Making the switch from a home-grown bookkeeping system to a more commercial job cost accounting software is a common dilemma that many small- to medium-sized construction firms have to eventually tackle. When facing this type of situation, it never hurts to garner some outside opinions from people who have already made the plunge.

In a recent thread found on the Journal of Light Construction’s website, one user reached out to the online community for some advice on this very topic. To save you a little time, here’s a quick rundown of some of the questions you should consider:

• How much does it cost?
• How is the technical support?
• Is this job cost accounting software designed for the construction industry, or is it a generic bookkeeping program?         
• What is the learning curve?
• How well does it integrate into your current applications?
• Does it fulfill all your job cost accounting needs without providing too many useless features?
• Are there demos or tutorials to browse before you have to make any commitments? 

At the end of the day, any decision of this magnitude should be carefully pondered. Two of our posts — the ABCs of Construction Job Costing Software and our Construction Job Cost Accounting Software Buyers Guide — can give you some more ideas about what to look for. [b5] 

Every construction firm has different needs; therefore, finding the right job cost accounting software can be a challenge. However, if you’re stuck in a rut, you can always take a look at our job cost accounting software directory.

Earlier this month Hard Dollar released Project Portfolio Analysis, the newest module in its estimating and job cost accounting software suite.  With this setup, users will have a host of tools — estimating and budgeting, scheduling, and project portfolio analysis, among others – all within one program. 

In a recent phone interview with ConstructionSoftwareReview.com, Hard Dollar’s CEO, Doug Nicholas, outlined the company’s new Web-based module designed to inform small and medium-sized construction firm executives and managers about current projects.  The new service, Project Portfolio Analytics, is a departure from SQL Server-based database analysis tools, but it will allow users to view more than 20 analytics, in a customizable format, without taking away resources from accounting and back-office operations.

“We noticed some of the market doesn’t want to deal with SQL,” Nicholas said. “However, they don’t use database administrators, but have data 50-100GB range, so there needs to be someone monitoring it.”

Once users sign up for Project Portfolio Analytics, all they need is a web browser to receive the following resources:

• cost item details
• forecast cost, cost per unit of measure and cost breakdown analysis
• man and equipment hours, man hour details, production hours per unit of measure, and work hours
• price breakdown
• productivity and performance, revenue and profit
• actual vs. planned vs. forecast man-hour and equipment hour details and costs

There are even more metrics intended for executives, such as a backlog and pipeline analytic and a maximizing profit margins tool. For more information on Project Portfolio Analytics, or just the company in general, hop on over to the Hard Dollar Web site.

In addition to his responsibilities as the CEO of Foundation Software, Fred Ode finds some time to do a little blogging on Construction Business News and Views by Fred.  His latest post features a rather lengthy Q&A session with Laurence C. (Larry) True, managing director of DR Construction Consultants LLC.

For the most part, the two discuss how construction software has progressed over the past 40 years. During this, True explains that the process has been more of an evolution than a revolution: 

There are a lot more standardized software applications out there and a lot less custom work is being done. In other words, vendors have moved more toward software that is flexible and offers some leverage with set up options, and relates more to what the contractors will get out of it.    

Another interesting topic they touch upon is how construction software can change the roles and responsibilities of employees within a firm. In some instances, the implementation may actually cause some employees’ workloads to increase.

True provides a common scenario that occurs in which AP clerks may be asked to add a few more steps to their typical routine. He says it’s important for managers to explain to such employees that, “although it may be ten minutes more work at the front end, what they don’t realize is that they are saving about an hour of work at the other end of this process.”

In the end, if you’re interested in the computerization of the construction industry or how the software consultation process works, be sure to check this post out. If not, it’s still fascinating to see two construction software heavyweights talk about the direction of the industry.

The construction industry is extremely fragmented, with contractors working on projects ranging from residential homes to highways and tunnels through mountains. Not surprisingly, with such a wide range of construction segments, the industry is composed of contractors from a wide range of professional experience levels. Some contractors have been using construction-specific software for years. Others are just starting out and don’t know what construction software they need or, for that matter, how to begin selecting it.

To help those who are new to construction software, we have created a four-part series of articles called “What is Construction Software?” These articles explain the basics of the three main types of construction software — estimating, job costing and project management software. From there, the articles assist the reader in the software selection process and offer additional resources for contractors who are considering an investment in a construction software program.

The first article of the series is The ABCs of Construction Software. This article shows those construction firms who have not yet implemented a construction software program what benefits they can expect after choosing the right program for their company. The article describes the three main types of construction software and provides five main steps to follow when choosing the right software program.

The second article, The ABCs of Construction Estimating Software, discusses how estimating software can be used for more than the general actions of performing calculations and keeping track of costs. In addition, the article provides several warning signs that those who are using generic estimating software, such as Microsoft Excel, may want to switch to a construction-specific program.

The third article of the series, The ABCs of Construction Job Costing Software explains the capabilities that job costing software has in comparison to the general accounting software most construction companies start off with. The article also emphasizes the importance of considering your company’s long term growth when choosing a job costing program and the construction-specific modules that come with it.

The article series wraps up with The ABCs of Construction Project Management Software. This article gives an overview of the nine main areas of knowledge that characterize project management and provides a list of the advantages that project management software gives to the contractors that use it.

If you fall into the category of people who want to know more about construction software or who are beginning to think about buying construction software, the four articles above are a good start. From there, take a look at our construction estimating, construction job costing and construction project management software buyers guides for more tips and guidance on the construction software selection process.

No major purchase should be undertaken without significant research. That’s true for, say, a car or a flat-panel TV. Why? By and large, it’s because such purchases represent an investment. Odds are you’ll drive your car for many years and watch your TV for many hours.

Construction software, really, is no different. It’s an investment. You and your colleagues are going to use it every day. It needs to be reliable, easy to use and a boost to your productivity. Most of all, it needs to fit your company just right.

How do you know it will fit your company just right? Think back to those other major purchases. When you’re looking for a car, you want to hear from people who have the car you want before you make that down payment, so you look for reviews that will let you know what owners of that car like, don’t like and wish they could have done differently.

Thus, it makes perfect sense to peruse construction software reviews before you make an investment. Reviewers will tell you things that you don’t hear in sales pitches, like how the software installation process goes, how the software works with the documents you already have and how much training employees will need before they can get started. Reviewers will also tell you how they use the software, and how often, which will help you determine if that particular product would fit your company just right.

Now, obviously these construction software reviews have to come from somewhere. If you are veteran of the software purchasing process, and you have some expertise to share, then we would appreciate it if you send us an email and we can tell us more about how to fill out a construction software review.

If, on the other hand, you yourself are currently in the market for software, you can read the more than 60 construction software reviews that we have already posted. We have divided the products into three categories — estimating software, job cost accounting software and construction project management software. Give them a look and, please, let us know what you think. Your feedback will help us make this site even better.

Last week we asked readers to share tales about how construction software has made life easier. In a recent conversation a ConstructionSoftwareReview.com writer had with Daniel Niedens, a principal at Colvin Kitchen & Bath, we learned how long it took, and how difficult it was, to prepare construction bids and turn them into purchase orders without the use of specialized construction software. (In this particular case, Colvin bought Smart Contractor. His full review of that job cost accounting software application will be live shortly.)

Niedens first described the complexity of the old process of preparing construction bids: 

Originally we had a spreadsheet template and an in-house price book for entering the item cost/labor into this spreadsheet. When I did a quote, I would open the template and get out our price book. I would pull the prices and numbers out of the price book, enter them into the spreadsheet and enter the labor into a separate column. If we did not have a certain item already figured in our price book, then I would have to get out the manufacturer’s catalog and price book, then do the math on our cost plus mark up to come up with the number to enter into the spreadsheet. This would do only one thing for me and that was just to establish a cost for the project.

Niedens continued by telling us what it took to prepare the written proposal:

I would then take this completed spreadsheet and cut and paste a written proposal based on what I had estimated.  We did have a catalog of already written, generic descriptions of items to cut and paste, but I still needed to edit this for the specific item or explanation based on the project. This left open the possibility for missing items or writing items into the proposal that were never charged for. Lots of check and re-checks needed to make sure that they both matched to a “T.” I’m not in the business of giving things away and, at today’s material costs, it doesn’t take many [misidentified items] to get your attention.

The proposals then had be edited and checked to make sure mistakes were caught. Niedens noted:

Having, then, to edit both the spreadsheet and the written proposal separately with all the details involved in a kitchen or bathroom got crazy and time-consuming.

If the customer had not walked out during that two-hour ordeal and the deal was signed, then the real work could begin on turning that info into the correct part numbers and counts for the purchase orders. Niedens would pull out all the catalogs that had anything to do with the job, look up each item and handwrite cost information on a sheet. An assistant would then go into the archive of pre-made purchase orders and type this into the correct fields. Niedens then had to do another check just to make sure no mistakes were made.

All told, Niedens said it could take almost four hours to put together construction bids and their corresponding purchase orders. With Smart Contractor, on the other hand, the process takes less than an hour. Time, as the adage goes, is money, and Niedens reckons that he’s saved a lot of both.

Have you seen similar savings after you started using construction software? Do you want to share your story with us? Leave a comment or send me an email.

One thing we want to do with the Construction Software Blog is share stories about how construction software makes everyday jobs easier — faster cost estimating, for example, or better communication between the construction project manager in the field and the accountant back at the office.

When you tell people how software has helped you, there are benefits both for the reader and the storyteller. By learning what other firms have done, contractors can look at their own processes and practices and see where software can help — whether it’s an all-purpose package like Microsoft Office, QuickBooks or Peachtree or a more specialized project management or job cost accounting software package. Meanwhile, by talking about how construction software has helped your business, you put your name out there for all to see.

We know there are a lot of success stories out there. In a previously published Bid4Build v3 review, former on-site superintendent Duane Craig recalls how cost estimating software helped him calculate cost overruns after, in his words, “we unearthed a rock the size of a Volkswagen.” Craig continued:

I believe we saved close to 60 hours of my time alone, plus we were able to better sort out bids for various parts of the job much more quickly and accurately.

If the use of construction software has saved you time and money, and reduced headaches, drop me a line and I will help you share your story with your peers.