Every selection a homeowner must make, from tiles to faucets, gets a deadline worked back from the build schedule and supplier lead times. Options go out on WhatsApp three weeks ahead, late picks escalate to the project manager, and confirmed choices go straight to purchasing.
Typical results
3 weeks
Notice before each selection deadline
≈5 hrs/wk
Project manager time saved chasing choices
100%
Upgrades approved at a price before ordering
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
A custom home involves dozens of homeowner choices: tiles, faucets, cabinets, flooring, lighting and paint. Each one has to be ordered weeks before the trade needs it, yet choices arrive late, change by phone and get lost in email threads. Crews stand idle waiting for a tile decision, and upgrades are ordered without a signed price.
Before and after
Homes delayed by a late selection per year
−70%Project manager hours per week chasing selections
−83%Days from final choice to purchase order
−86%The automation
Each home's selection items get a due date worked back from the build schedule and the supplier's lead time. Three weeks before each date, the homeowner gets a WhatsApp link to that item's options and prices. Choices above the allowance create a priced upgrade the homeowner approves before ordering. Open items get reminders at 10 and 3 days, then escalate to the project manager, and confirmed choices go to purchasing as order lines with the product code and date needed.
How it works
- 01
Deadlines from the schedule
Each home's selection items, from tiles and faucets to cabinets and paint, get a due date worked back from the build schedule and the supplier's lead time.
- 02
Options sent three weeks out
Three weeks before a due date, the homeowner gets a WhatsApp link to that item's options and prices, with any cost above the allowance shown.
- 03
Choice confirmed
The homeowner picks and confirms an option. A choice above the allowance creates a priced upgrade that the homeowner approves before anything is ordered.
- 04
Reminders, then the PM
Open items get reminders 10 and 3 days before the due date. An item still open on the day goes to the project manager with the stage it will hold up.
- 05
Order line to purchasing
Confirmed choices go to purchasing as order lines with the home, supplier, product code and the date the item is needed on site.
Starts from
- Build schedule, lead times
- Selection items per home
Delivers
- Choices sent to homeowners
- Orders to purchasing
- Late picks to the PM
The impact
Homes delayed by a late selection fall from about 10 a year to 3, and project managers spend around 5 fewer hours a week chasing choices. Purchasing gets each confirmed order line within a day of the choice instead of a week, and every upgrade has an approved price before it is ordered.
Questions about this automation
How are the selection deadlines worked out?
Each item is linked to the build stage that needs it, such as tiling or cabinet install, and to the supplier's lead time. The due date is the stage date minus the lead time and a buffer you set. When the build schedule moves, every linked deadline moves with it and the homeowner is told.
What if a homeowner changes their mind after confirming?
Until the order goes to the supplier, the homeowner can reopen the item from the same link, and the new choice replaces the old one with a note in the history. After ordering, a change goes to the project manager, who checks restocking fees and the schedule before approving it.
Where do the options and prices come from?
From a selections sheet you keep per home or per model, listing the options for each item with supplier, product code, price and the allowance included in the contract. It's a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, starting with deadlines and WhatsApp reminders on a few homes before purchasing is connected.