Marine Construction Software for Multi-Vessel Projects

You run pipelay jobs, heavy lift campaigns, subsea installations, and decommissioning projects with crane barges, tugs, and dive support vessels working simultaneously. Each vessel generates charges, subcontractor POs, and EPC milestone invoices that need to reconcile across every phase. Base connects your project costing, subcontractor AP, and accounting so your ops team and your finance team work from the same project record.

Marine Construction
Active Project Overview
LIVE
Deepwater Pipelay (Phase 3)
MV Atlantic Constructor, Block 42
Active
Platform Decommissioning
MV Nordic Crane + 2 support vessels
Mobilizing
Subsea Cable Installation
MV Gulf Installer, Offshore Wind Farm C
Demob
847
Open POs
$4.2M
Charges This Month
94%
PO Match Rate

What Happens When You Run a Pipelay Job on Spreadsheets

Your project manager tracks charges in one spreadsheet. Your AP lead tracks subcontractor invoices in another. Your finance team reconciles both against the EPC contract in a third. When the crane barge moves to a new phase, someone copies 47 line items by hand. The version your principal sees is always one email behind the version your team is working from.

The Spreadsheet Reality
PO_Tracker_MASTER_v14_FINAL.xlsx
SubInvoices_Phase3_APRIL_rev2.xlsx
EPC_Billing_Consolidated_DRAFT.xlsx
"Which PO does this sub-invoice go against?"

$1B+

in project and port call charges tracked

35,000+

jobs managed across the platform

11,500+

purchase orders, RFQ to payment

15

currencies for multinational billing

What Marine Construction Teams Say After Switching

Anonymized because we protect client relationships. Grounded because every quote is real.

“We had three people reconciling subcontractor invoices against POs full-time. After six months on Base, one person handles it before lunch.”
F
Finance Director
marine construction firm, multi-vessel fleet
“The EPC asked for a cost breakdown by phase at 3pm on a Friday. I pulled it in two minutes. Before Base, that report was a Monday-morning job.”
P
Project Manager
offshore installation contractor
“I was skeptical another system could handle our custom charge codes. Base absorbed 87 of them on import day and we have not lost one.”
O
Operations Lead
subsea construction and decommissioning

How a Marine Construction Project Flows Through Base

1

Create your project and assign vessels

Define the project scope, assign crane barges, tugs, and support vessels. Set up phases: mobilization, transit, installation, demob. Each phase becomes a job with its own charge codes.

2

Open subcontractor POs per phase

Issue purchase orders for equipment, specialist crew, materials, and port services. Each PO links to the job and tracks spend against the approved amount.

3

Track charges as they come in

Equipment day rates, crew overtime, fuel, provisions, port fees. Every charge maps to a vessel, a phase, and a cost center. Your project total updates live.

4

Match subcontractor invoices to POs

When a sub sends an invoice, Base matches each line item to the PO it was raised against. Mismatches flag before approval. Your AP automation captures the invoice and routes it.

5

Invoice your EPC with full audit trail

Generate milestone invoices from the charges already on the record. Your EPC sees the same cost breakdown you do. Every charge links to a PO, a vessel, and a phase.

6

Close the project with profitability by phase

See margin by vessel, by phase, and by charge type. Compare actuals against the original EPC contract. QuickBooks or Xero sync keeps your books current throughout.

Jobs by Vessel
MV Atlantic Constructor14 jobs, $2.8M
MV Nordic Crane9 jobs, $1.4M
MV Gulf Installer6 jobs, $890K

What Is Marine Construction Software?

Marine construction software manages the financial and operational complexity of offshore installation, pipelay, heavy lift, dredging, and decommissioning projects. It replaces the spreadsheet-and-email stack with a shared record your whole team reads from, across every vessel, every subcontractor, and every project phase. Base handles the layer between your EPC contracts and your accounting system: RFQ to PO, PO to invoice, invoice to payment.

Subcontractor AP That Matches Your POs Automatically

Your subcontractors send invoices. Base matches each line item to the PO it was raised against, flags mismatches, and routes the approval. When your EPC asks why charge #47 exists, you show the PO, the invoice, and the approval trail in one screen. Your vendor records track every sub across every project.

PO Match
PO-4721: Crane mobilization
$184,000 approved
Matched
PO-4722: Dive support crew
$96,500 approved
Matched
PO-4723: Fuel bunkering
Invoice $12,400 vs PO $11,800
Mismatch

Three Reasons Marine Contractors Hesitate

"Our charge codes are too complex."

Base handles 87 custom charge codes at one marine contractor. Your WBS structure, phase IDs, and cost categories import on day one. Custom fields map to whatever project taxonomy you already use.

"Our subcontractors will not adopt another tool."

They do not have to. AP matching works from the invoices your subs already send you. No vendor portal required. No training. No change to their workflow.

"We are mid-project and cannot switch tools right now."

Start with your next project. Import your charge codes, vessel list, and vendor records. Run the first project alongside your existing process. Bring historical jobs over later when you are ready.

Marine Construction

See Your Next Project on Base

Walk through a real marine construction project using your charge codes, your PO structure, and your EPC billing format. We will show you how subcontractor invoices match to POs automatically and how project profitability rolls up by vessel and phase.

“We used to spend the first week of every month reconciling subcontractor invoices against three different spreadsheets. Now the match happens when the invoice arrives.”

– Finance Director, marine construction contractor

See how Base solves your biggest challenges

Stop Reconciling Subcontractor Invoices by Hand

Marine construction teams that run their project financials in Base typically close their books five days faster within the first quarter because charges, POs, and invoices share the same project record.

Marine Construction Software FAQ

Offshore installation, pipelay, heavy lift, dredging, subsea construction, and decommissioning. Any project with multiple vessels, subcontractors, and phased billing.
Each project contains jobs organized by phase. Vessels are assigned to jobs, and every charge, PO, and expense rolls up to the project level for profitability tracking across your entire fleet.
Yes. Create POs for subcontractors, then match incoming invoices line-by-line against the PO. Mismatches are flagged before approval routes the charge for sign-off.
Base syncs with QuickBooks and Xero. Approved charges flow to your accounting system automatically with full job and vessel context.
Most marine construction firms go live within two to three weeks. Start with one project, import your charge codes and vendor records, and expand when you are ready.
Yes. Base imports your open jobs, charge codes, POs, and vendor records from spreadsheet exports. You review the mapping before anything goes live.
ERP systems like ProjectVIEW handle resource planning, crew scheduling, and asset management. Base handles the financial and operational layer: project costing, subcontractor AP, EPC invoicing, and accounting sync. They complement each other.

Ready to get started?

See how Base works for your operation.