Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for irrigation installers.
A checklist built from how irrigation installers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Plot survey and zone design
- Bill of quantities for each zone
- Trench and laying progress
- Flushing and pressure test log
- Yard store for pipe and emitters
- Seasonal service and breakdown calls
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For surveyors and designers
- For foremen
- For yard and store staff
- For service technicians
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Plots by stage, from survey to commissioned
- Quotations still open, won or lost, by crop and block size
- Pipe, lateral and emitter issue against each plot
- Commissioning flow readings by zone
- Stage balances due from growers, oldest first
- Laying wages by gang, metres laid and advances
- Service visits due and breakdown calls by plot
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Payment gateway
- Accounting export
- Map and drawing file links
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it design the layout for us?
- Can one plot have many zones with different crops?
- Can the foreman record a pressure test in the field?
- How are stage bills worked out?
- Can it track pipe and emitter stock?
- Do you handle seasonal service contracts?
- Is any government subsidy paperwork supported?
- Who owns the plot and client records?
- What does it cost?
- Can I try a plot with real numbers?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- The zone plan stays on the surveyor’s sketch
- Flow tests are not tied to the design figure
- Emitters, laterals and fittings leave the yard uncounted
- Seasonal service is forgotten until a crop suffers
- Stage payments depend on measured work
Prefer to talk it through? See the irrigation installers page.