6 minute read
Make tech a powerful, everyday tool in your business
Software for builders and tradies is called many things – job management apps, project management software, construction management tech and more.
They all do the same thing – help you to run your business and your projects more efficiently and profitably. It’s easy to think that tech is used only for certain project tasks. But they offer so much more than that. You’ll quickly find that software will become your most powerful tool, giving you control at every stage of a project or job.
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How can construction software help your business?
Quote faster and more accurately Doing your calculations and take-offs from PDFs of the plans means you can save time by doing measurements more quickly. Your quotes and estimates can be more accurate because supplier price lists are stored in your job management system. Up to date pricing means no nasty surprises for you, or your client. Work smarter and faster Even little changes to the way you work can have a big impact on your workload. For instance: • Manage your team by planning your jobs over the next few days to a few months in advance • Cut down on the amount of admin paperwork you have to manage by using a timesheet app • Easily share info with your support team (such as your bookkeeper), who may not be on-site with you. Be better than the competition When the market starts to tighten as expected, you’ll need to outperform against your competitors. Technology can help you to do this by: • Providing fast, accurate and professional quotes and estimates to your potential customers • Give clients visibility of their job, which gives them confidence that your projects are well organised and that you’re professional • Helping your customers to manage their costs by tracking their project budget. Improve your communication For many people, face-to-face meetings are impractical, for instance, if your client is not based in the same location as you. Having an online client and subcontractor portal, where you can share key info and updates, could be incredibly valuable. They can log-on to communicate with you, sign variations, review what’s happening and when, and more. This visibility is vital to building trust and having a transparent relationship with clients. Plan ahead With the right software, creating your construction programme or booking jobs is simplified. Having a central project plan will make sure your team and subtrades are ready to go when you need them to be. Your subbies can also be automatically notified when they’re needed or when changes occur. Visibility of financials Delays can cause project budgets to haemorrhage and get out of control. By using software, you can easily make sure your job costs and customer invoicing is always up to date, so you can always stay on top of your financial position.
Step 1 – understand where you are now Start by listing your business problems. What are the key issues you’re struggling with at the moment and over the last few months?
Work through the challenges you are having in these areas in your business as a starting point. • Quoting takes too much time and you miss including items in your quotes, over and over again • You’re not capturing variations to jobs • You struggle to track costs on a job or know if you’ve been charged the correct amount by your supplier • Keeping the client updated is difficult and time consuming. Step 2 – what do you want to achieve? Next, you need to be clear about the goals you want to achieve. Start by listing the goals you want to achieve. Keep it realistic and focus on what you would like to achieve immediately and in the next year.
For example, I want to: • Have my team enter their timesheets electronically • Spend more time growing the business, rather than being on the tools • Reduce the time I spent on admin and paperwork each week • Improve budget communication with clients • Capture variations to jobs more accurately.
Step 3 – what is most important to you? It’s important to realise that no software will do 100% of what you need. There will be compromises that you have to make along the way. In Step 3, you need to think about what your ‘Must Haves’ and ‘Nice to Haves’ are. A ‘Must Have’ is a requirement that is critical whereas, if you can compromise on it, it’s a ‘Nice to Have’. Try to be specific if you can, such as: • I need to have easy visibility of my Gross Profit for each job (Must Have) • I want to be able to send SMS messages and emails to my clients (Nice to Have).
Step 4 – identify what is holding you back Before you implement any new software in your business, there may be other changes that you need to make. Here, you have an opportunity to delve into the changes or support you need to make this change a reality. • Employ an Office Administrator to help with job admin • Set my business goals for the next 6-12 months • Get help to implement the new software with my team.
Step 5 – putting it into practice to find the right software In Step 5, you put everything together to find the right solution: • Research and short-list a few apps • Ask for reviews from other builders (the New Zealand Certified
Builders Facebook group is a good starting point) • Get a demo of the App • Sign up for free trials, so you can play around with the software and sample jobs • Score each App against your ‘Must Haves’ and ‘Nice to Haves’ • Get your team on side by explaining how the software is a solution to the problems they face daily • Create a plan of attack by writing a checklist to cover the critical rollout tasks, assigning responsibilities, and set a realistic completion date for each one.
It sounds great, but I don’t have time!
Tech can revolutionise your business – but sometimes it’s tough to go it alone. With so many construction software options available, it’s important to choose the one that will benefit your business the most. Getting it wrong could cost you money and time. We know from experience that it takes about 6 hours of research for each app that you want to review. Seeking independent and expert advice can save you this trouble, and help to give you that competitive edge quicker.
To help you on this journey, download our free guide “5 Steps for choosing the right software for your business” at www.freeup.co.nz.
Anna Brooks, Free Up. Free Up is an NZCB National Partner and tech advisor for builders – making the process quick and easy, from selecting the right software to setting up the system to training staff. Anna also operates our Technology and Software helpline for members. For more information visit www.freeup.co.nz
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