NSW PROJECTS / SOFTWARE HANDBOOK
Contractor Workspace: what it does, how to use it, and what to verify
NSW is a browser-based construction planning workspace for small contractors. The beta helps you document customer projects, estimate with your own costs, prepare draft paperwork, and keep job information organized. It's free during the beta and requires an NSW account separate from Shopify checkout.
Open the free contractor workspace →
Start a project in five steps
- Sign in: Open the workspace and use your email to request a sign-in link or verification code. Email delivery and approved redirect settings must be functioning.
- Create a project: Give the job a name, select a type and add the information you have permission to store.
- Build a preliminary estimate: Add item descriptions, quantities, units and pricing that you verified with real suppliers or your business records. You control your markup and contingency.
- Save and reuse: Save estimate revisions and a reusable takeoff template. Recheck old pricing and quantities when using a template on a different job.
- Organize operations: Use the proposal, costs, schedule, time, risks, change orders and invoices tabs to manage your own records and printable drafts.
Available modules
Estimates & templates
Editable material, labor and other cost lines; saved estimate versions; per-project markups and reusable private templates.
Clients & documents
Private directory and supported file uploads. Never upload payment cards, identity documents or information you do not have the right to store.
Proposals & invoices
Prepare documents that you can review, print and send outside NSW. Saving a draft does not email or charge a customer.
Schedules & change orders
Track project tasks and outline proposed scope changes. Drafts do not constitute customer acceptance or a signed contract.
Labor hours & risks
Log crew hours and rates, calculate entered labor costs, flag project risks and record mitigation actions. Risk scores are user-entered priority estimates.
Portfolio reporting
Review saved projects, job cost entries and overdue tasks together, with CSV exports. Reports are not audited accounting or a profit-and-loss statement.
Where do the numbers come from?
NSW does not automatically know local building material prices, contractor wage rates, job dimensions, permitting requirements, engineering specifications or a homeowner's exact circumstances. You must enter documented information and review assumptions. Stored supplier quote evidence is not independently verified just because it has a source or date.
Understand the three kinds of totals
Estimates are planned costs based on your quantities and rates. Job costs are expense entries you record. Labor-hour totals use hours multiplied by a cost rate; they stay separate from Job Costs to avoid automatic double-counting. Reconcile records against real receipts, supplier invoices and payroll information.
What NSW does not do yet
The beta does not automatically collect customer payments or deposits, verify contractor licenses, perform code inspections, obtain legally binding electronic signatures, deliver invoices by email, guarantee estimates, or import live supplier prices. Shopify purchases do not automatically grant separate paid SaaS entitlements.
Frequently asked questions
Is the software actually free?
During the current beta, yes. The informational Shopify product does not require checkout or a subscription. Future paid plans would be separate and need explicit terms.
Can my customer sign a proposal online?
Not through the current NSW beta. You can create and print a draft, then use your own legally appropriate acceptance process outside NSW.
Will the software verify local building costs?
No. For accurate estimates, enter your actual supplier prices and current labor rates. Check unit conversions, specifications, taxes, delivery, permits, and contingencies.
How are my project records separated?
The Supabase database uses authenticated accounts and owner-based row-level access rules. This is a beta and should undergo end-to-end account testing, permission tests and backup review before sensitive production use.
NSW provides business planning tools, not professional legal, financial, engineering, building-code or safety certifications. Software may change during beta.
Contact NSW Support · Store FAQs · Shop and delivery details