3 Signs Your Business Needs Construction Management Software

In construction, there’s a lot to juggle. As a small contractor, you need to focus on estimating jobs, getting contracts, delivering on your projects, ensuring quality craftsmanship, and providing that personal touch that keeps your customers coming back. Staying organized to keep tasks moving forward is key in the construction industry. 

Whether you’re on the hunt for construction management or project management solutions to keep you organized and efficient, your construction business can benefit from software tools in three ways: increased productivity, better project supervision, and improved customer experience.

But how do you know it’s time to make a move toward these digital management tools?

Read on to learn about construction management software benefits.

Sign #1: Clients are frustrated by your lack of communication and transparency

Construction projects require a lot of coordination. Whether it’s reassuring customers that you’ll meet deadlines or coordinating different trades so that the work gets done in sequence, on time, and on budget—it takes a village. 

Breakdowns in communication with clients and others outside your organization usually start from problems within. If there’s a bottleneck in your team’s ability to share information about projects, your customer relationships will suffer. For example, let’s say that your superintendent has to rearrange a project’s start date due to the necessary equipment being temporarily out of order, but he fails to inform the project manager or the client. Your customer relationships will ultimately pay the price for miscommunications.

How construction management software will help:

Construction software opens the lines of communication and eliminates inefficiencies for your team. With all project contacts and progress stored in one location, it's easy for everyone to check a project's status. Projects will run more smoothly, and the software ensures that the right crews are scheduled for the right jobs at the right time. Everyone stays in the loop.

Proactively keep your customers and staff informed with automatic real-time notifications about project developments. Team calendars ensure that everyone is on the same page for each project. Even when a coworker is unavailable, you can still answer a customer’s question about the status of a project by checking your construction software.

Sign #2: Your desk is a mess and you can’t find the paperwork

Desk work is an inevitable part of running a construction company, but spending too much time rummaging through piles of paper searching for missing invoices, client details, or important project documents is a sign you need software to manage your documents and projects more efficiently.

How construction management software will help:

Old-fashioned pen and paper is inefficient and error-prone. With construction project management software, you can upload and save all your files, paperwork, and communication in an online repository that's accessible from any device as long as you have an internet connection.

If customers call about the status of their projects while you’re on a different job site, you can look up the details on your phone while you’re talking with them. The same goes for coordinating with your team of subcontractors and suppliers. All of the information is readily available, and you can access it from anywhere at any time.

As a result, you’ll be able to spend more time bidding on new work and less time worrying about missing documents.

Sign #3: You’re behind on getting estimates to customers

Do you have an impossible stack of projects that need to be estimated sitting on your to-do list? Or do you have voicemails from clients calling after several weeks, asking where their quote is? If you’re falling behind on providing timely estimates to your customers, software can make that job more manageable.

Estimating quotes manually is slow and can lead to inaccurate bids, often due to the lack of updated information about the cost of materials and wages. If you dread doing takeoffs, then using a software solution designed for simple estimating and quick budgets is what you’ve been waiting for.

How construction management software will help:

With a construction management software solution, you can build detailed cost estimates and timelines within minutes. Accurate material pricing is a breeze with this tool, which can search material costs by zip code.

Construction management software also makes the process simpler by creating purchase orders and work orders. You can even review live reports that compare actual costs versus budgeted costs.

These capabilities make project management a lot easier, as you can track the project in real time, from budgeting to completion, while using the same software to manage payroll, set reminders for outstanding payments, and track productivity.

Pick the right construction management software to benefit your small business

If you’ve noticed any of the above signs occurring and affecting your business’s bottom line, something needs to change. Construction management software will help, but to truly harness this tool's efficiency and profit-boosting powers, small construction business owners need to make informed investments. If you’re on the fence about committing to construction management software because you’re unsure which program to pick, Software Advice is here to help you navigate that decision. 

By connecting with one of our advisors, you will pick the right software to streamline your business’s planning, execution, and management of projects.

With the right construction management software, you’ll be able to address the root cause of your challenges and replace them with solutions that nurture organization, improve communication, and keep your customers satisfied.