Projects

Since this video: each project now has a Schedule tab: tasks and milestones on a chart, each starting after the tasks it follows, the critical path, a saved plan and templates. Clients see what's coming up on their portal, and subs see their dates.

Every won job becomes a project. This video covers the Projects board and its views, the project page and its stages, the crew, photos and documents, and planning a route.

The board

Open Production, then Projects. A deal becomes a project by itself when it's won. Jobs still at Handoff stay off the board until their handoff is done. Board shows a lane for each stage. Use Lanes to group them by location or by project manager instead.

Cards

Each card shows the client, the job's dates on a bar, its stage, and what it needs: materials to order, late deliveries, money due to the sub, or change orders to sign. Drag a card to the next lane to move the job.

Table, schedule and map

Table gives a row per job, with the stage and next step, the dates, the project manager and the contract. Change the stage, dates or manager right in the row, or click a row to open it in place. Schedule lays out the week by project manager and sub: drag a bar to move a job's dates. Map puts every job on a map.

New project

To open a project by hand, click New project. Pick a won deal that has none yet, or choose Without a deal and type the client's name and what the job is. Then click Open the project.

The project page

Across the top of a project are Change stage, Assign crew, Change order, Email client, Team chat and Deal. Project progress shows the stages as steps, and tiles show the contract, the materials, the crew, service calls and photos. Click a tile to jump to its tab.

Stages and checks

For a kitchen and bath company, the stages are Demolition and debris removal, Preparation, Installation, Hardware, fixtures and touch-ups, and the Walkthrough, punch list and final payment. Remodelers see framing and finishes, and other trades see their own. The Checklist box shows the checks to tick for the stage the job is in.

Moving a stage

To move the job forward, click Change stage, or a step. ECHOPS first asks the checks for the stage you're finishing: yes, no or not applicable. A no needs a note on what's still open. Open Tell the client to send a short update by email or text, with up to six photos. Then click Confirm and move.

Crew and labor

Assign crew puts a sub on the job's labor sheet, and the deal's chat hears the job, the address, the start and the scope, never the price. The Crew and labor tab shows the sub's labor and payments, and Your crews shows your own people's hours: quoted, booked and logged.

Photos and documents

On Photos and videos, drop files in, or click Take a photo or Record a video on your phone. On the Job tab, Documents sorts the job's files into Contract, Drawings, Renders and selections, Permits and Other, with the crew's final spec sheet pinned on top.

Chat and notes

Chat and notes holds the deal's chat, where the crew and the office talk about the job, and Notes and history, with every stage change, gate, crew and order.

Route planning

Out on the road? Click Plan a route. Pick where you start, tick the jobs, add stops like a supplier's branch, and click Plan the route to get the stops in order, with miles and drive times. Send the day's plan messages the driver, with tasks to tick at each stop.

Answer the checks honestly at every stage, and they become the job's record, step by step. Next: Jobs and service plans.