Reviewing, approving, countering, rejecting

How the client learns about a new report

• An e-mail to your company's e-mail address (from the company profile): "{contractor} sent payment application No. {n} for approval" („{contractor} изпрати отчет №{n} за одобрение“), with a link to the review page.
• An in-app notification "Pay application #{n} for {contract} is awaiting approval ({amount})" (Отчет #{n} по {contract} чака одобрение ({amount})) in Needs action (Изисква действие) or Activity (Активност). See Notifications and their settings.
• In the contract's Reports panel the card shows Received (Получен) and Your turn (Вашият ред).
• In the Report Register the report appears with type Cost (Разход).

The client never sees the contractor's drafts. A report becomes visible to the client only when it is submitted.

The review page

1. The Certified lines only (Само актувани позиции) toggle is on by default in the review view, so only positions with a quantity in this period are listed.
2. Export (Експорт) downloads the report as Excel. See Register, summary and exports.
3. View history ({count}) (Виж историята ({count})) opens the list of rounds.
4. Approve (Одобри) accepts the latest round.
5. Counter (Насрещно предложение) lets you change quantities and send them back.
6. Reject (Отхвърли) declines the report with a reason.
7. The negotiation bar says whose move it is: "Waiting on your response" (Изчаква се вашият отговор) or "Waiting on {company}" (Изчаква се {company}).

The review page has the same grid as the draft: the contract data, This period (За периода), Executed to date (Изпълнено до момента), Remaining (Остатък) and the REMARK (ЗАБЕЛЕЖКА) column with the contractor's remarks. Files (Файлове) shows the documents the contractor attached; you can attach your own too. Positions outside the contract are marked New position (Нова позиция); a green chip in the header shows "{count} new positions · {amount}". Total: (Общо:) shows the value of the latest round.

Buttons by situation

The same rules apply to the contractor. After the client counters, the turn is with the contractor, who sees Approve, Counter and Reject, while the client sees Withdraw.

How to compare versions

Each submission and counter-proposal is a round. Comparing rounds shows what changed in the negotiation.

1. On the report page click View history ({count}) (Виж историята ({count})). The History (История) side panel lists every round: Initial submission (Първоначално подаване) or Version #{n} (Версия №{n}), Proposed by you (Предложено от вас) or Proposed by {company} (Предложено от {company}), the date, the counter-proposal Message (Съобщение), and the Positions outside the contract (Позиции извън договора) and New categories (Нови категории) it carried.
2. Click Add as columns (Добави като колони) on a round to show it next to the current figures. Remove from columns (Премахни от колоните) hides it again. You can also tick rounds under Columns (Колони) → Versions (Версии).
3. With at least two rounds selected, switch on Coloring (Оцветяване). The highest and lowest value per position are colored; the legend shows Highest (Най-високо) and Lowest (Най-ниско). With fewer than two: "Select at least 2 versions to compare."
4. Click Hide history (Скрий историята) to close the panel.

1. The History (История) panel with the rounds Version #3, Version #2 and Initial submission.
2. Remove from columns (Премахни от колоните) on a round that is shown as columns; Add as columns (Добави като колони) on the others.
3. The columns of the rounds Initial submission and Version #2 next to This period. In this picture the note column and the groups Executed to date and Remaining are hidden under Columns.
4. The legend Highest (Най-високо) and Lowest (Най-ниско), shown when Coloring (Оцветяване) is on.

How to approve a report

1. Open the submitted report while your company has the turn.
2. Check the quantities, remarks, files and any new positions.
3. Click Approve (Одобри).
4. Read the confirmation "Are you sure you want to approve this report? This action is irreversible." (Сигурни ли сте, че искате да одобрите отчета? Това действие е необратимо.) and click Approve Report (Одобри отчета).

1. The question "Are you sure you want to approve this report? This action is irreversible."
2. Approve Report (Одобри отчета) approves the report.
3. Back (Назад) closes the dialog without approving.

When the report contains positions outside the contract, the confirmation says "Are you sure you want to approve this report? {count} new positions will be added to the contract as a new BoQ version." If the contract has an open change-order draft, it adds: "This contract has an open change order. Approving now supersedes it: it will have to be recreated from the updated contract." (По договора има отворена промяна. Одобряването сега я обезсилва и тя ще трябва да се създаде отново от актуализирания договор.) See Positions outside the contract.

After approval, the status becomes Approved (Одобрен) for both companies. The contractor gets the e-mail "Payment application No. {n} was approved by {company}" („Отчет №{n} беше одобрен от {company}“) and the notification "Pay application #{n} was approved — Your pay application was approved. Invoicing is next." Invoicing happens outside BuildColab.

Approve is disabled when:

• a position outside the contract has no price: "Every new position must be priced before the report can be approved." (Всички нови позиции трябва да имат цена, преди отчетът да бъде одобрен.);
• you changed the new positions since the last round: "New positions changed since the last round. Send a counter-proposal first so the other party sees the current state." You can only approve what the other company has seen;
• you are in counter mode, or a change is still saving.

On a fixed-price contract BuildColab checks the cap again at approval. If another report on the same contract was approved first and both together would exceed a contracted quantity or the contract value, the approval does not go through and a message says that another payment application was approved first. Send a counter-proposal with lower quantities instead.

How to send a counter-proposal

Use a counter-proposal when you agree with the report in principle but not with some quantities, for example when the site measurement differs.

1. On the submitted report, while your company has the turn, click Counter (Насрещно предложение). The page enters counter mode and the quantity and remark cells become editable.
2. Change the This period quantities and the remarks. You can also add, change or exclude positions outside the contract.
3. Optional: write a note in "Add a note to this counter-proposal (optional)" (Добавете бележка към насрещното предложение (незадължително)). The other company sees it as the round's Message.
4. Click Send counter-proposal (Изпрати насрещно предложение). To leave counter mode without sending, click Cancel (Отказ).

1. The This period cells are editable again.
2. The note field "Add a note to this counter-proposal (optional)", here with a note typed in.
3. Cancel (Отказ) leaves counter mode.
4. Send counter-proposal (Изпрати насрещно предложение) sends the new version. It becomes active once you change something.

Sending saves a new round Version #{n}, passes the turn to the other company and sends it the e-mail "{company} made a counter-proposal on payment application No. {n}" („{company} направи насрещно предложение по отчет №{n}“) and the notification "Counter-proposal on pay application #{n} ({amount})". The report stays Submitted. Counter-proposals can go back and forth any number of times. The same capped-contract limits apply as when drafting.

How to reject a report

1. While your company has the turn, click Reject (Отхвърли).
2. The dialog asks "Are you sure you want to reject this report? Please provide a reason." (Сигурни ли сте, че искате да отхвърлите отчета? Моля, посочете причина.)
3. Type the reason in "Rejection reason (required)" (Причина за отхвърляне (задължително)). The field is mandatory.
4. Click Reject Report (Отхвърли отчета).

1. The question "Are you sure you want to reject this report? Please provide a reason."
2. The mandatory field "Rejection reason (required)".
3. Reject Report (Отхвърли отчета) rejects the report. It stays disabled until a reason is typed.

Prefer a counter-proposal when only some quantities are wrong: it keeps the negotiation on the same report. Rejection makes sense when the report should not be paid in this form at all.

How to withdraw a report

The company that sent the current proposal can take it back while it waits for the answer. For the contractor this is the submitted report; for the client it is its own counter-proposal.

1. Open the submitted report. The bar shows "Waiting on {company}".
2. Click Withdraw (Оттегли).
3. The dialog Withdraw report? (Оттегляне на отчета?) says "Are you sure you want to withdraw this report? This cannot be undone — the version history is kept, and the submitter may start a new draft afterwards." Confirm.

Common questions

Related

• How a payment application works
• Creating and submitting
• Positions outside the contract
• Register, summary and exports
• Notifications and their settings