How do work orders, quotes and invoices fit together?

Committees that skip straight from "we need this fixed" to "pay the invoice" lose the ability to compare options or catch cost creep before it happens. Working through quotes, work orders and invoices in sequence closes that gap.

Quotes

Before committing to a contractor, most non-trivial jobs are worth getting more than one quote for. Comparing quotes side by side — scope, price, timeframe — gives the committee a defensible basis for its decision, which matters if an owner later questions why a particular contractor was chosen.

Work orders

Once a quote is accepted, a work order formalises what's been agreed: the scope, the contractor, the price and any conditions. This is the reference point if a dispute arises later about what was actually agreed to be done.

Invoices

When the work is finished, the invoice is recorded against the work order it relates to, so the final cost can be checked against the quoted price rather than taken at face value. Any variance — extra work, delays, additional materials — is visible rather than buried in a lump sum.

Why sequencing matters

• It creates a paper trail justifying the spend if it's ever questioned
• It surfaces variations from the original quote instead of hiding them in the final number
• It gives incoming committee members a clear history of what was done, by whom, and for how much

What Flex Strata does and doesn't do here

Flex Strata tracks the quote, work order and invoice for each maintenance job, and the approvals attached to them. It does not process payments, reconcile bank accounts or manage levy funding of works — those functions remain in the full Strata Pages product used by managers and self-managing bodies corporate handling their own accounts.