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Learn how Kelvin Air Conditioning reduced paperwork, sped up approvals, and gained tighter project control using ProjectBase.
Company: Kelvin Air Conditioning (Central Air Conditioning Projects)
Founded: 2001
Team size: 100+ people (commercial + technical)
Project volume: 60–70+ projects per year
Project types: Commercial, hospitals, hospitality, clean rooms, pharma, semiconductors, solar manufacturing
Recent milestone projects: Semiconductor project at Sanand, and data centre work including Mumbai and Pune, plus a large data centre job at BKC
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Kelvin Air Conditioning is a long-standing central air conditioning contractor handling dozens of projects every year across fast-growing segments like semiconductors, data centres, clean rooms, and pharma.
As the business scaled, the real challenge was not winning projects. It was controlling execution with the same (limited) manpower, and keeping margins safe in a market where profitability is already tight.
Kelvin saw that labour and skilled engineering availability would keep getting tougher, so automation was no longer “nice to have”.
They explored software as early as 2015–16, tried a solution, but implementation took too long and adoption was difficult. The tool was more production-oriented, and they could not implement it fully.
Auditors were comfortable with Tally and were not convinced with the earlier system, which created operational friction and forced Kelvin back to Tally for peace of mind.
Net-net: Kelvin needed a project execution system that still “plays nicely” with Tally, otherwise adoption would never stick.
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The decision came down to practicality.
Kelvin’s experience highlights a point most contractors relate to, change management is the hardest part.
They set a clear cut-off approach internally, after a date, material requests, GRNs, and workflows must happen only inside ProjectBase. That clarity helped overcome resistance.
Over time, usage became standard, and new hires were expected to start using the system from day one.
Kelvin described approvals becoming “very fast,” and leadership no longer needed to be in office to keep work moving.
They also track the business daily in ProjectBase, pending PRs, approvals, MRs, and what deliveries can be planned for the next month based on what’s already ordered.
A big visible shift was paper reduction. They stopped printing purchase orders, sending POs online, receiving bills online, and using printouts only where taxation or government process requires physical copies.
Earlier, excess quantities would remain at site after project completion. Now, teams cross-check requirements against the work order and measurements, because ProjectBase flags or rejects requests above approved quantities unless the right approvals are taken.
They also use “unbilled quantity / unbilled amount” signals to identify potential excess material lying at site and re-route it to other sites when needed.
Kelvin’s billing is milestone-based (advance, delivery, commissioning style splits), and they insisted ProjectBase must support this. Once implemented, billing became simpler because site teams raise billing requests and the system shows what’s billed vs pending for each item.
Kelvin called out accounting becoming easier as one of the top three immediate improvements post-ProjectBase.
They also noted that time required for GRN and bill entry reduced because Tally gets synced.
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They described the workflow as “very controlled” because approvals are required at each step, reducing unwanted or unchecked actions.
Because paperwork reduced heavily, leadership got more bandwidth for growth planning and expansion thinking.
Kelvin shared a clear business outcome, since installing ProjectBase (about 3 years), turnover has increased by about 3 times, while continuing on the same system.
On why contractors should adopt a system like ProjectBase:
“Problem with our industry is margin… unless and until we save on the time, save on the material… and have a better control over the project, we will not be able to survive… If a contractor is still using Excel… they will miss the opportunity for sure.”
On top operational improvements:
“Approval is becoming very very fast… I can approve it from anywhere in the world… and accounting is becoming very very easy.”
For Kelvin Air Conditioning, ProjectBase became the execution backbone that helped them move from owner-driven firefighting to system-driven control. The outcomes were practical and visible on the ground, faster approvals, far less paperwork, tighter material discipline, smoother milestone billing, and easier accounting via Tally syncing.
In a low-margin contracting world, this kind of control is not optional anymore. It’s how contractors protect profitability while scaling project volumes safely.
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Kelvin realised that as project volumes increased, Excel and manual approvals were limiting control. Approvals were slow, material excesses were difficult to track, and leadership time was getting consumed in paperwork instead of planning growth.
Yes. Kelvin had tried a software solution earlier, but it took too long to implement and was difficult to adopt. It also did not align well with Tally, which created discomfort for both internal teams and auditors.
With ProjectBase, approvals no longer depend on physical presence in the office. Management can approve purchase requests and documents from anywhere, which significantly reduced delays and removed the need for chasing signatures.
ProjectBase enforces quantity control by comparing material requests with work orders and approved quantities. Requests beyond limits require justification and approval, which reduced excess material left at site after project completion.
Yes. Kelvin follows milestone-based billing, such as advance, delivery, and commissioning stages. ProjectBase supported this structure, making it easy to track what has been billed and what is still pending for each project item.
Yes. One of the biggest benefits for Kelvin was easier accounting. ProjectBase integrates with Tally, reducing manual data entry, simplifying GRN and bill processing, and keeping auditors comfortable with familiar accounting systems.
Since implementing ProjectBase, Kelvin has seen nearly 3× growth in turnover. With better control over approvals, materials, and billing, leadership gained confidence to scale operations without increasing chaos or manpower stress.
Kelvin’s experience shows that ProjectBase works well even for complex projects such as semiconductor plants, data centres, pharma facilities, and clean rooms, where material control, documentation, and approvals are critical.
Kelvin strongly believes that in a low-margin industry, survival depends on saving time, controlling materials, and running projects through a system rather than Excel. Contractors who delay adopting such systems risk losing control as they grow.
Let's schedule a demo so you can get first-hand experience of how ProjectBase can help you run your operations faster and smarter.
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