SBS Waterproofing is one of the Western Cape's established contractors for waterproofing solutions, structural repairs, and asbestos roofing replacement. They operate across a wide range of building types — commercial, residential, and industrial — managing a portfolio of active projects at any given time, each with its own timeline, client relationship, and on-site team.
The business had grown steadily on the strength of its technical reputation and the quality of its site work. But by the time they approached GEMIS, growth had introduced a problem that is common among contractors of this size: their administrative and operational systems had not kept pace with the complexity of what they were managing.
The challenge: managing project complexity without the right infrastructure
Waterproofing contracting is not a simple business to manage. Every project involves an initial site assessment, a quotation and approval process, procurement, scheduling of specialist crews, progress tracking across multiple active sites, invoicing tied to completion milestones, and a warranty and aftercare relationship that may extend years beyond the original work.
At low volume, this kind of complexity can be navigated with a combination of spreadsheets, email, and experienced people carrying the knowledge in their heads. At higher volume, those same approaches become a liability. Information about client relationships lives in individual inboxes. Project status lives in someone's notebook. The sales pipeline is a spreadsheet that three people maintain in different ways.
SBS needed a single system that could hold their entire client and project landscape in one place — from first enquiry through to completed contract and ongoing aftercare — and surface the right information to the right person at the right time, without requiring a senior person to manually consolidate it.
The system also needed to reflect SBS's actual processes, not a generic contractor template. Their specific quoting workflow, their job categorisation, their milestone structures — these were not standard, and a generic CRM would have required significant workaround rather than genuine fit.
What GEMIS built
The engagement began with a thorough mapping of how SBS actually worked — not how they wished they worked, or how a standard waterproofing contractor might work, but the specific processes, approval paths, and information flows that their team used day to day. That process of understanding before building is central to how GEMIS approaches every project.
The result was a bespoke CRM and Project Control System built on the Microsoft technology stack, designed specifically around SBS's operational model. The core of the system addressed three interconnected needs.
Client relationship management. A centralised record of every client, site, and property in the SBS portfolio — with full contact history, quotation history, active contracts, and warranty status accessible in one place. No more searching email threads for the last communication with a client. No more uncertainty about which version of a quote was the one the client actually accepted.
Pipeline and quotation management. A structured workflow that takes an enquiry from initial contact through site assessment, quotation, approval, and contract award — with clear visibility of where each opportunity sits in the process, who is responsible for the next action, and what the total pipeline value looks like at any point in time.
Project control and progress tracking. Once a contract is awarded, the system tracks the project through its stages — mobilisation, active works, milestone completion, invoicing, and handover. Site managers can update progress, document completion of key tasks, and flag issues. The office has real-time visibility without needing to chase updates by phone.
GEMIS demonstrated a strong commitment to delivering a customised solution tailored to our specific needs — consistently meeting deadlines and adding value to the software solution.
— Ryan Smith, Director, SBS WaterproofingWhat changed for SBS
The most immediate change was in how SBS's leadership team experienced their own business. Information that had previously required phone calls, email searches, or manual report assembly was now available on demand. Directors could see the active pipeline, the status of projects in progress, and client history without asking anyone to compile it for them.
Streamlined operations
The duplication of effort involved in maintaining disconnected records across email, spreadsheets, and individuals' own notes was eliminated. One system, one version of the truth.
Enhanced client satisfaction
With full visibility of client history and project status, SBS's team could respond to client enquiries faster and with more accurate information — improving the quality of every client interaction.
Stronger market position
The ability to manage a larger project portfolio without proportionally increasing administrative overhead meant SBS could grow without the operational friction that would otherwise limit scale.
A living system
Because the system was built bespoke, GEMIS has been able to continue adding capability as SBS's needs evolve — a partnership model rather than a one-time implementation.
A note on fit and the importance of process mapping
The SBS engagement illustrates something we have learned consistently across twelve years of building systems for South African SMEs: the quality of what gets built is directly proportional to the quality of the understanding that precedes it.
A contractor like SBS has genuine complexity in their operations — it is not a simple business. A generic off-the-shelf CRM would have covered perhaps sixty percent of what they needed, and the forty percent it missed would have driven the team back to spreadsheets within months. The only way to address the full complexity was to understand it first, and then build specifically for it.
That process of understanding — mapping actual workflows, documenting real business rules, testing assumptions with the people who do the work — is what makes the difference between a system that gets used and a system that gathers dust. It is also the phase that is most frequently underestimated in project scoping, and most regretted when it is skipped.
Start with a Technology Fit Assessment
A structured half-day session that maps your current processes and identifies your realistic options — before any build begins. The R6,995 fee is credited in full against your first development phase if you proceed with GEMIS.
Learn about the assessment →