Devia
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Trade - Builder

Quote and invoice software for builders and masons

An opening in a load-bearing wall, a slab to pour, render to redo. You dictate dimensions and items on site: Devia writes the building quote with your quantities, your rates per m² and rubble removal.

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The problem

What wastes time for builders

Three situations you will recognise if you price building jobs yourself.

  • Long quotes, so they get postponed

    A building job is structure, materials, plant hire and waste. Twenty lines to write cleanly - so the quote waits for the weekend, and the client waits with it.

  • Quantities noted on a scrap of paper

    Square metres of screed, cubic metres of concrete, linear metres of lintel: measured on site, copied at night. One mistyped figure on a concrete volume and the job's margin disappears.

  • Items forgotten at pricing

    Propping, skip, rubble removal, floor protection: these items bill badly when they were missing from the quote. They then become a loss, or an awkward conversation with the client.

The method

A building quote in three steps, without going back to the office

The quote happens when every detail is still fresh: on site, not at night.

  1. Step 1

    You dictate on site

    From your phone, describe the job like you would to the client. No form, no dropdown.

  2. Step 2

    Devia structures and prices

    Each service becomes a line with quantity, unit and the price from your catalogue. Nothing invented: your rates.

  3. Step 3

    You review and send

    Adjust if needed; the PDF is generated in your brand colours and sent to the client. The invoice follows without retyping.

Concrete example

What a building quote looks like with Devia

Opening between kitchen and living room in a 1970s house, with render repair and waste removal.

building quote - sample

Generated by voice

Load-bearing wall opening 2.40 m

Propping, cutting and steel I-beam lintel

£1280.00

Reveal repair and finishing render

Making good, dubbing-out render, sanding - 6 m²

£420.00

Floor and access protection

Sheeting, protection film, end-of-job clean

£95.00

Rubble removal

8 m³ skip and licensed tip

£310.00

Total excl. VAT
£2105.00
VAT
£421.00 (20 %)
Total incl. VAT
£2526.00

Amounts are illustrative. In Devia, every line is priced with your rates: the AI never sets a price for you.

Your trade

Devia knows building vocabulary

You speak like on site, not like to software. Labels come out correctly on the document the client reads.

Recognised building services
  • Opening a load-bearing wall with propping and lintel
  • Pouring a concrete slab and laying screed
  • Building walls in block, brick or poured concrete
  • Applying and repairing façade render
  • Creating a terrace, threshold and outdoor stair
  • Underpinning and crack repair
  • Reinforcement, formwork and foundations
  • Demolition, rubble removal and making good
Site terms understood from dictation
  • blockwork
  • screed
  • rebar
  • formwork
  • render
  • lintel
  • m3 of concrete
  • rubble removal

These terms are prioritised during structuring: Devia knows it is a unit, a material or a service - not a misheard word. The list grows with your own catalogue as you quote.

VAT

Which VAT rate on building work?

The rate is chosen line by line in Devia - essential when a job mixes several types of work.

  • 20 %

    Most building repair, maintenance and installation work.

  • 5 %

    Qualifying energy-saving materials and some residential energy work.

  • 0 %

    Certain new-build and zero-rated supplies, when they apply.

VAT depends on the nature of the work and your VAT registration. If in doubt, check with your accountant: Devia applies the rate you choose, line by line.

Compliance

Required mentions on a building quote

A building quote should identify your business (including Companies House and VAT numbers where relevant), the client, the job address, each line with quantities, VAT and totals. Devia fills this from your company profile.

  • Date and validity period

    Issue date and the period during which the price remains guaranteed.

  • Company identity

    Legal name, address, Companies House number, legal form and VAT number if registered.

  • Client identity and job address

    Client name and address, and the works address if it differs.

  • Itemised breakdown

    Each service and material with quantity, unit and unit price excl. VAT.

  • Labour and call-out

    Hourly rate or labour lump sum, and call-out fees where applicable.

  • Totals and VAT

    Overall total excl. VAT, VAT rate and amount per line, total incl. VAT due.

  • Professional insurance

    Insurer details, policy reference and geographic cover.

  • Client signature

    The wording “quote received before work starts”, date and signature.

A written quote is not always a legal requirement in the UK, but it is the document that protects you if the client disputes the price. Devia produces it before you start.

« I no longer retype quantities at night. I talk as I would to the client, the AI sorts the items, and waste removal is never forgotten again. »
Thomas M. - Builder, Birmingham

FAQ

Frequent questions from builders

Answers to the questions that come up most often before getting started.

How do I produce a building quote with the right quantities?

You dictate the dimensions taken on site - “24 m² slab, 5 cm screed, 2.40 m opening” - and Devia creates the lines with the right units, m², m³ or linear metre, priced with your rates. No more manual copy, so no more copy errors.

How do I price a load-bearing wall opening?

Break it down: propping, cutting, supply and fitting of the lintel, reveal repair, finishing render, waste. Each visible item on the quote is an item the client understands and that you bill - instead of burying it in a lump sum.

Can I invoice deposits and progress claims?

Yes. Once the quote is accepted, the invoice is created from the same document, without retyping. You manage deposits, progress invoices and reminders, and you export turnover reports for your filings.

How do I stop forgetting rubble removal on a quote?

Put the skip and the tip in your catalogue once: the line becomes recallable with a word on dictation. It is the item most often forgotten in building work, and the one that costs most when it is.

Which VAT rate on building work?

Most building work is standard-rated at 20 %. A reduced 5 % rate can apply to qualifying energy-saving materials, and 0 % to certain new-build supplies. In Devia the rate is set per line so mixed jobs stay on a single quote.

Is building vocabulary recognised on dictation?

Yes: block, screed, reinforcement, poured concrete, render, lintel, cubic metre of concrete, rubble removal. You speak as you would on site and the labels arrive correctly on the document given to the client.

Other trades

Devia adapts to your trade

Not a builder? Each trade has its page, vocabulary and sample quotes.

See all trades covered by Devia

Your next building quote can go out today

Try dictation on a real job for 14 days. No card required, and nothing to uninstall if it is not for you.

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