5 Signs Your Company Needs Construction Management Software

5 Signs Your Company Needs Construction Management Software
Designed for you, the Subcontractor

Every contractor in the industry knows that as the world gets more complex, so do their construction projects. Over the last decade, the world of construction has jumped headfirst into the future. From innovations in tools and building materials to the advent of things like automated buildings and digital blueprints, the industry is moving at light speed, and many contractors are struggling to catch up. If you’re a contractor and you’ve recently found yourself in over your head, you might want to consider adding some cutting edge new tools to your arsenal.

Here are five signs that construction management software might be just what you’re looking for:

1. Communication Breakdowns

Any medium to large-scale construction project requires a great deal of coordination between multiple parties. Poor communication between workers and other managers can lead to delays and missed deadlines. Construction management software makes collaboration faster, smoother and much easier by allowing different managers and teams to access project files across platforms, instantly communicate any issues they might find, and act on them right away.

2. RFI Delays

Requests for Information (RFI) can help your project run smoothly and keep you on schedule, but they can sometimes take weeks, even months, to process which can cause expensive delays and cost overruns. And many older systems are not equipped to handle the problems that can arise with RFIs. Integrating new management software into your business will allow you to keep track of all of your RFIs, store them in an easy to use database, and allow you and others to access, view, and answer RFIs by email.

3. You Are Tethered to Your Desk

If you’ve ever found yourself madly digging through messy piles of paperwork to find a missing invoice, or having to log on to your desktop to pull up a contract, you might want to look into some new software. Modern construction management software offers cloud-based storage, which means you can access your files, paperwork, contracts, blueprints etc. from anywhere and on any device. It also means if you or someone you’re working with finds an error, or something that needs changing, you can log on from your smartphone or tablet and make important updates instantly from home, the jobsite, or wherever you might be.

4. Budgeting and Accounting is a Headache

If you find yourself spending hours upon hours crunching numbers, hunting for deductions, sorting through invoices, and fussing with taxes and union dues, construction management software will make your life a whole lot easier. A modern system will allow you to track your costs and budget in real time and interface seamlessly with accounting system. The integration between these systems not only takes advantage of their best of breed features, but enables you to manage your payroll, set reminders for outstanding incoming and outgoing payments, and even generate accurate estimates for potential future projects.

5. Your Legacy System Just Isn’t Cutting It

It isn’t uncommon for us to get stuck in our ways. If you’re still getting by on an older system, you might not see any reason to upgrade. After all, you’ve invested money in the system and valuable time in learning it and training your team to use it. But even if it is getting the job done, is it getting the job done as efficiently as you’d like? If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following, it’s probably time to go shopping for cloud-based software:

— The old software and/or hardware is no longer supported, or is going to be phased out in the near future.

— You’ve ever wished you could pull reports faster.

— Your software can’t manage your RFIs.

— Other members of your team have reported issues with your existing system.

Yes, new software requires an investment of time and money, but cloud-based systems such as eSUB can be up and running in days.  You won’t need to upgrade your hardware or pay anymore to support it. Retraining your team members on any new system does take commitment. But, given the incredible array of time and money-saving positives it brings to the table, it will be more than worth it in the long run. The bottom line is that pretty soon, everyone is going to be using management software to cut down on delays and boost overall efficiency, and those who refuse to get with the times might risk being left in the dust.