How we run TradeControl at Barzen Projects

The paperwork problem, from inside a subcontractor

I run site operations for Barzen Projects, a commercial carpentry subcontractor in Melbourne. Same week-to-week fight every subbie knows: extras done on a handshake, day labour argued about months later, back charges landing without warning, and the scope question — “is that ours?” — decided by whoever kept better records.

TradeControl started as our internal fix. A scope-query bot for our own contracts first, then signed day dockets, then the rest. We use it because it's ours — and because it works, we sell it.

How it runs on our sites

• Day dockets, signed on the day. Crew hours, materials, photos, the builder's supervisor signing on the phone before anyone leaves site. The PDF goes to the builder the same day. Since late March 2026 that's 44 submitted dockets covering 508.9 man-hours on Barzen jobs (live figures as at 4 July 2026, demo and test data excluded).
• Site issues logged when they happen. Photos, dates, dollars. When a dispute comes, we're not reconstructing — we're forwarding.
• Scope answers from our own contract. Plain-language questions answered from our scope of works, clause cited. Ends the “that's yours” conversation.
• Site forms without paper. Pre-starts, toolbox talks, incident reports — done on the phone, filed automatically.

The honest pitch

TradeControl is $29 a month, 30-day free trial, built for the subcontractor's side of the table. If it does for your paperwork what it does for ours, it pays for itself on the first docket that would otherwise have been argued down.