A construction worker in a hi-vis vest writing on a clipboard over site plans

IT Support by Industry

IT Support for Construction & Trades

Your team is not sitting at desks. They are on sites with patchy coverage, on phones and tablets in weather that ruins them, working off plans that changed yesterday. IT support for that looks different.

Construction and trade businesses have a small office and a large, moving perimeter. Most of the working day happens on devices that are not in the building, on connections you do not control, handled by people who have far more urgent things to think about than IT.

That shapes everything. Support has to work over the phone with someone standing in a partly built house. Devices have to be replaceable at short notice without a day of setup. And security has to survive a phone being left on a site.

We support builders, subcontractors and trade businesses across Auckland — from the North Shore and Rosedale out to Te Atatu, Henderson and the west.

Talk to us Our security services

What matters here

How we help construction and trade businesses

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Invoice fraud is the expensive one

One of the attacks that costs construction businesses real money is not ransomware but payment redirection. An attacker gets into a mailbox, watches the flow of subcontractor and supplier invoices, and at the right moment sends one with different account details — or intercepts a genuine one and changes them. The sums make it worth an attacker's patience, and the normal rhythm of many invoices from many parties makes an odd one hard to spot. The defences are unglamorous: multi-factor authentication on email, monitoring that catches a compromise early, and a rule that changed bank details are confirmed by phone.

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Devices that survive the job

We take a practical view of hardware for site work. Phones and tablets get managed so a lost device can be wiped remotely and a replacement is usable as soon as it is in their hands. Laptops that live in utes get specified for that life rather than for a desk. Support works over the phone with someone who is nowhere near a computer.

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Job management, plans and photos

Whether you run Fergus, Tradify, Simpro or a set of spreadsheets that grew, the same problems recur: everyone must be looking at the current version of the plan, site photos need to end up somewhere findable rather than trapped on someone's phone, and variations need a paper trail that survives a dispute two years later. Photos matter more than people expect — in a dispute, dated site photos are often the whole argument.

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Health and safety records that actually persist

Site inductions, hazard registers, toolbox talks and safe work method statements are what main contractors, clients and insurers ask to see, and they are what you reach for after an incident. Most firms already do this on a phone; the gap is usually that the records live in an app nobody backs up, or in a group chat. We help get that into something durable and searchable.

In practice

What we put in place for a trade business

Multi-factor authentication on email, plus a phone-verification rule for bank details — the two controls that do most of the work against invoice fraud
Mobile device management, so a lost phone is wiped rather than a data breach
Microsoft 365 set up so a replacement device is productive quickly, without a day of setup
File storage and sharing that works from a phone on site, with version history
Backup covering job files, site photos and correspondence, not just the office PC
Realistic hardware specifications for site conditions

Questions

Common questions from construction and trade businesses

How do we stop a fake invoice being paid?

Two things do most of the work. First, multi-factor authentication on every mailbox, because so many of these frauds run from a genuine compromised mailbox rather than a lookalike address. Second, a hard rule: any new or changed bank account details are confirmed by phone on a number you already held, never a number in the email. Attackers rely on urgency, so the rule has to hold especially when it is urgent.

Our staff use their own phones. Is that a problem?

It is manageable, but it needs deciding rather than drifting. The workable middle ground is managing the work applications and data on the personal device — so company email and files can be removed if the phone is lost or the person leaves — without taking over their personal phone. What causes trouble is company email sitting on an unmanaged device with no way to remove it.

Can you help with site connectivity?

Yes. Options range from a 4G/5G router for a site office to failover connections so a dropout does not stop invoicing. What is appropriate depends on the site and how long you are there, and we will tell you when the cheap option is genuinely good enough.

Do you support Fergus, Tradify or Simpro?

We support the devices, accounts, connectivity and backup those systems depend on, and work with the vendor on anything inside the application. We are independent of all of them and have no incentive to move you.

What happens when someone loses a phone on site?

If the device is managed, we wipe the company data remotely and get a replacement working as soon as a device is in their hands. If it is not managed, the honest answer is that your options are limited and the data on it is in someone else's hands. Setting this up in advance takes very little effort and is the difference between an annoyance and a breach.

We are a small outfit. Where should we start?

Multi-factor authentication on email, a tested backup, and the phone-verification rule for bank details. Those three cover most of what we actually see go wrong in this industry, and none of them are expensive. Everything else can follow.

What our clients say

Reviewed by the businesses we look after

We have been working with Anvil for several years now. They are responsive, efficient, knowledgeable, and are constantly looking to improve themselves and their services. We've gone through a couple of major projects together and they went smoothly without a hitch!

Christan

I absolutely recommend Anvil Solutions. I have been thrilled with the practical changes and safety measures Anvil have added to my business. Much loved supplier!

Karen

Outstanding services from this company — no matter who you select. These guys jump to at very short notice, are unflappable and can handle just about any IT challenge (and we have sprung a few on them!)

Caroline

Ashley is a very personable, dedicated and professional — it has been a pleasure working with him sorting out our AV requirements and getting it deployed across our 9 offices.

Stu

Ash and his team at Anvil are by far the best IT company we have come across over the years. Great people to work with, they are thorough in getting the best solution to suit your business and quick to take care of things.

Marisa

Super impressed with the knowledgeable and immediate outcome-led service!

David

We have been using Anvil Solutions for a few years now and their customer service, level of understanding of our business and product knowledge is excellent. Ash is always one step ahead of us when it comes to new projects.

Hamish

Ash and his team are always professional and helpful. They find solutions to problems, and give you options where they can. They provide a great service and are on hand to give advice whenever it's needed.

Charlie

Anvil Solutions have provided us with a terrific IT solutions service, and I have total confidence in them. The staff are friendly, helpful and experts in their fields. I highly recommend them. Thanks Anvil.

Kathryn

We have utilised the services of Anvil Solutions to manage our IT needs — MS365 accounts, hardware, network, anti-virus, etc. They provide a timely and efficient response to acute situations, regularly send health check reports and supply advice for actions we may need to take to keep our system up to date and secure.

Joanne

The team at Anvil Solutions are always responsive to my needs as a small business owner and I don't think I could run my business without them. Vinodh is really approachable and doesn't mind when I have to ask silly tech questions!

Raechel

I have used Anvil for 7 years now and cannot rate them highly enough. They are attentive, reliable, courteous, on time, excellent at what they do and cost effective. They are the only IT guys I would consider using.

Paul

Ash, Ronesh and the rest of the team have been looking after my company's IT requirements for nearly 10 years now. They're great at interpreting our needs and coming up with cost-effective solutions and are excellent to deal with.

Tania

Great work! Timely, friendly, and always highly professional. Ash and the Anvil team have been supporting and serving our business for many years now and continue to provide excellent service all round.

Matt

Read our authenticated ratings for Anvil Solutions on NoCowboys.