CostCode
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Checking civil and earthworks supplier invoices

Civil invoices are big numbers made of small ones: tonnes of road base, loads of cartage, hours of plant.

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Who you buy from, and how it's billed

A unit that changes between the quote and the invoice, or a fee nobody agreed, can move a total a long way without looking wrong on the page.

Quarries
Road base, crushed rock, aggregates and sand, quoted per tonne or per cubic metre, ex-bin or delivered to your site.
Cartage and haulage
By the load, the tonne or the hour, for tippers, truck-and-dogs and semis.
Tip and waste facilities
Tipping fees by the tonne or the load, often with a separate levy line.
Plant hire
Excavators, rollers, graders and water carts, wet or dry, by the hour, day or week, with float charges to get them there and back.
Pipe and precast
Stormwater pipe by the length, and pits, grates and headwalls each.

What CostCode checks, and from when

Anything it can't check yet shows as Unverified, with the reason. It's never marked as fine. Why a line is unverified

  1. From your first invoice

    The same invoice twice, GST over ten per cent, or no ABN on a tax invoice.

    • One delivery docket on two invoices

      Checked, for you only
      Where the docket number is printed on the line, a docket already billed on an earlier invoice from the same supplier holds the invoice for you to look at. It's never put to the supplier: a credit and a re-issue carry the same docket too.

  2. Once a supplier has billed you a few times

    A price up on what you've paid before, once there are three earlier prices. Kept between you and CostCode.

  3. Once your prices are in

    Import each supplier's price list from a spreadsheet or a PDF, or let CostCode suggest one from invoices you've already uploaded, for you to confirm.

    • Billed per cubic metre when you agreed per tonne, or the reverse

      Checked
      Held as billed in a different unit, with both units shown. CostCode doesn't convert between tonnes and cubic metres: that depends on the material and how it's measured.

    • Quarry products above the agreed rate

      Checked
      Each line against the price list or quote in force on the invoice date. A quote for one job can be loaded as that job's own prices, and is used on that job's invoices ahead of the supplier's prices for every job.

    • Cartage and fuel levies above what you agreed

      Checked
      Checked against the charge you agreed: flat, per unit, or a share of the goods. A per-unit charge billed in a different unit from the one agreed shows as Unverified, with the reason.

    • Tipping fees and levies

      Checked
      Checked when they're on the supplier's price list or recorded as an agreed charge. CostCode checks a levy against what you agreed with the supplier, not against a government rate.

    • Plant hire above the agreed rate

      Checked
      Checked in the unit it's billed in: hours against an hourly rate, days against a day rate. Hours billed against a day or week rate show as Unverified, asking what the rate is per.

    • More tonnes billed than you ordered

      Checked, for you only
      Once your purchase orders are loaded, a line billed past the quantity ordered on its PO holds the invoice for you to look at, as does a PO number that isn't on file. Kept between you and CostCode.

A worked example, made up

With your pricesSample · made up

Sample Quarries (made up)

SAMPLE-5520

Held

8 Sep 2026 · 1 line · $2,679.60

The line on sample invoice SAMPLE-5520, checked against the agreed price list
ItemAmountYour prices
20mm crushed rock road base42 M3 × $58.00$2,436.00Billed in a different unitHeld
Billed in a different unit. Invoiced per cubic metre. Agreed $38.50 per tonne on the price list from 1 Jul 2026
Not sent: supplier email is off. CostCode writes the query, quoting the agreed price list, for you to copy into your own email. Nothing reaches the supplier unless someone in your team sends it.

Billed per cubic metre against a price agreed per tonne: held as billed in a different unit, with no dollar figure.

How many tonnes are in a cubic metre depends on the material and whether it's measured loose in the truck or compacted, so there's no one right conversion to apply. CostCode shows the agreed unit beside the billed one and leaves the question to you.

Made up: the supplier, the invoice and every price in this example are invented to show the arithmetic. They aren't market prices.

Civil and earthworks schedule of rates templateQuarry products per tonne, tipping fees

What CostCode doesn't check

  • Hours billed against your plant dockets. CostCode doesn't read plant dockets or timesheets, so the hours billed are yours to check.
  • Tonnes billed against weighbridge tickets, or loads against your truck counts.
  • What one job paid for an item compared with what another job paid.
  • Whether a levy is the right government rate. A levy is checked against what you agreed with the supplier.

Questions

Can CostCode tell tonnes from cubic metres?

Yes. A line billed per cubic metre against a price agreed per tonne, or the reverse, is held as billed in a different unit. It isn't converted, because what a cubic metre weighs depends on the material and how it's measured, so you see both and decide.

Can we load a quarry's quote for one job?

Yes. A quote can be loaded for a single job, with the date it's valid until. It's used on that job's invoices, ahead of the supplier's prices for every job.

Does it check plant hire?

Hire billed by the hour, day or week is checked against a rate agreed in the same unit. When the units differ, the line shows as Unverified with the question, rather than a guessed conversion.

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Other trades

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