Escube Air Conditioning Gains Better Cost Control and Material Visibility with ProjectBase

Company Overview

Company: Escube Air Conditioning
Industry: HVAC Contracting
Turnover: Rs. 50-100 Cr
Go-Live with ProjectBase: April 2024
Legacy Systems: Excel, Tally

Escube Air Conditioning is a fast-growing HVAC contracting company handling project-based execution involving procurement, estimation, material movement, and billing. Like many contractors in this space, Escube managed its operations using a mix of Excel sheets and Tally before moving to ProjectBase.

While these tools were familiar, they created limitations around rate control, quantity tracking, and visibility into non-billable items. As project complexity increased, the leadership team realised the need for a system that could bring better discipline to purchases, tighter linkage with estimates, and clearer management control, without adding operational complexity.

In April 2024, Escube Air Conditioning went live with ProjectBase to address these challenges.

The Situation Before ProjectBase

Before adopting ProjectBase, Escube’s teams relied heavily on manual processes. Purchase data, estimation references, and material tracking were spread across multiple Excel files and Tally records. This created friction at multiple levels of execution.

Key Challenges Faced

1. Limited Rate Visibility
‍
Purchase teams had no easy way to check:

• Previous purchase order rates
  
  
• Whether current order rates aligned with estimation rates
  
  

This often meant manual cross-checking, increasing the risk of rate mismatches and margin leakage.

2. Quantity Control Gaps
‍
Tracking quantities issued, consumed, and remaining—especially for non-billable items—was difficult. Management lacked a consolidated view of where quantities were getting consumed without billing impact.

3. Manual Effort in Purchase Operations
‍
Purchase coordinators had to repeatedly type item descriptions and manually validate details for each order. This was time-consuming and prone to inconsistency.

4. Fragmented Visibility for Management
‍
While data existed, it was not easily usable. Management depended on reports prepared manually, making real-time control over quantities and rates nearly impossible.

Why Escube Chose ProjectBase

Escube did not look for a complex ERP. The requirement was clear:

• Better rate control
  
  
• Better quantity tracking
  
  
• Clear linkage between estimation and actual purchases
  
  
• Reduced manual effort for the purchase team
  
  

ProjectBase stood out because it addressed these exact pain points without forcing a heavy system overhaul.

How ProjectBase Was Implemented

Escube Air Conditioning went live with ProjectBase in April 2024. The implementation focused primarily on:

• Purchase workflows
  
  
• Estimation comparison
  
  
• Material tracking
  
  
• Management visibility
  
  

The rollout was structured to ensure teams could continue operations without disruption, while gradually shifting away from Excel-dependent workflows.

What Changed After ProjectBase

1. Stronger Rate Control for Purchases

One of the most immediate benefits for Escube was the ability to:

• View previous purchase order rates instantly
  
  
• Compare order rates with estimation rates before finalising purchases
  
  

This ensured:

• Fewer pricing surprises
  
  
• Better negotiation with vendors
  
  
• Improved cost discipline across projects
  
  

What earlier required manual Excel lookups is now available inside the system, in real time.

2. Improved Quantity Control, Especially for Non-Billable Items

ProjectBase gave Escube clearer visibility into:

• Issued quantities
  
  
• Consumed quantities
  
  
• Non-billable items and their impact
  
  

For management, this meant:

• Better tracking of material movement
  
  
• Fewer unnoticed quantity overruns
  
  
• Improved accountability at the project level
  
  

This has been especially valuable in maintaining cost control beyond just billed items.

3. Material Tracking for Project Managers

Project managers now use ProjectBase to:

• Track material movement more reliably
  
  
• Understand what has been ordered, issued, and used
  
  

This has reduced confusion between site teams and purchase teams and improved coordination during execution.

4. Reduced Manual Work for Purchase Coordinators

For purchase coordinators, ProjectBase simplified daily work by:

• Reusing standard item descriptions
  
  
• Reducing repetitive typing
  
  
• Making rate and estimation comparisons easier
  
  

As a result, purchase processing has become faster, cleaner, and more consistent.

5. Clearer Management Control

From a leadership perspective, ProjectBase has helped Escube gain:

• Better quantity control
  
  
• Better rate control
  
  
• A more reliable view of project-level cost behaviour
  
  

Instead of relying on post-fact Excel reports, management can now review structured data and spot issues earlier.

Measurable Impact

Since implementing ProjectBase, Escube estimates:

• 30–40% reduction in manual work across purchase and tracking activities
  
  

While this is an ongoing journey, the operational foundation is now far more structured than before.

Support Experience

Escube has shared feedback on support with clear expectations:

• Support is responsive
  
  
• Feature enhancements around billing and reporting would add further value
  
  

Their inputs are aligned with practical, on-ground contracting workflows rather than theoretical requirements.

The Bigger Picture

For Escube Air Conditioning, ProjectBase has not replaced people or processes—it has brought structure, clarity, and control to areas that were earlier managed manually.

The biggest gains so far have been:

• Better control over purchase rates
  
  
• Improved visibility into quantities
  
  
• Reduced dependency on Excel
  
  
• Faster, cleaner purchase operations
  
  

As usage matures and additional features are added, Escube sees ProjectBase becoming a stronger backbone for their project operations.

In Their Own Words

“ProjectBase helps us control quantities and rates much better. Earlier, everything was manual. Now, checking previous order rates and comparing them with estimation is easy. It has reduced manual work and improved visibility for management.”