042

SiteJobsite 310, Metro Rail Station

Items16 mm rebar, curing compound

Total$14,500

RouteProject manager, then Commercial director

How is Bollard configured for civil contractors?

Bollard is configured around jobsites, an equipment yard and the people who sign for spend. A site foreman raises a site material requisition, the project manager approves it, and the commercial director signs off anything above the project manager's limit. Goods come from a supplier on a purchase order or from the yard as a transfer.

Bollard takes each request from the foreman through approval, the purchase order, receipt on site and the invoice match. Planning, scheduling and estimating stay in the construction tools you already use. This is a configuration Safock sets up for contractors who buy across live sites, mapped to your terms during discovery.

What is a site material requisition?

A site material requisition is the foreman's request for materials, listing items, quantities, a required date, the project and the cost code. In Bollard, the foreman picks items approved for that jobsite from the item master, and Bollard estimates the total from item-master costs.

The approval route shows before the requisition is sent, so the foreman knows whether it stops with the project manager or goes on to the commercial director. Each requisition also carries a reason, so the project manager sees why the materials are needed as well as what they cost. A draft takes under a minute.

How do you code purchase orders to projects and cost codes?

Code them at the request, before anything is ordered. Every requisition is coded to a project and cost code, and the code carries through to the purchase order, the receipt and the invoice. Nobody has to allocate the spend after the fact. A cost report by project then reads from the same records finance pays from.

The dashboard shows committed value at each stage from request to payment, so a commercial team can see what a project has on order before the invoices arrive. The assistant answers questions such as which invoices failed the match this month, limited to what each person's role may see.

How do you stop paying for plant hire after it goes off-hire?

Track each hire from on-hire to off-hire against the order that raised it. In this configuration, plant hire is ordered at its agreed rate, and the on-hire and off-hire dates are recorded against the hire. When the hire company's invoice arrives, finance can check the billed period against the recorded off-hire date.

Hire that keeps billing after the machine has gone back is the cost this rule is aimed at. A recorded off-hire date gives the commercial team a fixed point to hold the invoice against.

How are bulk deliveries checked against weighbridge tickets?

The site records the delivered quantity from the weighbridge ticket when it receives the load. Aggregate, asphalt and other bulk materials are billed by weight, so the receipt holds the weighed tonnage against the purchase order line.

When the supplier's invoice is entered, the three-way match compares it with the order price and the accepted quantity on each line. An invoice for more tonnes than the tickets support fails on quantity, and payment cannot be raised until it matches.

How does the equipment yard supply each jobsite?

The equipment yard works as the central store. It holds live balances with reorder points and sends stock to jobsites as transfers, dispatched at the yard and confirmed by the site when it arrives.

Each jobsite sees only its own records, enforced with row-level security in the database. Head office and finance see every site, and the append-only audit trail shows every change to every order with before and after values.

Questions

Common questions.

What is the difference between a material requisition and a purchase order?

A material requisition is an internal request from site asking for materials to be bought. A purchase order is the document sent to the supplier once that request is approved, carrying the agreed price, terms and delivery site. The requisition asks for permission to spend, and the purchase order commits the contractor to the supplier.

Is Bollard a construction project management tool?

No. Bollard handles procurement and stock for contractors: site material requisitions, approvals, purchase orders, receiving, invoice matching, plant hire tracking and transfers from the equipment yard. Programme planning and estimating stay in your project tools. What connects between them is scoped on the discovery call, where Safock spells out what works out of the box.

How does three-way matching work in construction?

Three-way matching compares the purchase order, the site's delivery record and the supplier invoice, line by line. If the invoice price is above the order price, it fails on value. If it bills for more than the site accepted, such as more tonnes than the weighbridge tickets show, it fails on quantity. Only a matched invoice can be paid.

Can project managers approve orders from site?

Yes. The project manager sees the full requisition on one screen, on a phone or at a desk, with items, quantities, estimated total, project and cost code. They approve or reject in one click. A rejection needs a remark, and every decision is written to the audit log.

Can each jobsite only see its own orders?

Yes. Each jobsite sees only its own requisitions, orders, receipts and stock, enforced with row-level security in the database rather than hidden in the interface. Head office and finance see every site. That keeps one project's commercial details away from another site's team while the business keeps a full view.

How long does it take to set up construction purchase order software?

With Bollard, the first jobsite is live in about two weeks. The first three days cover discovery and mapping your terms, days four to seven import the catalog and suppliers, and a pilot jobsite runs real orders by day fourteen. Other sites follow once the pilot is working.

See Bollard set up for your operation.

Tell us how you buy and store today. We'll walk you through Bollard configured with your sites, roles and approval rules.

Book a demo
support@safock.com