Posts Tagged ‘construction software’

If you operate a construction or manufacturing company, you likely realize how much good software can help your company. Executives in these industries need powerful software that automates processes and improves efficiency and accuracy. However, selecting the right construction software can be difficult. To ensure that you choose the right software package, you must make sure that you take in to consideration a number of key business factors.

A company in either industry probably already has a number of business process in place. Although these processes may not be the best practices, they are things that the companies are comfortable with, and frankly, they get the job done in a manner that “works.”

Most companies will have no problem finding software that will fit their specific business needs and processes since most companies in the construction and manufacturing industries have a certain set of “common denominators” that they all want from software. The hard part is sorting through each available software package to find the one that meets he specific needs or your company better than the other available packages.

Every project or job in the construction and manufacturing industries requires labor, equipment, suppliers, and various other common components. Therefore, when looking for new erp software and construction software, make sure that you search for software that has the most powerful and user friendly work flow module. This module should be both flexible and capable of monitoring projects or jobs in real-time.

Thankfully, the work flow processes in these industries will essentially follow the same basic “route” for each company and project/job. To complete each job successfully, every company will need the same kind of commodities and resources, regardless of the company’s specialization within their industry. As such, most industry-specific software packages will be capable of meeting your needs. Of course, the degree to which each package meets your needs will vary, and this will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

For construction management software specifically, it is also important to look for a flexible change order functionality. Nearly every project that companies complete will require some deviations from the original plan, and when you have software that automatically updates the master plan to reflect these changes, it is much easier to continue to make progress while monitoring how each change impacts your overall project budget, schedule, etc.

Additionally, both construction and manufacturing companies will do well to invest in software that has an integrated accounting module. This will give you the ability to monitor and control costs in real time, enabling you to constantly monitor jobs or projects in relation to projected budgets and make the necessary changes to meet those projections.

More specific to the construction industry, companies that have field operators need to ensure that the software they select gives those field operates the ability to make changes in the software from the field. This is really the only way to ensure that you constantly have accurate and up to date real-time project data. In most cases, this is a common feature in software systems.

Other industry-specific functions that are important to look for in both construction and manufacturing software solutions are things like vendor pricing data, integration with supplier systems, contact information, and collaborative project-management features that allow people to collaborate on decisions and data analysis without having to physically meet at one location.

Prior to evaluating potential pieces of software, companies must take the time to clearly and accurately map out their business processes. Only by taking these steps up front can the company ensure that the software they select is the best fit and will not require them to take drastic changes to existing processes or procedures.

Why You Should do it:

Some argue that evaluating the vendor of your next construction accounting software package is just as important as evaluating the product itself. Why? Imagine that you’ve purchased the software that you believe will be the ideal solution, you’ve installed it on your company’s system, and have trained your staff. Initially, the software is the perfect fit. You are completely satisfied with your purchase and believe that you’ll quickly gain a competitive advantage as a result of the new software. Then it happens – some minor issue occurs with your system that takes your software from a life-saver to a death-sentence. So what do you do? Call the vendor, of course! This is where the quality of your vendor will be of the utmost importance. If you’ve researched your vendor and chose one that is as good as the software that they sold you, you should be up and running again in no time. However, if you haven’t researched you vendor, this minor glitch can quickly turn in to the kind of thing that sets you back days or even weeks.

Given that, it’s key to ensure that you select the right software AND the right vendor. There are several things that you need to consider in this process of vendor evaluation – here are a few ideas.

Where to Begin:

First, take a look at the product’s website. How many versions of the product have been released in the past? What improvements were made with the release of every new edition? What level of support did the vendor offer for previous versions? How has the level of support improved over time? What level of support is still offered for companies that have opted not to upgrade to a new edition? Take all of these things in to consideration to get an idea of what kind of support you can expect throughout the time that you use the software. Many companies forget that they may be using the same software 5 years down the road, so be sure to check for what kind of support is offered for companies that bought software from the particular vendor 5 years ago.

Next, do some internet searches on the product and vendor. If you can find some construction software reviews or construction software comparison sites, take a look at them to see how they stack up. Also look for news articles that mention lawsuits or relatively recent changes in ownership and get as much background information as you can. Both can indicate an unstable organization that may not be able to provide the long-term support that you’ll need. Or, worse, a company that is on its way out of the market, which could leave you up a creek without a paddle down the road. If ownership has recently changed, look for information about any changes in support levels. It could be better, but it could also be worse.

Last but not least, search within your industry with other users of the software or independent agencies that provide free construction software reviews. Speak with other professionals you know and ask about their past experiences. Check online forums for user experiences. Also look to see if the product website has a forum – these can be extremely valuable resources for getting tips and troubleshooting advice from other executives that use the software you’re considering.

The bottom line is that you will do your company a huge disservice if you fail to research your software vendor. The best erp software product in the world will be useless if you can’t get the right support when things inevitably go wrong. Taking the time up front could very well save you valuable time and money down the line, ensuring that you get the most out of your software for many years to come.

You’ve decided your company needs new construction accounting software and have started looking at options. The question is: Have you designated someone in your company to be the software champion?

Every company, whether a huge corporation or a small local organization needs somebody tasked with leading the charge to evaluate and implement the new software to achieve better efficiencies for the organization. A good software champion will have certain traits that will enable them to be most successful.

Here are five traits that you want to look for in your company’s software champion:

Experience in Software Implementation – Learning the ins and outs of software evaluation and implementation on-the-fly will jeopardize your initiative. Therefore, your champion need to have prior experience evaluating and implementing software and be able to read and understand construction software guides. Keep in mind that the scope of previous experience needed to make a sound decision increases with company size and complexity of operations.

Knowledge of Your Company – You also need to look for somebody that has a good understanding of how your company operates. This knowledge will be extremely beneficial when speaking with vendors during software demos and sales calls as they will be able to identify the good points of the software in question and will also have the knowledge necessary to ask the right questions.

Management Support – Since the software champion will be making decisions on behalf of the entire company, you must choose somebody that you trust. Selecting new software is a process that involves a lot of time and money. If you have a management team that is indecisive or unwilling to follow the software champion’s recommendations, you will be doomed to waste a lot of time and money in selecting new construction software. When the champion has the full support of management, you will not be as tempted to cancel the entire operation when the inevitable bumps in the road come up.

Respect – Without the respect and confidence of his/her peers, the construction software champion won’t get the cooperation needed to gather information and data to move to a new system. Choose a well-respected individual to lead the charge for new software.

Advocacy for Change – Implementing new construction accounting software will be a big change for your company. As such, it is important to select a software champion that is not afraid of change and is comfortable being in the position of change advocate. He or she will need to have the ability to address concerns that arise from other employees in a respectful and patient manner as well as the technical expertise to evaluate and select the right software, whether viewpoint software or a better alternative.

To summarize, the software champion that you select to oversee the new software selection and implementation process will be the key to the eventual success or failure of the new software. Finding a person with the right background that will get support from management and peers will greatly increase your chances of success and improvement from the new software.

One of the hardest parts of a construction management software selection project for a sizeable construction company is that of selecting the right vendor. Obviously, there are a number of suppliers of Construction Management Software who would like us to believe their product is the best there is. They go to great lengths to market the strengths of their products, and to disclose the alleged weaknesses of other software vendors’ products. Such is the game of the free enterprise business system.

There are several things you can do, however, to help separate the players from the pretenders. Obviously, it is well worth it to do some research up front before you actually solicit demonstrations from vendors. You will be full of regret if you fail to do thorough research up front and end up buying inadequate software from a vendor who happened to have a good salesman but has a product that doesn’t perform. Likewise, a little bit of research in the beginning will save you time in the end as you’ll be able to identify vendors that are not satisfactory before you waste a lot of time listening to their pitch. Some suggested ways to minimize the risk of getting a bad vendor are follow.

First, as has already been stated, do some research. Check online for reviews or customer experiences with certain vendors. Contact people that you trust in the construction industry for recommendations. Check with the Better Business Bureau for records of complaints. Finally, look in financial newspapers, trade publications, and even online communities for news or construction software guides that will help in your selection of a vendor.

When doing your research, be aware of “red flags” that should immediately turn you away from a specific product. Check to see if they’ve been sued in the past for failing to perform up to par or being deceptive. Make sure the software package that the vendor is offering has been kept up to date with current technology and practices that your company uses or plans to use. Also, it’s important to check the company’s history for previos takeovers or buyouts. While these can be beneficial things, you’ll want to look in to what changes were made after the takeover to verify ensure that whatever issues needed to be resolved were indeed resolved.

Also, don’t forget to look for green flags! If the software or the vendor have received awards or have been cited for community or public involvement, these are usually good signs. Or you may have a friend or trusted colleague who recommends a specific software package or vendor.

Also, look at the history of the product. How often are new versions and updates made available? Where do you fit in when an update is available? Does the company have a history of making consistent improvements to their software? If not, you may find yourself hung out to dry by the vendor at some point down the road, and may want to look elsewhere.

When it comes time to make the final decision, do not compromise with yourself. Remember that you will be the one that has to live with the final decision and that it will be costly to change your mind and start from scratch. You are paying vendors for their service and you should insist on nothing less than the best. Check construction accounting software reviews for reviews of vendors that have performed well in the past. If you feel like you’re being taken for a fool, don’t be afraid to let the vendor know what your concerns are and walk away if you have to. The alternative, getting a poor product with poor service will be a problem that you suffer the consequences of for years to come.