Engineering and consulting offices
You are paid on progress, not on delivery
A design or supervision contract is billed in stages, part of every claim is retained until final handover, and one change order can move the contract value halfway through. The two hardest numbers in the office are: how much of this contract have we actually earned, and how much of what we billed is still held as retention.
- Every project is a dimension: contract value, earned, billed, remaining
- Retention tracked separately until it is released
- Change orders move the contract value and show up in the next claim
- Sub-consultant cost charged to the right project
The actual work
From proposal to retention release
The difference between a profitable practice and an exhausted one is not the number of projects. It is knowing which project is burning more hours than it was priced for — and knowing it early.
A project per contract, not per client
The project is the dimension, not the client. One client can hold three contracts in three completely different states, and merging them into one account hides the loss-making project behind the profitable one.
Progress claims by percentage complete
Each claim carries the approved percentage and its value against the contract. The system knows what has been billed and what remains, so claims cannot overrun the contract by accident and a completed stage cannot go unbilled.
Retention until handover
The retained percentage of each claim is booked as its own receivable, not written off in your head. At any time you know your total retention, whose account it sits in, and when it falls due for release.
Change orders
A change order moves the contract value and the scope, and its effect shows in the next claim and in project cost. Without recording it the office works to a changed scope and bills against an old contract.
Sub-consultants
A purchase order per sub-consultant, charged straight to the project. Their invoice lands in project cost rather than general overhead, which is what keeps the margin honest.
Project cost against project value
Team hours, site costs and sub-consultant invoices gathered in one place, against the contract value. This is the number that tells you the next contract has to be priced higher.
The documents
What actually leaves the office
An engineering office’s documents are a chain: each one rests on the one before it.
- Technical and fee proposal
- Scope, stages, value and payment schedule. It becomes the contract in one step rather than being retyped.
- Engineering services contract
- Contract value, stages, retention percentage and release terms. Every later claim is built from it.
- Progress claim
- Approved percentage complete, its value, retention deducted, net due. Issued as a standard tax invoice in the client company’s name. Standard tax invoice (B2B) — cleared before delivery
- Change order
- An approved addition to or reduction in scope. It amends the contract value formally before it appears in the next claim.
- Sub-consultant purchase order
- A commitment charged to the project, against which the sub-consultant’s invoice is matched before it is paid.
- Retention release claim
- Issued once handover conditions are met. The document most practices forget until the accountant asks about it a year later. In scope for e-invoicing
Mezan products
The parts of the platform you actually need
An engineering office has no stock and no till. These are the pieces that serve it.
Mezan Core
Dimensions make every project a cost and revenue centre. With it: purchasing and POs for sub-consultants, staged invoicing, and reports that compare project cost to project value rather than to office revenue.
Learn moreMezan HR
Payroll for engineers, technicians and administrators, with attendance, leave and end-of-service. Team cost is the largest line in any design project, and this is where it gets charged to it.
Learn moreMezan Workflows
Approve the proposal before it goes out, the change order before it is worked, and the purchase order before it is committed. Three points that cost an office more than it thinks when left to trust.
Learn moreNour AI
Sub-consultant and supplier invoices read automatically and posted to the right project, instead of being keyed in at the end of every month.
Learn moreE-invoicing
A progress claim is a full tax invoice
A claim is not an internal document. Once it is presented to the client it is a standard tax invoice in a company’s name, and under Phase 2 it is cleared by Fatoora before it reaches them. A change order that reduces value, or a settlement against an earlier claim, needs an electronic credit note — not an amendment scribbled on an old sheet.
Read the e-invoicing page- Every progress claim is a standard tax invoice, submitted for clearance and returned stamped before delivery
- Reductions and settlements are made with an electronic credit note linked to the original invoice, not by editing it
- Retention is part of the invoice value rather than a discount against it — how it is presented on the invoice is your accountant’s call
- Government and private clients are both entities, so both are standard tax invoices going through clearance
Frequently asked
Does Mezan track retention automatically?
Yes. The retention percentage is defined on the contract, calculated on every claim, and posted to its own account rather than disappearing into the client’s receivable balance. You have a report at any time of total retention by project, by client, and by expected release date.
How do we find out a project has burned more hours than it was priced for?
By charging team cost, site expenses and sub-consultant invoices to the project dimension, then reading the project report that puts accumulated cost against contract value and the percentage already billed. The variance shows up during delivery, not after handover.
Some contracts are in Riyals and some in other currencies. Is that supported?
Yes — contracts, invoices and purchases run in multiple currencies with exchange differences recorded, while reporting stays consolidated in Saudi Riyals. The tax treatment of contracts with parties outside the Kingdom remains your accountant’s decision, and Mezan applies it as specified.
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