ChecklistBeginner
Supplier prequalification: how to pass a buyer's PQQ
6 min read
Guides
Guides and playbooks
In-depth, practical guides for teams running their business on Zigaflow - from quoting to procurement to getting paid on time.
Type
Topic
154 guides, page 1 of 4
How-to guideBeginner
How to calculate utilization for a team that bills its time
Utilization is billable hours divided by available hours, but the figure only means something once you define available time properly and record hours against jobs as the work happens. This guide walks through the formula, a worked example and a realistic target.
7 min read
How-to guideBeginner
Three-way matching: how to check an invoice before you pay it
Paying a supplier invoice without checking it against what you ordered and what arrived is how overbilling, short deliveries and price creep slip through. This guide shows how to run a three-way match step by step and resolve mismatches.
10 min read
ChecklistIntermediate
Invoice finance facilities: how to decide if one fits your cash flow
An invoice finance facility can bridge a real cash gap, but only if you know your debtor days, invoice accuracy and dispute rate. This guide shows how to measure them, what a facility costs and how to decide.
7 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Contractor payment applications that get paid on time
A payment application is paid in full and on time when it is built from measured progress against the contract sum, submitted before the contractual due date, and backed by evidence the quantity surveyor can check without asking questions.
6 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote electrical jobs without underpricing labor
A step-by-step method for pricing electrical work from site survey to sent quote, covering take-offs, a labor rate that recovers overheads, current material prices, exclusions, certification costs and the margin you keep.
6 min read
How-to guideBeginner
Filing a DNO notification after a solar install
Most domestic solar and battery installs only need a G98 notification filed within 28 days of commissioning. Collect the right details at survey and you can file in minutes, and avoid a G99 application you never needed.
6 min read
How-to guideBeginner
ABC inventory classification: how to sort your stock by value and count it less often
ABC inventory classification ranks every stock line by annual consumption value and splits the list into A, B and C bands, so counting, reordering and supplier time go to the lines that carry the money. Here is the afternoon procedure.
7 min read
ChecklistBeginner
Onboard a new supplier without slowing the first order down
A new supplier is usually needed in a hurry, which is exactly when bank details, insurance and price files go unchecked. This guide gives you a six step checklist with an owner and a deadline, so the first purchase order goes out on time.
5 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Extension of time and loss and expense: how to calculate what you are owed
An extension of time removes your exposure to liquidated damages but does not recover your costs. This guide explains how to calculate prolongation, disruption, and extended preliminaries - and what dated records you need to substantiate each head of claim.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Cycle counting: how to count stock without shutting the warehouse
Cycle counting checks a small slice of your inventory every week, without stopping the warehouse. This guide explains how to classify stock by value, set a count schedule, investigate discrepancies, and track inventory accuracy year-round.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Aging debt: how to build a weekly chase routine that gets invoices paid
An aging debt report groups every unpaid invoice into time buckets. This guide walks through reading those buckets on Monday morning, setting trigger-based chase actions for each age band, and escalating before debt becomes uncollectable.
8 min read
ChecklistIntermediate
Dayworks sheets: what to record on site so the extra work gets paid
Dayworks sheets record work that falls outside the priced contract scope. What determines whether one gets paid is not the template but the completeness of the record: labour hours by operative, plant with rates, materials with references, an instruction reference and a site signature captured on the day.
8 min read
ChecklistIntermediate
Applying to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme: what installers need before the assessment
Applying to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme takes planning well before the assessment day. This guide covers the qualifications, insurance, quality management system, and job documentation - quotes, commissioning records and handover packs - that assessors check against each other on every certified installation.
9 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Checking which DNO covers a site before you quote a solar job
Before pricing any solar or electrical job, confirm which electricity distribution network operator covers the site. The DNO determines your application route, G98 or G99 timeline, and whether a pre-approval window needs to go into your project schedule before your quote goes out.
9 min read
ChecklistIntermediate
MCS requirements for installers: what you need before funded work pays out
A guide to the business-level requirements, design records, commissioning documentation, and certificate registration steps that MCS-certified installers must complete before Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Smart Export Guarantee funding is released.
7 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Registering your utilization rate: how to measure and improve installer and fitter time
Utilization rate shows what percentage of each installer's day produces revenue. This guide explains how to calculate it correctly, set realistic targets by season and role, and improve a low rate through scheduling and job data rather than working your team harder.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
MCS registration for solar installers: what the scheme requires and how to get registered
MCS registration opens the door to every grant-funded and export-tariff solar installation in the UK. This guide explains what the scheme actually asks an installer to produce, and how to pass the certification audit and keep your registration year on year.
9 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
EV charging installers: how to quote, schedule, and certify a charge point job
From first enquiry to final invoice, an EV charge point job involves survey, DNO notification, quoting, equipment ordering, installation, certification, and grant administration. Here is how to run all eight stages as one tracked job rather than a chain of disconnected paperwork.
9 min read
ChecklistIntermediate
MCS compliance documentation: the paperwork checklist for every install
An MCS-certified installer must hold four categories of documentation for every installation: pre-sale and design records, commissioning records, handover pack documents, and the MCS certificate registered in the Installations Database. Every category has a fixed deadline, and audit non-conformities come from missing paperwork far more often than from poor workmanship.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
MCS approved products: how to check the database before you specify a panel or inverter
The MCS Product Directory lists every panel, inverter, and heat pump that carries active certification. Specifying a product that is not on the register invalidates your customer's grant eligibility and puts your own MCS certification at risk. This guide shows you how to search the directory and make the check a standard step in your quoting process.
8 min read
PlaybookIntermediate
Procure-to-pay in a small distributor: the steps from requisition to supplier payment
The procure-to-pay process runs through seven linked steps, from purchase requisition to supplier payment. Most small distributors lose money not inside any single step, but at two specific joins - where a requisition becomes a purchase order, and where a goods received note is compared against a supplier invoice.
12 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
DNO connection applications: who your network operator is and what to submit
Every solar or electrical install connects to one regional distribution network operator's area. This guide explains what a DNO is, how to identify the right one by postcode, and what documents to submit under G98 or G99 before installation can legally begin.
9 min read
How-to guideBeginner
MCS register: how to check an installer or company is genuinely certified
The MCS register is the public directory of certified renewables installers in the UK. Checking it properly requires three distinct lookups: confirming active certification status, verifying the technology scope matches what is being sold, and confirming the installation record in the MCS Installations Database after the work is done.
7 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Adding an eSignature to a quote so customers can accept it the same day
A commercial quote can be accepted electronically in the UK under existing legislation, and the signing experience takes the customer under two minutes. This guide covers the setup sequence: signature fields, audit trail configuration, and the post-acceptance trigger that moves the job into your pipeline the moment a customer confirms.
7 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Taking card payments on invoices through Stripe: what to set up and what it costs
How to add a Stripe pay-now link to B2B invoices: covering how the payment flows from customer click to reconciled ledger entry, what Stripe costs per GBP transaction, which customers to offer it to, and how to reconcile net settlements back to Xero or QuickBooks.
9 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Importing a supplier price list from a spreadsheet without breaking your product data
Supplier price lists arrive as inconsistent spreadsheets. This guide covers the complete import routine - column mapping, currency standardization, a test batch, and full load validation - that keeps pricing current without corrupting the catalog your team quotes from.
8 min read
TemplateIntermediate
Consignment stock: what to agree before it arrives
Consignment stock puts a supplier's goods at your premises while ownership stays with them. Four clauses decide how the arrangement works: title transfer, insurance, usage reporting, and what happens to surplus stock at the end.
6 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
Setting discount approval limits on quotes
Discount approval limits work when they are expressed as a floor price or a minimum gross margin percentage, not a percentage off list price. This guide explains how to choose the right metric, set the floor by customer tier, assign approval authority to the right roles, and configure your quoting system to enforce the limit automatically.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to run a cost value reconciliation on a live job
A cost value reconciliation compares value earned from the client against total cost incurred on a live construction job. This guide covers why CVRs only work on a monthly cycle, why accruals are not optional, and how to run the process step by step.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
What to charge for an AV service and maintenance contract
AV service and maintenance contracts are priced on five variables: response time window, site count, system complexity, parts coverage scope, and the split between remote and on-site resolution. Here is how to build a fee from those cost drivers up, not down from installed value.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
CIS invoicing and the VAT reverse charge, in order
A CIS invoice carries three things a normal invoice does not: the labour and materials split, the CIS deduction, and the domestic reverse-charge wording. This guide walks through the correct sequence, explains what each element depends on, and shows where invoices get rejected most often.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to price promotional products for a UK distributor
Every promotional merchandise quote contains five cost lines: blank goods, decoration, origination, carriage, and sampling. Distributor margin is decided by the decoration and origination lines, not the blank goods price. The quotes that lose money are the ones where setup, carriage, and sampling were absorbed into a per-unit figure rather than priced as separate lines.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to issue an MCS certificate at handover
An MCS certificate is issued by the installer, not the customer. This guide covers every step in the MCS Installation Database, the data errors that block SEG payments and grant claims, and what goes in the handover documentation pack.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and run a commercial piling and foundations contract
Commercial piling contracts require ground investigation data before any firm price can be issued. This guide covers quoting, mobilisation, on-site operations, pile testing, and handover to follow-on trades for piling sub-contractors and civils contractors.
12 min read
ChecklistBeginner
Switching to Zigaflow: everything you can import from your old system
A checklist of every record type Zigaflow imports from spreadsheets - customers, contacts, suppliers, items, kits, variants, stock, client assets, leads and historical quotes, orders, POs, invoices and contracts - with the order that works and the rules each import follows.
7 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and run a commercial refrigeration and cold room installation
Commercial cold room installation involves panel fabrication, refrigerant systems, electrical work, and compliance documentation. This guide covers how to survey a site, build a quote that reflects all cost elements, manage the installation sequence, and close the job with a compliant handover pack.
12 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and run a commercial refurbishment contract
Commercial refurbishment contracts are won on price and lost on margin. This guide covers how to survey and scope before quoting, build a refurbishment quote that prices risk accurately, manage phased working, control variations, and close the final account without disputes.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and manage a phased office refurbishment project
A phased office refurbishment is one of the most operationally demanding projects a furniture dealer handles. Learn how to quote accurately for multi-phase delivery, align your procurement programme with the fit-out contractor, manage swing space requirements, and close each zone with a clean handover.
9 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to set up and run a solar panel maintenance contract
Solar PV installation businesses can build predictable recurring revenue through maintenance contracts. This guide covers how to scope, price, and run commercial solar maintenance contracts, from site survey and contract structure through to scheduling recurring visits and avoiding the common operational failures that erode margin.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and run a hotel and hospitality AV installation
Hotel AV is not a single installation but a portfolio of interconnected systems. This guide covers how AV integrators should scope, quote, and deliver a hotel AV project - from the zone schedule at survey stage through commissioning and handover to hotel operations staff.
9 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and manage a professional services branded merchandise order
Professional services firms - law firms, consultancies, and accountancies - are among the most demanding buyers of branded merchandise. This guide walks distributors through briefing, quoting, artwork approval, presentation packaging, and building a repeat programme from the first order.
8 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to set up and run a commercial HVAC service and maintenance contract
For HVAC and mechanical services businesses, a well-structured PPM contract provides a predictable revenue base, a compliance paper trail, and a clear billing mechanism for reactive callouts. This guide covers how to scope, price, and run a commercial HVAC maintenance contract from initial site survey to renewal.
10 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and manage a government and public sector branded merchandise order
Public sector buyers - NHS Trusts, local authorities, police, and universities - are among the most consistent buyers of branded merchandise in the UK. This guide covers how to get on framework agreements, quote compliantly, manage approval chains, and get paid on time.
11 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and run a commercial industrial lighting installation
A practical guide for electrical contractors on quoting, installing, and commissioning commercial industrial and warehouse LED lighting projects, from the site survey and lux specification through to controls commissioning and handover documentation.
12 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and run a building automation and smart controls installation
Building automation and smart controls jobs lose margin in commissioning, not installation. This step-by-step guide covers pre-contract survey, protocol selection, quote structure, stage payments, and handover documentation for BMS and lighting controls contractors.
12 min read
How-to guideIntermediate
How to quote and manage a hotel and hospitality branded merchandise order
Hotel and hospitality merchandise orders span multiple product categories - uniforms, in-room amenities, gift shop items, loyalty gifts, and event merchandise. This guide explains how to quote accurately across all five, manage production timelines, and coordinate delivery to a property that runs on precision.
10 min read
How-to guideAdvanced
How to quote and run a broadcast studio AV installation
Broadcast studio AV installations require a different approach to quoting, project management, and commissioning than corporate AV work. This guide covers the five cost categories integrators most often miss, how IP infrastructure changes procurement sequencing, and what a professional broadcast studio handover looks like.
10 min read
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