Questions about Core Docket
What people ask before they start. If your question is not here, ring us.
Free for a month, no credit card. Every feature included: no tiers, no add-ons, free updates.
What it is
What is Core Docket?
Core Docket is job and docket software for trade businesses whose crew go out and do the work while the office invoices the customer. The crew fill in a digital docket on their phone, the customer signs it on site, and the price is worked out from your own rate card, whether that is per metre, per hole, per hour or per item. The finished docket becomes a draft invoice that the office checks and sends to your accounting suite.
Who is Core Docket for?
Any trade business whose crew go out and do the work while the office invoices the customer, from one person to a crew of any size. It started with concrete cutting, core drilling and sawing, which have some of the hardest pricing in trade work. The office administrator runs it day to day, the crew use it on their phones, and the owner can see every job and price.
Does it work for trades other than concrete cutting?
Yes. Core Docket started with concrete cutting, drilling and sawing, and it works for any trade where the crew do the work on site and the office invoices for it, priced per metre, per hole, per hour, per item or per load. See trade businesses and the industries we work with.
Can it replace our paper docket book?
Yes. We rebuild your paper docket in Core Docket with the same questions, safety checks, photos, signatures and terms, so the crew fill in a docket they already know on their phone, and you can change it yourself later. See the digital docket book and moving off paper docket books.
How is Core Docket different from ServiceM8 or Tradify?
Core Docket prices measured work on the docket from your own rate card, with minimum charges applied automatically, and the signed docket becomes the invoice. Every feature is included in one plan, with no tiers or add-ons. The side-by-side comparisons are on the compare page.
Pricing and invoicing
How does pricing by the metre, hole or hour work?
Your price list is set up in sections, such as sawing or core drilling, each with the options the crew pick (saw type, diameter, depth) and the measurement they enter (metres, depth per 10 mm, holes or hours). The crew pick the work and enter the measurement, and the price comes straight from your rate card. More on the pricing matrix and pricing per metre.
Can Core Docket charge minimums and set-up fees?
Yes. A price can have a "never less than" amount per unit, a docket can have a minimum invoice amount, and a section can carry its own minimum or a set-up fee charged once per docket. See minimum charges and after-hours rates.
Does it handle after-hours and weekend rates?
Yes. A loading or minimum can apply only in certain hours or on certain days, and it is worked out from the job's actual times, so the crew never have to choose it.
Can inverted or suspended slab work be priced as a percentage?
Yes. An option can be priced as another option plus a percentage, for example inverted at standard plus 100%. Change the standard price and the others move with it.
Can different customers have different prices?
Yes. Customers can be put on a price group, and individual prices can be overridden for one customer.
How does a docket become an invoice?
Finishing a docket creates a draft invoice from its priced lines, ready for the office to check, edit and send within minutes. Several dockets for one customer, such as a month of work for one builder, can go on a single invoice. More on concrete cutting invoicing.
Does Core Docket do quotes?
Yes, quotes are included at no extra cost. A quote is built from your price list and priced the same way as the docket. When the customer says yes, the office records it and the quote becomes a booked job with the quoted work on it.
Does Core Docket work with Xero?
Yes. Invoices go to Xero as drafts or approved, with your account codes and GST tax codes, and the signed docket PDF is attached to the invoice in Xero. Customers sync both ways and payment status can be checked back from Xero. Xero and MYOB are connected today, and Core Docket builds the connection to other accounting software where it's possible. See Xero and MYOB.
Does Core Docket work with MYOB?
Yes. Invoices go to MYOB as drafts or approved, with your account codes and GST tax codes, and customers sync both ways. MYOB does not accept the signed docket PDF from us, so with MYOB the docket PDF is not attached to the invoice. Xero and MYOB are connected today, and Core Docket builds the connection to other accounting software where it's possible.
What if we use different accounting software?
Xero and MYOB are connected today. If your business uses other accounting software, Core Docket builds the connection where it's possible. Ring us on 0468 160 029 and tell us what you use.
On site
Does Core Docket work without phone reception?
Pages the crew have already opened can still be read with no signal, and timesheet Start and Stop presses are kept and sent when the phone is back online. A finished docket, with its photos and signature, is kept on the phone and sent the moment signal returns, so the crew submit and move on. More on the crew app.
Is there an app in the App Store or Google Play?
No. Core Docket runs in the phone's browser and can be installed to the home screen, where it opens like any other app. See putting it on a phone.
Can the customer sign on the phone?
Yes. The customer signs on the crew member's phone, and the signed docket becomes a PDF on your letterhead that is emailed automatically when the docket is finished. You choose field by field what the customer sees, so office-only notes stay off their copy.
What if the customer isn't on site to sign?
If your docket includes the option, the crew tick "customer absent" and finish the docket without a signature. The docket still comes through to the office and onto the draft invoice.
How do the crew find out about changes to a job?
Changes show on the crew's phone when they next open or refresh the app. There are no push notifications, so the phone does not buzz when a job is moved.
Does it catch time on site that was never billed?
Yes. At the end of a docket, time on site is compared with the work recorded and any gap is shown while the crew are still there, so standby, travel or clean-up can be added as lines before the docket is signed.
Safety, assets and timesheets
Does Core Docket do SWMS?
Yes. Write a SWMS from a template or upload your own PDF or Word SWMS, and the crew read and sign it on their phone, with each signature tied to the version they read. Safety is included at no extra cost. See SWMS and pre-starts and the SWMS checklist.
Can the crew do pre-starts on their phone?
Yes. Daily and weekly pre-start checks for saws, rigs and utes are done on the phone, with a list of what is due and what was missed, and a failed item raises a fault with its photo. Pre-starts and the asset register are included at no extra cost.
Can Core Docket handle equipment we hire out?
Yes, hire is included at no extra cost. Equipment left at a customer's site, such as a skip bin, an IBC or a generator, goes out on a drop-off docket the customer signs and comes back on a collection docket, and the hire is charged at collection by the day, week or month from your price list. See equipment hire and assets.
Does it do Take 5s and toolbox talks?
Yes, both are included at no extra cost. Take 5 checks are done on the phone before work starts, and toolbox talks record the topic and who attended, with their signatures. Every sign-on, Take 5 and toolbox talk sits in one list you can filter and export.
Does Core Docket do timesheets?
Yes, timesheets are included at no extra cost: the crew press Start and Stop each day or type their times in at the end of the week, and the office approves the week. Approved weeks export as a payroll file (CSV) your bookkeeper imports, and Core Docket never calculates pay rates.
Plans and setting up
How much does Core Docket cost?
Pricing is per person each month, with no separate crew seat, and every feature is included. Ring us on 0468 160 029 and we'll work it out for your team. The first month is free with no credit card.
Are there different plans or tiers?
No. There is one plan and every feature is in it, from dockets, pricing and invoicing to safety, pre-starts, assets, equipment hire, timesheets and quotes.
Do any features cost extra?
No. There are no add-ons: safety, pre-starts, assets, equipment hire, timesheets, quotes, stock and tickets and licences are all included at no extra cost.
Do we get new features?
Yes, as soon as they are ready, and updates are free. New features come to every business on Core Docket without a new plan or an extra charge.
Is there a limit on crew?
No. Core Docket works for one person on their own or a crew of any size, and there is no limit on how many people you add.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The first month is free and no credit card is needed, and we load your price list during that month so you can try it on your own work.
Who loads our price list?
We do. Upload your rate card as a PDF, spreadsheet or photos, or email it to us, and our team turns it into a draft. A person at Core Docket checks every price list before it goes in.
How long does setup take, and what do you set up?
We load your price list, rebuild your docket, set up your logo and letterhead and help you run the first job, at no charge. How long it takes depends on the size of your price list, and we'll give you a time when you ring.
How do I get started?
Ring us on 0468 160 029, or press Get started, answer three questions and leave your details. We set the account up for you and walk you through your first job.
Your data
Where is our data stored?
Your data is stored in Australia: the database, files and backups are in Sydney, and the app runs in Sydney. Some services, such as email delivery, run outside Australia, and they are listed on the security page.
Can we export our data?
Yes, at any time, including when an account is overdue. Reports export as CSV, and a closed account is kept for 90 days. More on the security page.
Who owns the data?
You do. Your dockets, photos, signatures and records belong to your business, and Core Docket holds them only to run the service for you.
Who can see our prices?
You decide. Owner, office and crew roles are starting points, and each person's permissions can be switched individually, for example whether they can see prices or manage invoices.
Is Core Docket an Australian company?
Yes. Core Docket is made by Core Docket Pty Ltd, an Australian company, ABN 88 702 660 197. Read more about us.
Try it free. We'll help you roll it out.
Send us your price list and logo. We set up your rate card, build your docket and letterhead, and get your first crew running. Free for a month, no credit card.