Septic contractor software for installs and pump-outs, shown on a fictional septic company

Open the demo and you are inside Tanklark Septic Service, a fictional septic company running the real product: click anything, nothing changes.

See pricing — it's public · Why SelfConstruct

What works today for a septic company, and what is not available yet

The demo's welcome card says the same. The names, people, jobs and prices in this demo are illustrative.

The septic jobs in the demo

Each with what its estimate covers and how it is billed:

• Quayle 1,000 gallon tank pump-out — Locate, dig and pump a 1,000 gallon two-compartment tank (Time & Materials)
  Schedule: Pump-out: locate, dig both lids and pump.
  Daily log: “Pump-out record: 1,000 gallon two-compartment concrete tank, both lids about 14 in down, dug both. Sludge 16 in and scum 4 in before pumping; pumped 1,000 gallons. Inlet and outlet baffles in place, effluent filter rinsed, no backflow from the field. Lid location: 11 ft 4 in from the northeast house corner and 23 ft from the edge of the driveway. Recommended a riser on the outlet lid.”
• Transfer inspection, 77 Kestrel Bend Road — Real-estate transfer inspection with pumping, 1,250 gallon tank (Fixed Price)
  Job notes: Ordered by the buyer's agent. Bill to Tansywold Title & Closing, paid at closing. Report to the buyer, both agents and the title officer..
  Schedule: Transfer inspection: locate, pump and inspect the system → Inspection report to the buyer, both agents and the title officer.
  Daily log: “On site with the listing agent. Located the 1,250 gallon tank and dug both lids; pumping now, then the baffles, the distribution box and a walk of the field. Transfer inspection report to follow.”
• Whitcombe drainfield replacement — Remove the failed field and build a new chamber drainfield (Fixed Price)
  Job notes: County permit and design approval are on file. Keep vehicles off the new field..
• Saarinen ATU service visit — ATU service visit with disinfection tablets (Fixed Price)
  Job notes: ATU and pump chamber installed by Tanklark; the pump chamber float is under the workmanship warranty..
  Schedule: ATU service visit and county report.
  Daily log: “ATU service notes: aerator running, air filter cleaned, alarm tested, two disinfection tablets added, spray heads cleared. Sludge 9 in in the pretreatment tank, effluent clear. County report filed online; the confirmation number is on the work order.”
• Elkmere Depot Restaurant grease trap pumping — Pump and measure the 1,500 gallon grease interceptor (Fixed Price)
  Schedule: Grease interceptor pump-out before the kitchen opens.
  Daily log: “Grease trap record: 1,500 gallon interceptor, grease and solids layers measured before pumping, pumped 1,500 gallons. Manifest copy left with the kitchen manager; the city permit number is on the work order.”
• Brackenholt Ridge Homes, Lot 9 new septic system — Conventional gravity system: 1,000 gallon tank and chamber drainfield (Fixed Price)
  Schedule: Set the tank and build the drainfield, Lot 9 → Final inspection, Lot 9.

Walk through one septic job: Whitcombe drainfield replacement

Its schedule, in order:

1. Soil evaluation and system design
2. County permit and design approval
3. Locate request and layout
4. Excavate the old field and the new trenches
5. Set the distribution box and the chambers
6. Field inspection (county, before backfill)
7. Backfill, grade, seed and straw
8. Final inspection and as-built drawing

Change orders on this job: “Haul out the old drain rock”; “Added distribution box”.

Purchase orders on this job: “Drainfield chambers, Whitcombe”; “Excavate the old field and the new trenches, Whitcombe”.

To-dos on this job: “Book the final inspection with the county”.

From its daily log:

• Locate ticket called in and cleared. Staked the new trenches from the approved design; the far end of the old field is wet at the surface. Weather: Cool, dry.
• Excavator on site. Pulled the old pipe and rock from the first two lines; the rock is clogged black and cannot be reused. Groundwater at the far end, pumped it down. CO-1 approved to haul the old rock out. Weather: Sunny.
• Uncovered the old distribution box: cracked and settled, it feeds the second line unevenly. CO-2 sent for a second distribution box. Chambers set in the first two trenches, with a tape in frame for the inspector. Weather: Sunny, light wind. Delays: Backfill waits on the field inspection.

A septic proposal in the demo: Replace the steel tank with a 1,000 gallon concrete tank

Tanklark Septic Service sent it to a lead. The scope reads:

Pump and abandon the old steel tank, set a 1,000 gallon precast concrete tank in the same location, connect the building sewer and the outlet line, add risers and lids to grade on both compartments with an effluent filter, then backfill, grade and seed the work area.

The notes on that lead:

• The buyer's inspector found the old steel tank rusted through at the outlet; the sale is waiting on a repair
• Probed the tank: 1,000 gallon steel, top rusting through; the field lines still take water
• Sent the replacement proposal with risers on both lids

Other septic leads in the demo

• Pump-out, slow drains: Slow drains and a gurgle in the basement; not pumped since they bought the house; Left a message; call back to book the truck and ask where the lid is
• Lift station and holding tank service for the season: Walked the lift station and the three holding tanks at the camper sites with the manager
• ATU maintenance contract for a new owner

What goes on a septic estimate in the demo

From Tanklark Septic Service's price list, without the prices:

• Pump-out, base, tank up to 1,000 gallons
• Pump-out, each additional gallon
• Pump truck and driver, per hour
• Locate the tank with the probe
• Dig to expose a lid, per lid
• Septage disposal fee, per gallon
• Grease waste disposal fee, per gallon
• Grease trap pump-out, per gallon
• Riser and lid to grade, installed
• Effluent filter, installed
• Real-estate transfer inspection, with pumping
• Camera inspection, per hour
• ATU service visit, checklist and county report
• Disinfection tablets, case
• Soil evaluation and system design
• County septic permit fee
• Excavator, operator and dump truck, per machine day
• 1,000 gallon precast concrete septic tank
• Drainfield chamber
• Distribution box
• Pipe and fittings, per foot
• Drain rock, per ton
• Install crew labor, per hour
• Seed and straw restoration

Septic cost codes in the demo

Tanklark Septic Service's own cost codes:

• Soil evaluation & system design
• Permits & county fees
• Mobilization
• Locates, layout & staking
• Excavation & backfill
• Septic tanks
• Pump tanks, pumps & control panels
• Distribution boxes, pipe & fittings
• Drainfield chambers & trench
• Stone, gravel & mound sand
• Pressure distribution & drip
• Advanced-treatment units (ATU)
• Risers, lids & effluent filters
• Electrical hookup
• Install crew labor
• Old-system abandonment
• Site restoration (seed & straw)
• Trucking & hauling
• As-built, start-up & owner orientation
• Warranty & callbacks
• Pumping (truck & crew)
• Disposal fees
• Locating & digging
• Jetting & camera
• Inspections
• Service repairs & parts
• Maintenance contract visits (ATU)
• Grease trap service

Questions about SelfConstruct for septic work

Is there a septic version of SelfConstruct?

Not as a separate product. Tanklark Septic Service opens with the business type “Septic (pumping, inspection, installation)”, so its menus are set for that trade. In a customer's company today, the menus are the same whatever the trade.

Can a septic job be fixed price or time and materials?

Both are in the demo: Tanklark Septic Service's “Transfer inspection, 77 Kestrel Bend Road” is a fixed-price job, and “Quayle 1,000 gallon tank pump-out” is billed time and materials.

Does SelfConstruct have “Crew, truck and route scheduling lanes” for septic companies yet?

Not yet. It is on the list the demo's welcome card shows under “Not available yet for your trade”.

See it working right now

Pricing is published on the site: $299/mo per company before sales tax, unlimited users, 50 GB of storage included.

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