Offshore staff for builders: estimators and office support while you're on site

Tender load and paperwork follow a busy builder home. Plans arrive faster than anyone can measure them, quotes go out late, and enquiries wait until the weekend. The work between the first call and the final invoice needs an owner who isn’t on the tools. Start with your trade, job volumes and current software. Clear price lists, scheduling rules and approval limits tell a new hire what they can handle and what needs your decision.

Construction admin outsourcing, from enquiry to final invoice

Tender and quote. An estimator does take-offs from plans in Buildxact, Cubit or Bluebeam, builds bills of quantities, requests and compares supplier and subcontractor prices, and prepares draft estimates and tender documents for your review.

Enquiries and bookings. An admin assistant captures job details, answers routine questions, books site visits within your rules and keeps the pipeline current in Simpro, ServiceM8, AroFlo or Tradify.

Running the job. They coordinate approved crew schedules, raise purchase orders, match supplier documents to jobs, chase subcontractor insurances and licences, and keep customers informed about agreed changes.

Variations and invoicing. They prepare variation paperwork and progress claims for your approval, build invoices from completed jobs and follow up overdue accounts in Xero.

Back office. A virtual assistant manages your inbox and diary, answers emails, updates your website and Google Business Profile, and handles the jobs that don’t fit anywhere else.

What stays with your licensed team

The technical and commercial calls stay onshore. Site assessments, scope, margins, contract terms, sign-off on estimates, safety, compliance with the National Construction Code and any licensed work remain with your qualified people. The offshore hire measures, prepares, schedules and follows up. They don’t approve variations or commit you to a price. Write those limits into the role brief. Tarino doesn’t give legal or compliance advice.

How we screen estimators and builder admin

An estimator’s CV can look right and the take-off still be wrong, so the practical task decides most searches. For estimators it could include a take-off from a sample set of residential plans. For admin roles it could include a quote built from a price list plus a scheduling task. Of a typical pool of 1,000+ candidates, about 200 pass CV and video screening and about 100 sit the practical task. Around 50 reach the structured interview and 20 the finalist review. You meet the best 3–4, usually within about 2 weeks. The five screening stages are set out in full. At the 6-month mark, more than 95% of Tarino placements are still in the role.

Your plans, your pricing, your logins

Your hire works in your estimating, job-management and accounting software under accounts you create. You set permission levels, require multi-factor authentication and remove access when they leave. Keep payment approvals and bank access with your own team. Plans, customer details and your rates stay in your systems, and you remain responsible for customer information under the Privacy Act. Our offshore staff security checklist lists the access and offboarding steps.

What an estimator costs beyond their salary

A managed agency adds a fee every month the estimator works for you. Staff Domain’s published Scale rate is A$1,099 per person per month, about A$13,188 a year, plus A$1,200 per hire (checked October 2026). An estimator and an admin assistant on that model cost about A$26,376 a year in fees before wages. With Tarino you pay one recruitment fee per hire, nothing monthly, and your hire keeps their full salary because you pay them directly. Check the numbers for your crew in the offshore staff cost calculator, and plan cover around Philippines public holidays in 2026.

If late quotes are costing you jobs, hire the estimator first. If the phone and the invoices are the problem, start with the admin assistant.