ET Design Build — PSA Workflow
Parent: ET Design Build
Status: Proposal sent · Meeting scheduled · Owner: Sam Deal value: $47,000 ($22K Foundation + $25K Workflow Build) Timeline: 45 days kickoff to go-live Website: etdesignbuild.com Service category: Automation
The problem (in their words)
Today, the PSA billing loop consumes ~30 hours/week of a team member who bills at $75/hour — roughly $117,000/year of labor value tied up in:
- Inbox watching
- PDF dragging
- Excel keying
- Threshold watching
- Bluebeam invoice building
- Manual Sage reconciliation
Specific pain triggers they named:
- One typo throws off the running total
- One missed threshold delays a pay app invoice
- Month-end reconciliation cleanup eats days
What gets built
Five components, all running in their Azure tenant, on their own systems:
1. Email Handling & File Routing
System watches the designated inbox, reads each new message, distinguishes "PSA received" from invoice, saves the PDF, files it in SharePoint with the agreed folder structure + naming convention.
2. Invoice Processing & Tracker Updates
Pulls amount, date, PSA ID, job number, vendor off each invoice PDF. Writes a new row into their existing Excel tracker. Running balance recalculates itself. Excel stays the source of truth.
3. Automated Threshold Alerts
They set a per-job spending threshold. The moment the balance crosses it, a Teams message + email goes out with job, amount, what triggered the alert.
4. Monthly Pay App Invoice Generation
At month-end the system pulls together a pay app invoice from their Bluebeam template — stamps, approval date, line items, totals — drops it in /Drafts/. Reviewer gets a Teams link, reviews, sends. Human is always the one who hits send.
5. Sage Payment Reconciliation
System checks Sage for payment status on the pay app invoices they've sent out. The moment one is marked paid, tracker auto-updates — status, paid date, audit trail.
Timeline
| Phase | When | What |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery + Build | Weeks 1–2 | Environment provisioned. Full historical PSA archive ingested + backtested — every email, not a sample. Email watcher + PDF extraction + SharePoint routing live in dev. |
| Integration | Weeks 3–4 | Excel tracker updates + threshold alerts + monthly pay app invoice draft generation against real PSAs. |
| Go-Live + Warranty | Weeks 5–6 | Sage reconciliation wired in. Full end-to-end testing. Production deploy. 30 days of warranty fixes begin. |
ROI math (their version)
- Labor tied up today: 30 hrs/wk × $75/hr × 52 wks = $117,000/yr
- Year-1 return: $117,000 ÷ $47,000 = 2.5× payback in 4.8 months
- Every year after: $117,000/yr pure savings — no subscription, no retainer
Notes for the next call
- They are based in Piney Flats, TN (out of UT — exception to our usual focus)
- Documents attached: pitch deck v2, companion brief, PSA proposal, workflow scoring matrix
- All assets at etdesignbuild.com for them; we have the same set in CRM under ET's Documents
- Owner: Sam (post-handoff)
When this closes
Move the page (or a copy) to Case Studies and fill in:
- Actual labor recovered vs estimate
- Specific quote from the ET principal
- Photos / screenshots of the production system
Last updated: 2026-05-24