Do you start each year buried under even more paperwork than the last and not quite sure how to get on top of it? We hear you.
If you are a builder in the construction industry we have your back – take a fresh approach to your job in 2019 with our three easy tips to make your construction admin simpler and improve construction efficiency. The right software solution can be a great tool to fill in the gap if you do not have access to a project manager, or would even enhance the abilities of an actual project manager or whoever is responsible for moving a project along. A software solution can help elevate the skills of construction administrators and makes their job easier. It helps enhance organizational skills by having a place to store construction plans and which helps the construction administrator multitask effectively and track the progress of a job. This will help you save money by eliminating the need for an assistant if it is not in your budget. An assistant is always helpful, but if you are looking for a way to reduce costs, construction management software is a great solution that helps submit information and prepare for different jobs, no matter the location.
It is time to be honest with ourselves: Nothing ever goes according to plan. Custom home builders, even the most detail-oriented ones, might develop the perfect plan of action for a given project, but outside factors always get in the way, and builders have to make adjustments to projects on the fly. A strong, professional, and responsible team needs to work together and have people whose qualifications complement each other to assist in filling in the qualification gaps as they arise. There might even be times when duties need to shift due to unforeseen circumstances. It is important that everyone on the job knows their responsibilities to make it easier for management to track the progress of jobs in case new jobs arise. A team needs to prepare for multiple jobs, especially if existing clients might refer your organization to new clients. New jobs can arise at any time, so construction administrators need to ensure they are assisting their employees to keep them performing at high levels.
Think about all the variables custom home builders deal with for a second: people, processes, materials, logistics, unforeseen problems, weather. There is no such thing as a perfect plan of action, which is why custom home builders need to be adaptable and flexible to allow the plans and schedule to evolve.
One of the most common issues, but thankfully, one of the easiest to correct, is inefficient planning, which leads to wasted time. Homeowners can become frustrated if the construction project takes longer than had been previously established or if the cost ends up being greater than initially estimated.
Make the most of your time.
Custom home building has a lot of moving parts to it: schedules, invoices, expenses, among other things. It is crucial to keep everything organized and streamlined to keep projects steadily moving forward.
Staying organised is where software can help custom home builders.
Getting started with construction scheduling software
Many people get scared of the idea of having to learn a new tool. Thoughts of spending time to get good at it scare them away. But that should not be the case. Custom home builders are never alone in their Buildxact journey. Our team of customer support specialists and customer success agents will serve as guides and assistants throughout their entire tenure with the software. Rest assured, custom home builders are not left to fend for themselves once they sign on to use Buildxact.
If you are a builder or trade, Buildxact has your back! Take a fresh approach in 2019 with three easy tips to make your administrative duties easier and improve your organization’s construction efficiency.
1. Tighten the screws on your takeoffs
Take the leap from old-school to new-school! Ditch the printer and ruler. There is a new and straightforward way to measure and price your construction projects. There are no two ways for a custom home builder – faster takeoffs mean more quotes, which means more jobs.
Buildxact’s simple construction estimating software improves your construction efficiency by digitally allowing you to do all aspects of your takeoffs and estimates. The days of printed plans or phone calls and emails with suppliers to get your costings are now behind you.
Once you have your takeoffs down pat, you might even consider monetizing the newfound skill that does not take you as much time and effort as it once did. The number of custom home builders charging for quotes is steadily climbing as they adopt tools that allow them to offer the service — no need to stress about it being a time-consuming process since there are websites that can help. Master Builders Australia has a wide range of contracts that custom home builders can download and adapt for their own use. Go forth and capitalize on it!
2. Embrace the e-form
The days of double-handling information are gone – get what you need to get on with the job with e-forms.
Paper is inefficient, email can be slow and data entry can be costly and error-prone. Adding e-forms to your business’ website will make it convenient for people to fill them out. The software will even keep the information organized for you. If the client has a valid email address, the contract administrator or any other person in charge of it can communicate directly with the client via the platform. This is a great way for construction administrators to stay organized because everything lives in one place. You can even set up a job alert whenever something in your portal has changed. It really lowers the complexity of construction admin jobs.
A simple example is a contact form on your website that prospective clients fill out to quickly and easily give you the information you need.
Take it up a notch by creating a range of forms based on your needs. Our construction estimating software allows the construction administrator to create and send documents to suppliers for quotes through the “Request for Quote” functionality. Once a supplier completes the form, the information is fed directly into the system, and away it goes – it is that simple.
3. Use today’s technologies to manage your jobs
Spreadsheets are the first tool many people think of and often use to do basic calculations and tracking numbers. HIA has step-by-step guides to starting and optimizing your spreadsheets. But, remember, it is more a toolbox than a tool; you will have to effectively “program” it, creating your formulas and calculations to make it work for you.
If you are looking for tools designed specifically for the job, look at web-based estimating and job management systems. It takes you from the first quote to the final invoice, managing your jobs simply and easily with all job information stored securely in one place.
4. Automate the process
Next time you go to work on something manually, do an experiment: time yourself doing it to see how much time it takes you to do it. Remember: Technology and automation are your friends. Falling behind on technological trends can be costly.
Automation can:
– Cut labour costs
– Ensure (and prove) jobs are completed correctly
– Ensure consistent correspondence
– Prompt workflow to continue forward progress
Some of the administrative tasks that can be automated and improved by integrating systems and automatically story data with e-forms are:
– Scheduling
– Timesheets
– Forms and correspondence
– Bank feeds and reconciliations
– Invoices
– Payroll
– SMS notifications
– Emails
– Social media posts
– Marketing campaigns
Do you what to look for to select the best option for you? An excellent place to start is to check each software option’s features offers and see how it fits your business goals. It might even help you expand the services your company offers.
5. Make an impact online
The yellow pages are a thing of the past. Your organization needs to have an online presence for potential customers to find you, and you can communicate with a broad audience.
Other good resources
TradiePad, one of our partners, can help you go paperless by assisting you to find the best apps and online tools for your organization – like Xero for accounting and Deputy for rostering and timesheets. For more ideas, keep your eyes peeled for events hosted by PROTRADE United in Melbourne and Brisbane in March with the topic of “The Essential Technology to Transform your Business.”
Reduce time and effort of tedious duties so you can focus on money-making tasks
Have you ever wondered how much time you spend as a construction administrator replying to emails, putting quotes together, sorting invoices, and performing other administrative tasks on a daily basis?
Depending on how busy you are, it could add up to hours. Imagine being able to expedite those time-consuming responsibilities and instead use that time to find more work to continue raking in money. Software like Buildxact helps a construction administrator efficiently manage all aspects of each job. You will no longer have to spend large chunks of time quoting, scheduling, purchasing or invoicing. Instead, you will be able to take your computer to a job site and do most of this there and not have to spend time commuting back to the office or your house to then start working on them.
Technology empowers construction administrators to boost their efficiency and save anywhere from 50% to 80% of their time by speeding up tedious tasks. Software solutions, like Buildxact, helps builders ensure they complete jobs by their due date and on budget. As a result, builders can then take on more work and have better control of their cash flow and profits.
You now have the knowledge to take your business down the path of success.
As the late, great American tennis player Arthur Ashe once said: “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” This blog post you have just read is your key to success. It offers advice that could help construction administrators everywhere get ahead of their competitors and enjoy long-term success. Remember that even though it might seem like it takes a lot of time and effort to get set up with a software solution for your organization, Buildxact offers help every step of the way. The Customer Support and Customer Success teams will guide and help you get set up for success. Our team is invested in you and your business because we know how much it means to everyone involved. Once you are set up and running, you will notice a big difference in terms of how quickly you are able to do things and how little time and effort most of the administrative tasks take to complete. You will be able to take on more work but in a more thoughtful way. Not every job is worth taking, and Buildxact will help you make those informed decisions. Onward and upward, custom home builders! You are all well on your way to sustained success.
Ready to try Buildxact?
Grab a free 14-day trial here
Or book a one-on-one demo with one of our team members and they’ll take you through how Buildxact’s construction scheduling software can help you.
