The CATProjects Alternative That Runs the Whole Project, Not Just the Finance
Finance in CATProjects. Projects in Procore. One platform does both.
Many CATProjects builders run it alongside Procore for delivery, a site app for the field, spreadsheets for forecasting and Xero for the ledger. Deep Space is one platform from tender to final claim, office to site, built here for mid-sized commercial builders. Xero stays your ledger. KAI does the invoice data entry.
5 Reasons ANZ Commercial Builders Choose Deep Space Over CATProjects
Not a feature checklist. The five things mid-sized commercial builders tell us when they're comparing CATProjects to Deep Space.
Scope
Project finance: costs, orders, invoices, claims and reporting. Delivery usually runs in Procore.
One platform across preconstruction, procurement, commercial, programme, documents, delivery and HSEQ.
Stack shape
CATProjects plus Procore for drawings and RFIs, a site or safety app, spreadsheets for forecasting, and Xero for the ledger.
Deep Space web app in the office, DS Site in the field, Xero as your ledger. No middleware.
Pricing model
Priced by users and modules, on top of whatever Procore and the site app cost.
Flat annual fee. Unlimited projects, users, subbies and consultants.
Invoices and AI
Invoices keyed against orders by hand. One or two approvers, then exported for payment.
KAI reads every invoice and claim from your AP inbox. Approvals route by role and dollar limit. Bills land in Xero automatically.
Forecasting
Costs captured in CATProjects, then pulled into Excel to forecast.
Live cost to complete on every code, updated as commitments, claims and variations move.
What builders actually say
(...some very real conversations)
From real evaluation and implementation calls with commercial builders moving off CATProjects across Australia and New Zealand.
CATProjects Runs the Finance. Deep Space Runs the Whole Project.
CATProjects is a long-standing project finance system, and plenty of NZ and Australian builders know it well. It captures costs, orders, invoices and claims, then hands approved invoices to accounts. Drawings, RFIs, the programme and the site sit in other systems, so information gets keyed twice and the forecast lives in a spreadsheet.
Deep Space is built here, with builders here, for the whole project. CCA and SOPA compliant claims, NZS 3910 and AS 4000 contract frameworks, GST, native Xero and local support. Estimate, budget, commitments, claims and forecast sit on one thread of cost, so nothing is re-keyed.
- Costs in CATProjects, forecast in Excel.
- Drawings, RFIs and the programme in Procore or email.
- Invoices keyed against orders, then exported for payment.
- One thread of cost. Estimate, budget, commitments, claims and forecast, linked.
- Native Xero sync. Contacts, bills, invoices and paid status. No middleware.
- CCA and SOPA compliant claims. Payment schedules, sliding retention, NZS 3910 and AS 4000.
KAI Does the Data Entry. Your Team Does the Checking.
In a typical CATProjects setup, invoices arrive by email and someone keys them in against the order, then approvals happen and the result is exported for payment. The work is careful, and it's manual.
KAI is built into the Deep Space invoice inbox. It reads every invoice and subcontractor claim that lands in your AP mailbox, pulls out the supplier, amounts, GST and line items, suggests the project and matches the order. Your team reviews and approves, and the bill goes to Xero.
What KAI does in your AP inbox
Capture
Invoices downloaded from email and keyed in.
Invoices and claims read straight from your AP mailbox, with the PDF alongside the data.
Coding
Supplier, amounts and cost codes entered by hand.
Supplier, invoice number, GST and line items extracted. Project suggested.
Matching
Matched against the order by the person keying it.
Matched to PO lines or the subcontract schedule of values, with over-commitment warnings.
Payment
One or two approvers, then exported to accounts.
Delegation of Authority by role and dollar limit, then a Bill to Pay in Xero with the invoice attached.
The Typical CATProjects Stack Means Keying It Twice. One Platform Replaces All of It
Many CATProjects builders run a stack: CATProjects for finance, Procore for drawings and RFIs, a site or safety app, spreadsheets for forecasting, and Xero for the ledger. Every join is another login, another subscription, and another place where the numbers drift apart.
Five or more systems for one project. The same subbie, invoice and variation keyed into more than one of them.
What's actually native in Deep Space:
- Native Xero sync for contacts, bills, invoices, payment status and tracking categories, including regional P&L by department.
- Built-in tender pipeline, estimating and subcontractor tendering, so tender pricing flows straight into the budget.
- Native programme module that ingests MS Project files and drives the procurement schedule, so nothing is let late.
- HSEQ from DS Site covers inductions, SWMS sign-on, incidents, inspections and daily site sign-in, in one native app.
Three weeks. Hands-on.
Built around your project.
Most platforms are places teams go to file documents and generate reports after the work has already happened. Deep Space is where the work runs, with intelligence built into every workflow.
Programme and forecast side by side
MS Project file
Kept outside CATProjects
Ingested, live lookahead, collaborative
Letting schedule
Planned from site start and lead times
Driven by the live programme, so nothing is let late
Variation impact
Priced and tracked in finance
Linked from subcontract to head contract, into claim and forecast
Cost forecast
Pulled into Excel each month
Live cost to complete
Site to office
A separate site app, or paper
DS Site captures diaries, photos and forms straight into the project
We're not pretending to win in every dimension. There are areas where CATProjects goes deeper, and areas where the right answer is to keep what you have. Here's what we tell you straight.
CATProjects has a service stream for small works and maintenance, invoiced per card. Deep Space is built for commercial construction projects. If service work is a big part of your business, tell us early and we'll be straight about fit.
CATProjects can recharge plant to projects by rate and run stock with weighted-average costing. Deep Space has a plant and equipment register with QR prestarts and work orders, but no rate-based recharge or stock control. If those drive your margin, we'll talk it through.
CATProjects also connects to MoneyWorks. Deep Space integrates natively with Xero and keeps it as your ledger. If you're on another accounting system, ask us before you assume it's a fit.
CATProjects, in builders' own words
Credit where it's due: CATProjects has a solid reputation for project finance, and builders who've used it say so. Teams switch when they want the rest of the project in the same place.
Coming off CATProjects is
simpler than you think
No big-bang cutover. We take your CATProjects contractor and phone lists, cost codes and live project data, map them into Deep Space, and get your team running real projects within weeks of signing.
See your CATProjects stack mapped to Deep Space.
30 minutes with the team. Bring your current setup. We'll show you exactly how the workflows you run today translate into Deep Space, what you replace, and what stays. No generic demo.
.png)
.png)
