In choosing new enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, implementation is every bit as important as finding the right program. You should be thinking about it proactively when evaluating systems, you should raise the topic with propsective vendors and even ask for examples of their customers’ strategies.

In the next ten to twenty years, “electrical contractor” will no longer be a suitable job title for electricians. They will transition into “energy contractors” to support the fast-growing green construction market.

We see this as a coming renaissance in electrical contracting. There has been a revival of interest in the electrical trade as home owners and corporations adopt alternative methods (e.g. solar, wind, etc) to power buildings. What’s driving this? Federal incentives, lower material costs and savings from reduced energy spending.

At Software Advice, a key component of our mission is to encourage the successful adoption of technologies that make businesses more competitive, profitable and environmentally friendly.

Apple is the hottest topic in the tech blogosphere these days. Even if you ignore all news of the “iSlate,” dozens of rumors abound. One we find particularly interesting is a patent for 3D head-tracking. Instead of using a mouse and keyboard, Mac users simply move their head or body to control an image on screen. We think this technology would perfect for healthcare. Here’s a short video to help you visualize this:

On December 30, 2009, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released documents shedding light on what physicians and hospitals must do to qualify for electronic health records (EHR) incentive payments under the HITECH Act. To qualify for incentives, physicians and hospitals must be using “certified EHR technology” in a “meaningful manner.”

Physician practices around the country are asking us: “Should I wait for the government to finalize its definitions of ‘meaningful use’ and ‘certified EHR technology’ before I purchase electronic health record (EHR) software?”

Our answer: No.

What construction executive doesn’t daydream about tools and equipment that are safe and sound whether on a job site or in the warehouse, especially as construction projects decline and competition heats up? Dream no more, as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology combined with a comprehensive tool tracking system makes improved profits a reality.

We’re big advocates of “going paperless.” Our desks are free of folders, pens, printers and sticky notes. There’s not a single TPS report to be found. We’re also big advocates of software. So, when a visitor to our website shared their concern about the paper waste from printing blueprints, we were intrigued. Can estimating and takeoff software end the destruction of forests (or at least save a few thousand trees)?

Since Software Advice launched our property management software buyer’s guide in early 2009, we’ve talked with over one thousand people during their search for property management software.

This week, we’re moving from the anecdotal to the empirical with our Property Management Technology Survey.

The Federal National Mortgage Association, more commonly known as Fannie Mae, recently announced a new program designed to keep mortgage-challenged borrowers in their homes. The Deed for Lease (D4L) program allows qualified borrowers to relinquish the deed to their property and rent their home at the market rate for 12 months.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) had big plans for the construction industry – $131 billion big.

That stimulus money is supposed to help an industry that is still hemorrhaging jobs today. So far, the ARRA has sent money to all corners of the construction industry, from residential

October 30th marked the close of the first reporting period for grants, loans and contracts awarded under the Recovery Act. If you don’t already know, healthcare is one of the industries eligible to receive funds (Read, The Stimulus Bill and Meaningful Use of Qualified EHRs / EMRs).

At Software Advice, we have noticed a big jump in the number of medical practices researching

Because we’re obsessed with medical blogs here at Software Advice, we decided to create a FREE RSS widget of our 25 favorite medical blogs.

Choose your color scheme and number of posts to display below and simply cut and paste the code into your site. To see what the widget looks like, click Preview next to each one.

Dexter + Chaney has launched an equipment tracking system for heavy construction companies. The product, “Spectrum Equipment Service System,” tracks equipment hours, fuel consumption, and maintenance activity. Staying true to their mission – solving problems for construction markets – Dexter + Chaney has done it again with this latest addition to their line of software products.

Property management is not often an industry on the cutting edge of technology. However, more and more property managers are making use of smartphones in their daily activities.

So, Software Advice has put together a list of smartphone apps we’d like to see developed for property management. Most of the technology already exists in property management software and other mobile apps,

Last week, Software Advice set out to try to answer the question: Which smartphone will own the healthcare market?

Doctors, nurses, students and many others in the healthcare industry responded to our survey and provided results that are bound to be conversation starters.

Given the recent deadline for registering LEED v2.2 projects, we were reminded of a post we wanted to write: how construction project management software can be used to track LEED credits.

Tracking LEED credits requires software functionality similar to that required for more traditional construction project management. Consequently, a few leading vendors have re-purposed their technology to make this

Running a medical practice is as much about running a business as providing health care. Physicians often face the same challenges of any business owner: managing cash flow, keeping accurate “customer” accounts and processing invoices. In healthcare, challenges are multiplied as providers must meet strict government and insurance requirements. Failure to comply can result in rejected claims, ultimately affecting cash flow.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the ARRA, also known as the Stimulus Bill) allocates $51 billion to healthcare. Universities that want to establish and/or expand health informatics programs are entitled stimulus bill funds. But what’s available? Who qualifies? And how can universities take advantage of the funds?

Rumors of a Mac Tablet have been circulating around the Apple blogosphere for the past few months. While speculation escalates about the opportunities for an “iTablet” in the consumer market, we can’t help but muse on its applicability to medical records.

There is a seemingly endless amount of medical applications that could be developed for a Mac Tablet.

With April 15th right around the corner, we are hearing from a lot of contractors scrambling to get their books ready. With mounds of paperwork around the office, it certainly doesn’t come as a surprise. While we talk to most companies about using the right construction accounting software, occasionally we get asked if we know a good accountant. The only problem is that we’re software guys and don’t know much about the CPA world. With this in mind, we thought we’d put together a list of good construction accounting and consulting firms that

With the Economic Stimulus Bill signed and available to subsidize EHR purchases (for more information see “The Stimulus Bill and Meaningful Use of Qualified EHRs/EMRs“), we are seeing a dramatic increase in electronic health records (EHR) buyer interest. Assuming these buyers make use of the stimulus subsidy to buy an EHR, we expect to see a lot of EHR failures over the next couple years.

Antek HealthWare is taking a step toward niche offerings by releasing a practice management system designed for concierge medical practices.

The software, DAQoffice, scales back billing so that physicians can bill patients directly rather than through insurance companies. While the system still allows providers to document diagnosis codes, it won’t

Vision Infosoft has released a new software add-on that provides daily material prices on 1.4 million items. The add-on, EPIC DUO, works directly with the EPIC Pricing System, a subscription service that gives contractors access to electrical material cost information.

EPIC DUO is different from traditional pricing services in that the cost information

In a fairly unique move for a software company, HCSS is now issuing a 12-month money-back guarantee for all its software systems. While other companies have impressed us with similar guarantees – Jobpower offers a 60-day money back guarantee and Procore has a 30-day free trial – the HCSS guarantee is particularly impressive for the length of the guarantee. Customers can receive a full refund within 12 months of purchasing if they are unsatisfied with any HCSS software program.

You already know how to create efficient business processes, but how do you enforce them? With so many stakeholders, contractors and staffers involved in the building process, it can be difficult to hold them accountable and ensure your business processes are running efficiently. Business process management software has emerged into the industry to solve this challenge, amalgamating application software, project correspondence and business processes into a single software program. BuilderMT BPM is at the fore.

Why are some physicians still fearful of web-based electronic medical records (EMRs) when most of them are comfortable using web banking and e-commerce sites?

Many physicians allow all of their personal financial information to be transmitted over the Internet – including actionable credit card data – but fear using the same methods for managing their patient records.

This time of year, we talk with many construction companies considering a new accounting software purchase. Maybe it’s the change in seasons, the closing of the calendar year or the tax season looming on the horizon; what ever the psychological trigger, there are rational reasons to replace generic accounting software with a construction-specific accounting and job costing system. Here are the 5 top reasons we hear from companies thinking about a purchase.

Software Advice today announced that they have assisted over 500 electrical contractors during their evaluation of new electrical estimating software, accounting and project management systems for their businesses. Moreover, Software Advice has now developed partnerships with the majority of software vendors serving the electrical division. This network of software partners allows Software Advice to recommend the ideal systems for a wide range of electrical firms with a variety of technology needs.

Should you implement an EMR or an EHR? Do you know the difference? Is there a difference?

In theory, and by definition, there is a difference and it should play into any provider’s clinical software selection. At the same time, marketing messages and technical terminology have clouded provider’s understanding of the two software definitions.

Construction management firms are often too tied-up with project deadlines to keep pace with the latest news and developments in technology. To offer a glimpse of innovative trends in construction software, we attended this year’s CMAA conference, camera’s ready, to get footage of what’s new and interesting in construction software.

As software selection advisors, my team has talked to thousands of retailers considering a major new software purchase. The vast majority are replacing an existing system – one they’ve used for years. Why? Why replace what’s familiar? Why pay up for something entirely new when an upgrade is – on paper – less expensive? Why move away from a long-term vendor relationship?

Project management software for construction helps contracting firms stay on-budget and on-schedule by tracking key items during the building process. Given the complexity of construction projects, project management software comes with a variety of features and functions to meet the demands of commercial and residential jobs. Advanced construction project management software systems include modules for scheduling, accounting, bid procurement, document management and estimating.

Retaining customers and increasing “share of wallet” are critical in the current tough economy. Consumers spend less, competition is fierce and even well known chains are going out of business. To remain competitive – and solvent – retailers need to develop more profitable relationships with their customers.

Moreover, a recent Nielson Company study showed that 52% of shopping trips are quick “in-and-out”

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been a hot topic throughout the retail supply chain for a few years. However, its adoption has largely been confined to larger retailers like Wal-mart, which championed the technology earlier on and even went so far as to mandate the use by its vendors.

Given Moore’s Law – computing technology will exponentially increase in processing power while lowering in

Before your job got rolling, you built a detailed schedule you thought would help you manage the project to completion. Now you’re waiting on permits, two of your subs haven’t showed and your available resources are strained. You’ve got a stack of daily reports that are too overwhelming to sort through before your next OAC meeting. That faded project schedule on the wall is looking pretty useless.

Updated on March 18th, 2009 – The CCHIT is becoming increasingly relevant as the Department of Health and Human Services develops guidelines for what constitutes a “qualified EMR.” To be eligible for EMR subsidies outlined in the Stimulus Bill, healthcare providers must demonstrate use of a “qualified EMR” in a “meaningful manner” (for more information, read The Stimulus Bill and Meaningful Use of Qualified EHRs / EMRs).

Your degree is in medicine, not computer science. Why then are so many physicians finding themselves focused on software these days? Government, payers and market forces are all pushing physicians to consider an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) strategy. As if practicing medicine weren’t challenge enough, now you need to adopt a new layer of technology infrastructure…

Still estimating the old-fashioned way? Pen, paper, and bare-bones spreadsheets still comprise the cost estimating “systems” of the majority of construction firms. Why is this so, when just about everyone uses accounting and project management software applications? We hear lots of excuses, ranging from “I’m the only one who really knows the material and labor costs in my region” to “It’s easier to do it by hand than to learn a new program”.

One of your techs is sleeping in his van behind Arby’s. Purchasing has no idea where to allocate the $1,000 invoice they got from Midtown Supply. Meanwhile, you can’t figure out if the ACME Corp service contract you negotiated last summer turned out to be profitable.

You’ve got a pretty slick cost estimating system. Your estimators generate bids quickly, complete with line item quantities, costs, and even “what-if” scenarios. Accounting upgraded from Quickbooks a few years ago and is running smoothly.