Clayton Construction CompanyUncommon Construction · Est. 1981
Clayton ConstructionPrepared byCentervert
Date
August 6, 2026
Status
Client review draft
Engagement
Monthly technology partnership

Clayton Construction technology proposal

One secure workflow from opportunity to Operations

Centervert will build Clayton a secure pre-construction operating system. It will bring scattered project information into one record, standardize estimating and bidding, reduce repeated administrative work, and carry the complete project story into Operations.

1. What Clayton is getting

A dedicated Centervert team will design, build, test, and introduce the first version of Clayton’s operating system. The first result is a working pre-construction pilot delivered through the Crawl phase.

Monthly retainer$35,000Dedicated Centervert delivery workstream
Service termMonth to month30 days’ written notice
First working cycleApproximately 12 weeksDefined Crawl pilot

The practical result

  • One secure project record
  • One consistent pre-construction process
  • Faster bid preparation and comparison
  • A complete, reviewable Operations handoff

The work is expected to continue through an approximately 12-month Crawl, Walk, Run roadmap. Priorities and pricing are reviewed quarterly so the relationship can adjust as Clayton’s needs become clearer.

2. Problems this solves

Clayton described a process where important information and decisions are spread across people and systems. The proposal addresses those operating problems directly.

Current painWhat changes
Project information is scattered across email, folders, spreadsheets, and multiple systems.
One secure project record follows the opportunity from first conversation through Operations handoff.
Estimating and pre-construction work can be organized differently by each person.
A Clayton-standard process keeps budgets, assumptions, exclusions, questions, and approvals consistent.
Bid packages, subcontractor outreach, quote comparison, and buyout require too much manual work.
Guided tools prepare bid packages, track responses, compare quotes, and surface scope or contract risks for review.
Important assumptions and decisions are lost when pre-construction turns a project over to Operations.
A required handoff gives the PM the approved budget, scope, selections, risks, decisions, and open items in one place.
Project managers spend too much time on paperwork and repeated data entry.
Reusable workflows and approved automation reduce re-entry while Clayton employees keep control of decisions.
Security concerns and fragmented technology ownership make new systems harder to approve and support.
The new application starts with access controls, audit history, recovery, and clear separation from the broader MSP scope.

3. What Centervert will deliver in Crawl

Crawl is the defined first phase. It focuses on the highest-cost handoffs in pre-construction rather than trying to replace every Clayton system at once.

1

Clayton process map

Document the current pre-construction process, owners, systems, approvals, delays, and one representative pilot workflow.

2

Central project record

Create one secure place for the client, opportunity, project, documents, owners, dates, status, and decisions.

3

Pre-construction playbook

Standardize required questions, documents, assumptions, exclusions, budgets, approvals, and readiness checks.

4

Estimating and bid workflow

Support takeoff, estimates, bid packages, subcontractor outreach, quote leveling, risk flags, and reviewed buyout recommendations.

5

Operations handoff

Deliver a complete, reviewable handoff with the approved budget, scope, selections, risks, schedule assumptions, and open actions.

6

Secure pilot and training

Run the workflow with approved Clayton data, train pilot users, measure the result, fix priority issues, and prepare the Walk backlog.

4. The first 12 weeks

Days 1–30

Understand and establish the foundation

Map the real process, select the pilot, confirm security and data boundaries, and build the central project record and first workflow.

Days 31–60

Build the working pre-construction flow

Add the playbook, estimate structure, bid packages, subcontractor and quote workflow, communication history, and approval controls.

Days 61–90

Pilot, hand off, and decide what comes next

Run the pilot, complete the Operations handoff, train users, measure the result, resolve priority issues, and approve the Walk plan.

Crawl is successful when Clayton has:

  • One traceable project record from opportunity through Operations acceptance
  • One repeatable Clayton pre-construction process
  • A working pilot using approved Clayton information
  • A complete handoff accepted by the assigned PM or Operations owner
  • Secure access, audit history, recovery, and human approval controls
  • Trained pilot users and a prioritized Walk recommendation

5. How the partnership works

Clayton sets business priorities and approves consequential decisions. Centervert manages the product team and turns the agreed priorities into tested working software.

WeeklyWorking session

Review priorities, questions, decisions, and blockers.

Every two weeksWorking demonstration

Show working software and collect user feedback.

QuarterlyRoadmap review

Adjust scope, capacity, timing, and pricing.

Centervert provides

  • Product planning, design, engineering, testing, documentation, and training
  • Backlog management, demonstrations, release coordination, and risk reporting

Clayton provides

  • Executive sponsor, process owners, pilot users, and an Operations acceptance owner
  • Approved data and system access, timely decisions, and user feedback

6. Pricing and key terms

Monthly retainer

$35,000 for a Centervert-managed product, engineering, implementation, quality, and application-security workstream.

Billing

Billed monthly in advance. The first payment is due before kickoff.

Service term

Month to month. Either party may end the engagement with 30 days’ written notice.

Working horizon

Clayton and Centervert should plan around an approximately 12-month Crawl, Walk, Run relationship, with priorities reviewed quarterly.

Pricing review

Pricing may decrease by mutual written agreement if active development and reserved delivery capacity materially decrease. It does not decrease automatically by phase.

Outside the retainer

Full MSP service, hardware, third-party licenses, production usage charges, approved travel, and major historical-data cleanup are separate.

After payment, Clayton owns the custom Clayton-specific deliverables identified in the signed agreement. Centervert retains its existing tools, methods, and reusable components. The signed agreement controls the final legal and commercial terms.

7. Security and the separate MSP agreement

The product should be secure from the beginning, but the $35,000 software retainer does not include unlimited company-wide IT and cybersecurity service.

Included in this proposal

Security for the new system

  • Authentication and role-based access
  • Project permissions and audit history
  • Encryption, backup, recovery, and environment separation
  • Documented AI, integration, and data boundaries
Separate MSP agreement

Company-wide IT and security

  • Microsoft 365, identities, endpoints, servers, and networks
  • Help desk, monitoring, patching, backups, and incident response
  • Vendor management, security remediation, service levels, and transition plan

Clayton retains human approval for bids, contracts, external communications, financial changes, subcontractor selections, and other consequential actions.

8. Crawl, Walk, Run

Months 1–3 · Defined now

Crawl

Build and prove the pre-construction workflow through Operations handoff.

Months 4–9 · Directional

Walk

Extend into Operations, project management, field workflows, reporting, and selected integrations.

Months 10–12+ · Directional

Run

Scale successful workflows, analytics, controlled automation, and long-term support.

Walk and Run are working directions, not fixed feature promises. Clayton and Centervert will define the next backlog using the results of the phase already completed.

9. How we start

  1. Review this proposal together and agree on any final changes.
  2. Sign the month-to-month service agreement and issue the first monthly invoice.
  3. Hold the on-site process and security workshop and select the Crawl pilot.
  4. Approve the first 30-day work plan and begin the weekly delivery cadence.
Decision requested

Approve the $35,000 monthly technology partnership and authorize Centervert to prepare the final service agreement and Crawl statement of work.