Indaba // Offshore commercial team
Control. Clarity.
Commercial confidence.
Indaba is an offshore team of quantity surveyors and commercial professionals, based in South Africa. We take on the commercial work behind construction for builders and subcontractors alike, from the first estimate to the final account, so the people running the job can run the job.
// 01 The pressure
Margins are thin. The paperwork isn't.
Construction runs on narrow margins and long documents. Most of the risk sits in the commercial detail: the tender that went out with a gap, the variation never priced, the notice sent a day late, the forecast nobody had time to update.
Tenders against the clock
Pricing is rushed, coverage is thin, and the scope gap surfaces after award.
Change that goes uncaptured
Variations and delays are recorded late, or not at all, and entitlement erodes quietly.
Disputes that arrive unprepared
By the time a claim is contested, the record needed to support it is scattered.
Teams stretched thin
Good commercial people are scarce, so the business view waits until month end.
// 02 Our view
Projects are won and lost on the commercial side.
We believe the commercial work deserves the same discipline as the build itself. Everything we do rests on three ideas.
Control
Every commitment tracked against the contract: scope, time bars, notices and cost. Nothing left to memory.
Clarity
Records and numbers anyone can follow, in your formats, so decisions rest on facts rather than instinct.
Commercial confidence
Knowing your position before you have to argue it: priced, documented and ready.
// 03 How we work with you
Three ways in. One team behind each.
Whichever describes you, the discipline and the list of deliverables are the same.
Australian builders & subcontractors
Cost-effective resourcing, backed by proven Australian experience
For Australian businesses on either side of the contract, head contractors and subcontractors, carrying more commercial work than their teams can absorb.
How it works We work to Australian contracts and conventions, in your templates, while Australia sleeps. Progress is ready to review before your morning coffee.
What we deliver ↓02South African construction clients
A stronger commercial function, in your working day
For Contractors and subcontractors in South Africa who want commercial depth without building it in-house.
How it works We work in your time zone, alongside your site and management teams, from the first estimate to the final account and, where it comes to that, the dispute.
What we deliver ↓03Partner firms
Delivered under your name, or referred to ours
For Consultancies, recruiters and claims practices with clients to serve and briefs to fill.
How it works White-label: we deliver behind you and the relationship stays yours. Referral: pass us what you can't cover. Claims practices can draw on programme and quantum groundwork behind their own experts.
What we deliver ↓// 04 What we deliver
From the first estimate to the expert opinion
Everything you would expect from estimators, quantity surveyors, contract administrators, claims specialists and planners, with the business view above the jobs. One team, one point of contact.
01
Pre-contract
Winning the work at the right price.
02
Delivery
Running the commercial side of the job.
03
Disputes
Protecting entitlement when things go wrong.
04
Business
The view above the individual jobs.
// 05 How an engagement runs
Simple to start. Easy to keep.
No onboarding programme, no long contract. A clear brief, an agreed scope, and work that arrives in the shape you need it.
- Brief. Send the documents and tell us what you need back, and by when.
- Scope. We confirm the scope, deliverables, turnaround and price before any work begins.
- Deliver. The work is prepared in your formats and reviewed before it leaves us.
- Continue. Stay with a single job, or keep us on as a standing part of your commercial team.
// 06 Ways to engage
Hourly, daily, monthly or ongoing
No job too big or too small. Engage us by the hour, the day or the month, or on periodic and ongoing contract work. Pricing is agreed per scope before any work begins.
A quick review, a single query or an urgent burst of work.
A tender, a claim or a report with a firm deadline.
A standing allocation of our time for a steady commercial workload.
Contract work that recurs or runs for the life of a project, from regular reporting to a full commercial function.
// 07 Why Indaba
Principles, not promises
Construction people, not generic offshore admin
Our team is made up of quantity surveyors and commercial professionals who understand how a job is priced, built and paid for.
Both sides of the table
We work for builders and for subcontractors, so we know how each side prices, claims and gets paid.
Your systems and formats
We work in your templates, portals and software, so our work drops straight into yours.
Confidential by default
Pricing and quotes stay yours. We never share one client's numbers with another, or name a client without permission.
We'll sign your NDA on request.Questions before assumptions
Where the documents are unclear, we raise a query rather than guess.
No job too big or too small
A single query or a whole project. Scale up for a tender peak and back down when it passes, with no hiring and no long lock-in.
// Begin with one job
Bring us one job. Judge us on it.
A tender, a claim, a programme or a forecast. Send it with the deadline and we'll come back with a scope and a price.