Jobs split into priced phases and sub-projects

Running a construction project by phases means splitting the job into parts that each have their own price, hours and invoice. In OKTO PSA for construction, a phase’s price is the sum of its purchase order lines, add-ons become sub-projects numbered +001, +002, and you bill completed phases together on a single invoice.

Why split a job into phases?

When you track a job as one block, you find out at the end whether it made money. Track it by phase and you see it while the work is under way. Surface prep took more hours than planned, but primer and finish are on schedule: you know early enough to react, shift the crew or talk to the client.

Phases are also how you bill. The client pays for what is done, as the job moves forward, and you don’t wait for the end of the work to get paid. When the client asks about an invoice, the answer fits on one line: this phase, this amount.

Where does a phase’s price come from?

In OKTO PSA, you don’t type a phase’s price by hand. It equals the sum of the purchase order lines that belong to it. What the client bought and what you bill per phase stay in agreement.

When the project comes from a quote, that work is already done. Each line group in the quote becomes a phase with its own budget. You start the job with a priced plan, not a blank page.

Here is what a project split into phases looks like. The names and amounts are fictional.

Sub-projects +001, +002

Partway through a job, clients often add something: another floor, a stairwell, a room that wasn’t in the contract. Putting those hours into the main project muddies everything, and you can no longer tell whether the original contract was profitable.

OKTO PSA creates a sub-project numbered +001, then +002, under the main project. It keeps its own hours and its own report while staying tied to the job. A sub-project can also count as a change order: the priced and approved extra is then added to the next invoice, and invoices are grouped by change order.

How do you bill by phase?

You check the phases to bill, one or several, and OKTO PSA puts them on a single invoice. A preview shows you the invoice before it goes out. GST and QST appear on separate lines with your registration numbers under each, and your RBQ licence and NEQ are printed on the invoice.

Progress billing, as an option

On larger contracts, billing usually follows progress. With this option, you enter a dated, justified percentage complete for each item on the schedule of values. OKTO PSA bills the difference from the previous claim. For example, an item reported at 40% last month and at 75% this month produces an invoice for 35% of that item.

Contract holdbacks are handled in the same place: percentage held, release date and conditions, balance to release. The progress billing and holdbacks page covers the details.

The hours-by-phase report

Every hour is tied to the project and to the phase. On site, the lead enters the day’s crew, separating contract work, extras and lost time. That entry creates the crew’s timesheets, and the week’s schedule can be copied for everyone. The construction timesheets page explains how.

The hours report comes out by phase or by sub-project, in CSV or PDF. Labour costs show as provisional first, then as actual. You can also ask OKTHAV in plain language, “how many hours on phase 2?”, and it answers with your own numbers.

On a project covered by the construction decree, a “CCQ decree” badge flags it, and the CCQ report is prepared in OKTO PSA’s reports. Sending the monthly report to the Commission de la construction du Québec is still up to you, no later than the 15th of the following month.

The job lifecycle, from signature to closeout

A bar at the top of the project shows where the job stands. It starts at the “Signed” step, when the quote is accepted and the project exists with its phases. The “Planned start” step holds the start date, with a reminder before the day arrives. If you moved a step ahead too soon, the “Go back to” button takes you back.

During the work, phases are compared with their budgets and deadlines are flagged ahead of time. The job sheet fits on one screen. Documents, drawings and their revisions stay filed in the project, next to the crew’s discussions about that job.

When the work is finished, OKTO PSA sets a reminder 30 days later, and you can change that delay. There is a reason for it: under the Civil Code of Québec, the legal construction hypothec survives for 30 days after the work ends, and keeping it requires registering a notice in the land register and serving it on the owner. OKTO PSA reminds you of the date, but it doesn’t prepare any legal document.

Then comes closeout. If a subcontractor hasn’t handed in a required document, such as a release, the project can’t be closed until that document is on file.

The legal hypothec guide explains the deadlines and conditions in detail.

What OKTO PSA doesn’t replace

OKTO PSA tracks your projects, phases, hours and invoices, but it doesn’t replace your accounting software: your books stay there. For payroll, OKTO RH (HR) prepares the payroll report and export; source deductions, direct deposit and year-end slips stay in your payroll software.

To see a phased project with its sub-projects, you can go through the interactive demo without a long sign-up.

Sources: Civil Code of Québec, articles 2726 to 2728, LégisQuébec, Monthly report, Commission de la construction du Québec, Calculating taxes, Revenu Québec, checked on October 27, 2026.