Case study
Billing Twice as Fast: How Construction Tomico Replaced 1,000-Invoice Excel Files with Billdr
Discover how Construction Tomico, a Montreal cost-plus general contractor, moved client billing off complex Excel files and into Billdr to bill twice as fast with one less person on billing.
2×
Faster client billing on cost-plus projects
1 fewer
Person needed on billing since switching
2×
Faster estimates, bids, and tenders
How Billdr Changed Their Day-to-Day
Thomas Smeesters, President and CEO of Construction Tomico, has worked in construction since he was 16. After a business administration degree at HEC Montréal and a construction trade diploma, he launched his own Montreal general contracting company, specializing in building envelopes, heritage buildings, and custom signature homes. Marie-Pier Garceau, a former physiotherapist and osteopath, joined the family business as administrative project manager. Together, they moved Tomico’s cost-plus billing onto Billdr.
Before Billdr
- Everything ran on Excel. Extremely complex spreadsheets were built to track every cost on cost-plus projects.
- 1,000+ invoices a month on large projects, all entered by hand.
- Photocopying and scanning every supplier invoice to show clients the real costs.
- Broken formulas in heavy Excel billing files that were hard to trust.
- Slow estimates and bids pieced together manually.
- A full-time billing workload of around 40 hours a week.
After Billdr
- Invoices dropped straight into Billdr and read automatically.
- Client billing at least twice as fast, even on large cost-plus projects.
- One less person needed on billing, with a much simpler admin process.
- Estimates, bids, and tenders twice as fast as before.
- Full cost transparency for clients, without the manual Excel setup.
- An admin team that works efficiently together, freeing up time for family.
What Billdr really brought us is speed in billing. If we want to put numbers on it, I think today we could say we bill at least twice as fast as before.
Why Construction Tomico Loves Billdr
From invoice intake to client billing, Billdr gave Tomico a faster, simpler way to run cost-plus projects.
1. Automatic Invoice Reading
Supplier invoices are dropped directly into Billdr and read automatically, which Marie-Pier calls an extraordinary time saver for the accounting team.
2. Cost-Plus Billing Made Simple
Tomico shows clients every invoice and its true cost. Billdr now handles what used to take complex Excel setups, so the team keeps that full transparency while billing at least twice as fast.
3. Easy Onboarding
Thomas says Billdr was easy to roll out. His team worked smoothly with Billdr through every early integration question, with quick follow-ups and real people on the line instead of voicemail.
4. A Platform That Adapts
Thomas and Marie-Pier both describe Billdr as flexible and constantly evolving. It adapted to Tomico’s way of working instead of forcing a complete change to the organization.
5. One Step at a Time
Tomico started its digital shift with billing. Next up: mobile time punching for crews on site, then connecting its accounting through QuickBooks so both systems talk to each other.
“Billdr has really changed our billing”
“…It’s very satisfying, and it has great potential because it’s constantly evolving. It adapts to our needs, so we feel it growing alongside us.”
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Still have questions?
Yes. Billdr is built for residential and commercial general contractors, home builders, and specialty contractors across North America. Whether you're a small & medium team (1-30 FTEs) or a growing business (30-100 employees), Billdr scales with the way you build.
Note: Billdr is not adapted for general contractors building high-rises, airports, industrial projects.
Absolutely. Billdr is designed for owners, project managers, estimators, office staff, field crews, subcontractors, and even your clients through dedicated portals. Everyone stays connected in one system.
Yes. Billdr syncs with QuickBooks Online, so invoices, expenses, purchase orders, bills, payments, and customers move across automatically and nothing gets entered twice. Your operations team works in Billdr while your accountant keeps working in QuickBooks
Yes. You can book a personalized demo with our team or start your subscription and schedule a free onboarding session. We'll help you get set up quickly so you can experience Billdr with your own projects.
Yes. Billdr includes import tools to help you migrate customers, contacts, projects, price lists, templates, and more. Our Customer Success team is available to guide you through the transition and ensure a smooth setup.