Capability — field
A field app that works with no signal
Estimark installs to the home screen of any phone or tablet and keeps working with no signal: the app shell is cached so it loads and navigates offline, everything you create or change is queued in the browser’s own database, and it replays automatically when the signal returns.
What no signal does to a site
The app is a white screen
A web app that will not even load without a connection is worse than paper, because paper works in a basement.
The photo is lost
Most offline queues drop file uploads, which means the evidence is the first thing to go.
The retry gave up
Silently dropping a worker’s entry after a few failures is the single worst thing an offline queue can do.
It only syncs when the phone says it is online
On a site with one bar, the phone insists it is online while every request times out.
Capability — how it works
Is there an app to download?
No — and that is deliberate. Estimark installs to the home screen of any iPhone, Android phone or tablet as a progressive web app, so there is no app store, no approval queue and no per-device install.
- It runs standalone once installed, without browser chrome.
- A subcontractor’s operative can be working in it in under a minute.
- Native iOS and Android apps are in development. The installable web app is the field product today.
What actually works offline?
Three things: the app loads, previously loaded data is readable, and everything you write is queued.
- The app shell is precached, so it loads and navigates on any route with no connection at all.
- Data requests go to the network first with a ten-second timeout, then fall back to the cached copy — so a flaky signal degrades instead of failing.
- The jobs list is served from cache instantly and refreshed in the background.
- Every create, update and delete you make offline is stored in the browser’s database and replayed when you reconnect. Reads are not queued, because there is nothing to replay.
- File uploads are queued too — photos are encoded into the queue rather than dropped.
NoteNothing is pre-downloaded. Offline reads depend on what you loaded while you still had signal, and there is no “download this job for offline” action yet.
What happens to a change that will not sync?
It is retried up to five times and then held and counted, never discarded.
- A banner shows how many changes are queued, in red when offline and amber when online with work still pending.
- The queue is checked every five seconds and syncs automatically on a short debounce whenever you are online with anything pending — not only on an offline-to-online transition, because a flaky site signal never produces one.
- There is a manual sync button for when you want to watch it flush.
- After a successful sync the screens you were looking at refresh themselves.
What is in field mode?
A stripped-down, mobile-first area at /field with a five-item bottom bar: Today, Jobs, Diary, Hours and Defects.
- Per job, an operative gets RAMS, permits, photos and QA checklists.
- Defects, photos and QA checklists all tell you explicitly when something has been saved to the queue rather than sent.
- The offline banner is present in field mode as well as the main app, so a worker who never leaves /field still syncs.
What does not work offline?
QR site attendance, because it needs a live GPS fix and a server-side geofence and gate check at the moment of clock-on.
- The tab has to be open for the queue to flush — there is no background sync.
- Replay is last-write-wins against the server; there is no conflict resolution screen.
- There are no web push notifications.
Offline, in numbers
- Install
- Home screen, no app store
- App shell
- Precached
- Network timeout
- 10 seconds
- Queue storage
- Browser database
- Photos
- Queued, not dropped
- Retries
- 5, then held
- Discarded work
- Never
- Price
- Included on every plan
Every plan
Included
Field mode and the offline queue are part of the product, not a paid add-on. They are on from Solo at £29 a month upward.
What you get
- Installable on any phone or tablet
- Offline app shell and cached reads
- Offline write queue with photo support
- Automatic replay with a five-retry cap
- Field mode: Today, Jobs, Diary, Hours, Defects
Site Diary is £9/month and Photo Management £9/month, both available from Solo. Timesheets is £15/month.
Questions
Offline field mode — frequently asked
Does Estimark have an iOS or Android app?
Estimark installs to the home screen of any iPhone, Android phone or tablet as a progressive web app, so there is nothing to download from an app store. It runs standalone and has an offline field mode. Native iOS and Android apps are in development.
Does Estimark work without an internet connection?
Yes. The app shell is precached so it loads and navigates offline, previously loaded data is readable from cache, and every change you make is queued in the browser’s database and replayed automatically when the signal returns. Photos are queued too rather than dropped. Nothing is pre-downloaded, so offline reads depend on what you loaded while online.
What happens if a queued change fails to sync?
It is retried up to five times and then held and reported to you as stuck. It is never silently discarded. A banner shows how many changes are pending, and there is a manual sync button.
Can operatives clock in offline?
No. QR site attendance needs a live GPS fix and a server-side geofence and compliance-gate check at the moment of clock-on, so it requires a connection. Everything else in field mode queues offline.
Related
QR site attendance
Geofenced clock-on, gated on induction, CSCS and RAMS. Live muster roll.
For sole traders
Solo at £29/month — one user, 15 open jobs, quote and invoice from the phone.
For electricians
EIC, EICR, Minor Works and PAT certificates with typed test results.
For property maintenance firms
Repairs on SLA, appointment windows, schedule of rates and van stock.
Try it on a real job.
Fourteen days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee.