About BackSight
I’m Tim Albash, an engineering surveyor and data manager in Brisbane. My field work is cadastral, subdivision, detail and high-rise set-out surveys, and in the office I look after the survey data behind them.
Why I started BackSight
I studied civil engineering in Germany, where nothing exists until it’s written down. Then I came to Brisbane and went surveying, where the job is finished before anyone has written anything down. Both are right, and both will drive you mad. BackSight is my attempt at German paperwork at Australian speed.
Experience
I work with 12d Model and AutoCAD in the office. My background is in civil engineering, from HAWK in Germany.
What I want it to do
I want each job to sit in one record: the enquiry, the quote, the booking, the hours, the materials and the invoice. That means you can open any job and see what was quoted, who worked on it and what’s been billed, without asking three people.
The name
A backsight is the reading you take back to a known point before you measure anything new. It’s how you know the rest of the work is tied to something solid. I want BackSight to be that for a job.
Where it’s up to
BackSight is in early access. Pilot firms get their own BackSight account, with jobs shared across office and phones and separate logins for up to 15 people. I set each one up myself, and public sign-up isn’t open yet. The demo stays in your browser with sample data. I’m looking for a small group of Australian survey firms to help shape the first full release, through the founding-firm pilot.
Also by me
I also built SurveyMarkup, a review desk for completed survey files.
Get in touch
Email me at hello@backsight.com.au. I read every email myself and usually reply within one business day, Brisbane time. I’m also on LinkedIn, and BackSight Software has its own LinkedIn page. BackSight is operated by me, Tim Albash, trading as BackSight Software, ABN 50 427 523 590, in Brisbane, Queensland.