How to turn a won job into a plan

What a plan is

A plan is the job laid out in order: what gets done, who does it, how long it takes, and the date you promise the customer.

You do not write it from a blank page. FieldStone reads the estimate the customer signed and drafts the plan from its lines. You check it in four short steps, fix what is off, and start it.

Step by step

1. 1

   Make it a job

   Open the estimate the customer signed. If you have not sent one yet, how to send a proposal comes first. A green line near the top reads “Signed. Make it a job to start the work.” Press Make it a job, then press it again to confirm. The new job opens. It carries the signed proposal, and everyone on the estimate is assigned to it.
   Signed. Make it a job to start the work.Make it a job

   Make Tomas Brandvold’s estimate a job?A job is created with the signed proposal on it, and everyone on the estimate is assigned to it.

   CancelMake it a job
2. 2

   Build the plan

   On the job, the panel at the top of the right side says “This job can run on a plan”. Press Build the plan. FieldStone reads the lines of the estimate. The panel says “Planning…” while it works, and the plan opens by itself when it is ready. You can find the job again any time on the Jobs page. New to jobs? Read how jobs work.
   This job can run on a plan

   Estimate #2318 is accepted. Build the plan and FieldStone takes it from there.Build the plan
3. 3

   Scope: answer what the estimate does not say

   Step 1 of 4 asks only what the estimate left out. It always asks who is getting the materials. If the estimate has no permit line and the work usually needs one, it also asks if you need a permit. Pick an answer for each. Every answer changes the plan: if the customer supplies the materials, the work waits until they are on site, and if you pull a permit, the work waits about a week for the city. Then press Continue. It stays off until every question has an answer. Not now takes you back to the job and keeps the draft.
   1Scope2The work3Who and how long4Dates

   2 things the estimate doesn’t say

   Who is getting the materials?

   We order themMost likelyTomas supplies themSome of each

   Does this need a permit?

   No permitMost likelyYes, we pull itAlready in hand

   Not nowContinue
4. 4

   The work: check the list

   Step 2 groups the estimate’s lines into stretches. Each stretch ends in something you can see: Ready to start, Built, Rough systems inspected, Walls closed, Finishes in, and Ready for handoff. A stretch with only one piece of work is named after that work. FieldStone also adds what every job needs but no estimate lists, like ordering materials, the rough-in inspection, the clean-up and the walk-through with the customer. Those carry the tag “Not on the estimate”. Break up splits one action into smaller parts. Add actionadds your own. The X at the end of a row removes it. Click a stretch’s name to rename it.
   Scope2The work3Who and how long4Dates

   6 stretches, 18 actionsFrom 14 estimate lines · 4 added that the work implies

   Ready to startDone when: Materials ordered, paperwork in, the site protected

   Order materials and confirm the start with TomasNot on the estimateBreak up

   Site survey and drawingsBreak up

   Temporary power and site fenceBreak up

   Add action

   Built5 actions

   Rough systems inspected4 actions

   Walls closed2 actions

   Finishes in2 actions

   Ready for handoff2 actions

   BackContinue
5. 5

   Who and how long

   Step 3 shows every action on one row: who does it, the hours of work, and how many people are on it. The last number on the row is how long it takes on site. Put a second person on it and that time halves. Subs you picked on Sub bids are already on their trades. Press a name to pick someone else: a crew, one or more of your people, or a subcontractor. “Nobody yet” is fine. You can carry on and fill it in later.
   ScopeThe work3Who and how long4Dates

   Who does it, and how long1412 h of work in all

   Foundation and footingsNobody yet68 h24 days

   Frame walls and roofFraming crew170 h210 days

   Rough plumbingKestrel Plumbing51 h16 days

   BackContinue
6. 6

   Dates: pick the start and the promise

   Step 4 is the calendar. Set the day the job starts. Then choose the date to promise the customer: the day the work should finish, or a later one with room for a bad day or two. The later one is marked Recommended. If working Saturdays would bring the date forward, you can choose Weekdays or Saturdays too. Under that is the timeline. Drag a bar to move it, drag its right edge to stretch it, or click it to change it. At the bottom, a list headed Checked tells you what the dates were tested against: nobody is in two places at once, the permit and inspection waits are in, and the dates go around what your people already have on their calendars.
   ScopeThe workWho and how long4Dates

   Mon Mar 8 to Fri Jun 18

   StartsMon Mar 8

   Promise TomasFri Jun 18When the work should finishFri Jul 9Room for a bad day or twoRecommended

   Days workedWeekdaysPromise Fri Jul 9Saturdays tooPromise Sat Jun 19

   CheckedStarts Mon Mar 8 with Dana WhitlowRough-in inspection on Tue Apr 27: City inspectionNobody is in two places at onceGoes around what Dana already has on

   BackLooks right
7. 7

   Start the plan

   Press Looks right. You see the plan in three numbers: Starts, Promised and Work. If something is off, press Back and fix it. If it is right, press Start plan. From then on the list of work and the promised date are no longer rewritten by hand. Changes come from updates as the job goes on. That is the next tutorial: how to run a plan.
   Plan ready for Tomas BrandvoldThree-bedroom house · starts Mon Mar 8

   StartsMon Mar 8

   PromisedFri Jul 9

   Work1412 h

   BackStart plan