AI for construction companies: the paperwork, done
Pro AI builds custom automations and AI agents for UK construction and trades businesses of 10 to 200 people. Not a new platform to learn — systems that sit between the tools you already use and remove the re-keying, chasing and month-end scramble. Live within weeks, and reporting the hours they save.
Where the hours go on a construction business
Most construction firms we talk to aren't short of software. They have accounts, a job or project system, email, a shared drive and a dozen spreadsheets, and the same information gets typed into three of them. The directors see margins weeks after the job, someone spends Friday chasing subcontractor paperwork, and every certificate lives in a different place. None of that needs a new platform. It needs the gaps between the existing ones closed.
Invoices, costs and cash flow
Supplier invoices arrive by email and PDF, get printed or re-keyed, and are matched to jobs by hand — so project margins are a month behind reality.
Site and delivery paperwork
Delivery notes, day sheets, site diaries, inspection records and photos captured on site and then re-entered, filed twice or lost.
Subcontractor and supplier comms
Chasing insurance documents, CIS details, method statements and confirmations by email, over and over, with no record of what’s outstanding.
Document control and compliance
Certificates, RAMS, training records and O&M documents spread across drives and inboxes, found by asking whoever remembers.
What we automate first
- 1
Invoice and cost capture. Every supplier invoice, payment and cost is read automatically, matched to the right job and cost code, and posted to your accounts and job system. Exceptions — a missing PO, an unexpected amount — go to a person; everything else just lands.
- 2
Live job costing and cash flow. With costs landing as they happen, directors get a live view of project margins and cash position instead of a month-end reconstruction. Decisions on numbers, not gut feel.
- 3
Site paperwork captured once. Photos, delivery notes and day sheets sent from site (email, WhatsApp export, a simple form) are read, filed against the job and summarised — no evening re-typing.
- 4
Subcontractor chasing on autopilot. An AI agent keeps a live list of what’s outstanding from each subcontractor and supplier, sends the reminders, reads what comes back and updates the record. You see the exceptions, not the inbox.
A York construction firm, in practice
A York-based construction firm's invoicing, cash-flow and project-cost tracking lived in separate systems and spreadsheets, and the directors' view of each job was weeks behind reality. We built an invoice management system that plugs into the tools they already use: every invoice, payment and cost is read automatically, matched to job and cost code, posted, and anything unusual is flagged to a person.
The directors now see cash flow and project margins as they happen rather than at month end. Nothing was replaced, nobody had to learn a new platform, and the system reports the hours it saves. Read more on our York page.
How it works with a construction business
Automation Audit
£495, fixed
A two-hour workshop with the people who do the paperwork — usually the office manager, the QS and whoever does the invoicing — at your premises, followed by a written map of where the time goes and what each fix is worth.
Automation Sprint
from £2,500, one month
One system, built, tested and live within the month, reporting time saved weekly.
Automation Partnership
from £3,500 a month
Two or three systems over a minimum of three months, with monthly reporting on hours and cost saved.
We build around the software you already run — accounts, job management, email, spreadsheets — and we build model-agnostic, so the AI underneath can be swapped as better options appear. Based in York; in person across Yorkshire and the North, remote across the UK.
AI for construction — common questions
Do we need to change our accounts or job management software?
Almost never. The systems we build sit between the tools you already use and remove the manual steps. If a tool genuinely needs replacing, the audit will say so — but that’s rare.
Our paperwork comes from site by photo and WhatsApp. Can AI handle that?
Yes. Photos, scans, exported chats and forms can all be read, classified and filed against the right job. Anything the system isn’t confident about goes to a person.
How much does this cost for a construction business?
The Automation Audit is £495 fixed. A first system — invoice capture is the usual one — is built as a one-month Automation Sprint from £2,500. Ongoing partnerships start at £3,500 a month. A typical invoice-and-cash-flow build lands in the £5,000 to £10,000 range.
Is our data safe?
You own the code, the accounts and the data. Hosting and data location are chosen to match your requirements, including UK-only, and we don’t use client data to train AI models.
Do you work with trades and subcontractors as well as main contractors?
Yes — the paperwork problems are the same at ten people as at two hundred. Below about ten staff there’s rarely enough repetitive work to justify a custom build, and the audit will tell you honestly if that’s the case.
Find out what the paperwork is costing you
Two hours with the people who do it, a written map of where the time goes, and an honest answer about what to automate first. Fixed price, no obligation.
See also: AI for property businesses · Custom AI development