Top 10 User Friendly Features of Construction Software

by Sheldon Needle

In the broadest sense, user friendly software is something you might find appealing in terms of how a particular software for construction looks and the ease of navigating the menus, entering data and accessing information.

But behind this simple explanation lie many subtleties that escape most users when evaluating construction software, including construction accounting software and project management software, for its user friendly characteristics. Keep in mind that user friendly is something that can vary from person to person.

Here are 10 issues to look at in determining whether the construction software you are considering for your construction company is really designed to be user friendly. Once you have nailed down this aspect of the software for construction you are considering, you have performed a very important component of the construction software selection evaluation process.

1. You are a universe of one. No two people are going to rate everything they see the same. What one person may find an easy to understand a cost to complete report , another may find confusing or counterintuitive.
2. User interface – Does the screen seem to flow logically from step to step and focus on what’s important to you or is it cluttered with a lot of information not relevant to you?
3. Number of clicks – How many mouse clicks are needed to see all relevant data information screens for, say, inventory information? It’s nice to have lots of detail to look at but only if it can be accessed efficiently.

Read the remaining 7 at CTSGuides.com.

Importance of Equipment Management Software Applications for Mid-Market Contractors

Larger organizations of virtually any type now have risk management departments. Their role is to look at all matters of corporate governance in order to minimize exposure to errors which can lead to lawsuits or accusations of mismanagement. This involves an ongoing evaluation of any and all company activities in order to protect shareholders and management in the execution of their duties. Risk management can involve everything from contract reviews, auditing and control standards, human resource management, insurance coverage and more.

It might seem that only larger organizations need be concerned with this but, in truth, contractors of all sizes must be aware of their legal and fiduciary responsibilities.

For contractors, risk management is particular sensitive since its agents are out doing work under contract that involves people skills and the tools and  equipment used in carry out out the work being performed.

In particular tragic accidents sometimes occur at construction sites which can involve the use of onsite heavy equipment.

This article focuses on the use of construction software to manage and mitigate risk exposure associated with equipment service and associated record keeping along with financial record keeping for financial reporting purposes.

To read the complete post, go to CTSGuides.com.

The Software Buying Process for Contractors – One step forward, two steps backward

This article is based on my many conversations with prospective buyers of construction software designed for contractors. Depending on the particular operation and the applications required, many CIO’s, CFO’s and Operations Managers are totally confused about how to go about sorting out and selecting new software for their operation. They know they need better job cost accounting, project document control, equipment management and costing, inventory control, time and materials billing, prospect tracking, progress billing, subcontractor control and tracking earned value. Yet each vendor may describe and explain it differently. They can easily become victims of the FUD (fear uncertainly and doubt) factor which is right where some salespeople want them to be. This article discusses why selling and buying business application software is so fraught with confusion, delay and indecision.

One of the most inefficient and frustrating challenges in business is purchasing a complex software product. Certainly this may be doubly true of business application software which involves a mysterious confluence of function, technology, human engineering, selling technique and last, but not least, the limited attention span and lack of skills of many prospective buyers.

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Construction Software Maintenance Fees – What Will You Get for Your Money?

As someone who talks to various users of construction software every day, I often hear from users of various programs who are fed up with paying annual maintenance fees because they feel they are not getting value for the expense. This article discusses this issue.

A key factor in choosing Job Cost Accounting and/or Project Management Software for your Construction organization, is looking at the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This refers to such areas as ongoing cost for your organization to use and maintain the system after initial training and implementation. After a few years, the TCO can easily exceed the initial cost of the system.

The more powerful and complex the system, the greater the TCO. Needless to say, the annual maintenance fees that the vendors charge for support and “no cost” upgrades are a major component of the ongoing costs. The underlying theory is this underwrites software improvements and the vendor support services.

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The Inside Perspective:“My experience selling construction software.”

By Guest Blogger – Tim Ricketts

Selling software over the past 28 years has given me a unique perspective on the successes and failures of purchasing, installation and use of software for a construction company. Let me share with you some of the common misconceptions and blunders along with the similarities a software purchase has to a typical construction job.

First, success in software selection like any other aspect of life begins with a plan. I call it “Plan your work-work your plan” The companies who plan and document what they want to accomplish have a much higher chance of success at finding software that best fits their needs. Make sure you ask questions and survey every department and aspect of your business to determine what works and what doesn’t. One of my customers held a meeting with all employees of the company for the sole purpose of discussing what software features could help them improve the way they did their job. They wrote all suggestions on a white board and it remained in the break room for a period of time to let employees add to it. Besides the obvious of gathering critical information for the plan, it also rallied the troops and allowed them to be a part of the process and take ownership in the project.

I have seen my share of good software purchases end up as mediocre installations because management forced construction software on the masses without consideration of the those who are most likely doing all the work. Sure, the attitude of the construction company management may be that it’s their job and they should do it. The reality is they are human and work much better as a team when they feel like they are a part of the team. “Plan your work-work your plan” and get buy-in from your employees by making them a part of the plan.

Next, make salespeople part of your team. Now, you may be thinking this guy is just another self-serving salesman. Let me tell you why this is so important. Sales is a profession and the great majority of software salespeople are honest and professional. I have seen plenty of companies make poor decisions because they did not have enough or all critical information. Salespeople have an abundance of information and can compare and contrast features of the programs they sell versus those of their competitors. Take advantage of that knowledge and use it to your advantage.

It is my belief that most salespeople do not intentionally mislead buyers but they may say or represent something incorrectly because they do not know the product well enough. This is a good reason for sharing information with all sales people. If something is not accurate the other sales people may provide useful information helping you to better determine accuracy of all representations. Look at the most successful salespeople and you will find that they are the ones with the most product knowledge. The customer will find out the truth sooner or later. Therefore, if you are dealing with a reputable software vendor they will only allow so many mistakes by a salesperson because the mistakes add to support costs of additional time spent with the customer attempting to make the software do something it was not designed to do. In extreme cases it can lead to refunds or lawsuits.

The point is that by sharing information with salespeople, you put yourself in a better position to find out what is real and what is vapor-ware with regard to a particular feature or service. This really is no different than the way you manage your jobs. You talk and share information with other contractors and subs, architects, engineers etc. allowing you to benefit by what you have learned. Thus you should manage your software evaluation project the way you do your job, as efficiently as possible through open communication.

Communication goes both ways: share and communicate to learn more

Share with salespeople what you have learned from their competitors. Tell them what you like and dislike about their software and why. The good salesperson should be able to compare feature and functionality of their software to the competition. You need someone to help distinguish the various programs. No one can do this better than your salespeople. It is not just about what it does but how it does it that counts. Everyone does Accounts Payable but each vendor does it somewhat differently. This is why you should share everything with all salespeople because they will point out how the features of their product work compared to the competition. You benefit by having a better understanding of each program under consideration. The more you know the better decision you will make.

Don’t settle for the sizzle

Everyone has the special feature they want you to see. We all have them. Just make sure you don’t get caught up in the flash and sizzle. Make sure the functionality you require is there. Stick to your plan. Don’t let the emotion of a cool new technology distract you from the goals you originally set for yourself. Leading edge technology is okay when tested and proven. Bleeding edge technology can leave scars. Be careful!

Let me give you an example. Document Imaging has been a hot item for the last couple of years. The reality is most of the document imaging (DI) products in construction today do nothing more than your multipurpose printer/copier/scanner. It takes years for new programs to mature and work efficiently. A program like this has to be carefully integrated into all appropriate modules. The few that do work well are ones that the vendor has had in release for some time. Compare a mature DI product that allows drill down into job cost, payroll, AR, PO. or GL to get to the same document compared to the bleeding edge product that has a flashy screen but simply puts all job documents by themselves into one file in a stand-alone program that is written by a third party vendor. You can do this with your multifunction copier. The point is stick to your original functionality goals and features. Don’t get blinded by the flash and sizzle.

I have personally been involved in the release of two completely rewritten construction software programs from highly respected and recognized national vendors. The design and layout was superb. But I caution you that in reality it took years until the products worked as designed. Bugs, glitches, blue screens, posting errors were prevalent and added considerable time in going live adding considerable cost to implementation as well as increased stress levels. New technology is good for all of us. Just make sure you understand that there is a cost associated with it. Sizzle must have substance.

Keys to success – training and consulting

Lastly, make sure you allocate the necessary time, dollars and human resources to implement your software. Software is just like any other tool your company uses to complete a job. It requires someone who is well trained to operate it effectively. Would you send someone out to a job to weld an important structure or operate a crane without the proper training? Of course not. But time after time companies expect their software and the people operating it to perform at a high level without the proper degree of training. In my 25+ years of experience if I had to pick one item that contributes most to the success and failure of software, it is training and consulting.

Let’s distinguish between the two. Training is showing you the screen where you setup phases/cost codes. Consulting is when you use your industry and accounting experience to the customer’s benefit. For example, you don’t just show the screen to setup cost codes. Rather, you explain that setting up phases in a particular format will allow them to track both shop labor and field labor separately. The shop may be non-union and exempt from prevailing wages so they need an easy way to track that. The skilled consultant would likely have found this item early on in the discovery process so when the system is set up it is designed to provide critical or time saving information. Consulting goes beyond basic software training and includes developing internal systems and work flows so the customer can manage the business more effectively and efficiently.

Successful Installations

A successful implementation eliminates redundancy and the use of spreadsheets and reports outside of the system. For example, most construction companies create and use a WIP report that is outside of the primary system. The detail in WIP reporting can vary by company. Some companies use cost to complete, others cost at completion, some use dollars, some units etc. The issue generally is that field personal and the accounting system use different methods of measurement. Why? Because their accounting/job cost software was not set up in a way that accommodates field personnel to report completions the way they need to. Software vendors with experienced implementation skills go beyond showing how to setup a job or phase. They have an implementation strategy that includes a course of action. In this example, making sure field personal have meaningful data in the system allowing them to project cost in a way that makes sense to them while still maintaining the data integrity required by accounting is a good example of a sound implementation practice.

By the way don’t expect your training to be of the same quality for inexpensive systems as it would for higher end products. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.

To summarize

1. “Plan your work, work your plan” Without a well thought out plan, your risk of failure goes up considerably.
2. Utilize your salesperson as much as possible. They have an abundance of information and experience. Use it.
3. Don’t get burned by the “Flash and Sizzle.” Make sure there is substance to go along with it.
4. Allocate time, dollars and resources to implement the software successfully.

About the Author

Timothy D. Ricketts has 28 years in sales and development of construction software. He began his career with Contel/Versyss in the early 80’s and was involved in the design, development and release of their construction software. He has experience with J.D. Edwards, Concord, Geac and Dexter+Chaney. For the last 15 years, Mr. Ricketts has held the position of president of his own business, T. Daniels Consulting in Fenton, Michigan, where he oversees software sales, development and training of many of the construction industry’s premier software applications. He can be reached at tim@tdaniels.com or by phone at 810-629-0131.

Expensive Lessons in Construction Software Training

By Sheldon Needle

I speak with various users of construction software on a daily basis. Many are very disappointed with the software they now have and want to look for new options. In most cases, their reasons are legitimate and they do, indeed, need a functional richer and technologically more advanced solution. But users who change software will be just as disappointed in the new system as they are with what they have. The reason is very basic. The users of the software simply are not properly trained to get the most out of it. This is a fact regardless of industry or company size. This article will explore a true life case of why a new software installation can fail despite the best intentions of management. The company name is not revealed for reasons of privacy.

A few years ago I worked with a medium-sized print electrical contractor that had many jobs to complete in a short time frame. Their major challenges were managing scheduling, tracking all costs to the job and being able to respond to job status when customers called. They were using very old software that lacked any of the niceties of new Windows software even as basic as having multiple users access an application at the same time. Needless to say the software was a serious hindrance to office productivity.

Of course, the simple answer was to get new software. After months of research I came across a system which, while not state of the art, was adequate to the task. I sat in on several demos and everyone concluded it looked like a good possibility. The next step was to have the primary accounting person to try out the software herself and see if she really liked it. This, however, meant burning some midnight oil because she did not have the time to test it during regular work hours, a common situation with many companies who are bringing in new software.

No one in management volunteered to work with her, on that difficult assignment so after a year, absolutely no progress had been made in evaluating that solution . Finally after 2 years, they finally acquired the software, had some initial training and started to use it. The staff, not being very sophisticated, entered all the necessary data in the new system (job cost, work orders, and progress billings, etc.) but insisted in continuing to use the old system in parallel mode for an entire year because they were afraid to let go of it. Essentially, out of needless fear, they did double work for an entire year! Why? Because no one with experience was there to manage the process.

Several important lessons were learned as a result of this wasteful process. First, key managers should be brought in to initial meetings with the vendor trainers to give them an overview of the implementation process, all strategies involved and the expected time-frame.  Second, when the manager doesn’t fully buy into the process and understand the tasks and time-frame, they may not choose the employee most qualified to learn the system and to train other people, but the employee they can most do without for the ”train-the-trainer” sessions.  Without the supervising managers involvement, classes were routinely skipped by staff employees and the entire training process broke down.

What the company learned was that the direct managers must be involved in the initial training sessions as well as be active participants in managing the implementation. (In a small company this means the CEO or owner.) They need to know what resources will be required to get the system up and running successfully and be prepared to commit qualified people to learn the system and to train other staff as necessary. Everyone must be motivated so they are fully committed to the success of the new system.

Bottom line, construction project management software is only as good as the people who use it and that means proper training and motivation.

Software Selection/Integration Issues for Large Contractors

By Sheldon Needle

When discussing software requirements issues for contractors, it is important to consider the size and scope of operations.

A small – medium sized contractor ($2M – 50M) may get along fine with a basic job cost program, and the essential financial accounting modules of accounts payable, accounts receivable, estimating, general ledger, purchase orders, inventory, basic service management, simple document management and payroll. But a larger contractor $50M+ often will need either more depth in their accounting applications (e.g. multicompany, complex consolidations) and/or require other applications such as Human Resources, Fixed Assets, Equipment Management, collaborative project management, document scanning and vaulting, etc.

A really large contractor ($250M+) may require any or all of the following:

• interfacing to corporation financial reporting systems
• portfolio management of several entities
• integrating with specific industry applications like Primavera P6 for scheduling and cost tracking
• integration with industry specific estimating programs (like Hard Dollar for heavy contractors)
• supply chain management for inventory control and ordering
• quality assurance tracking for materials
• engineering control for bills of material
• greater security features by entity user and application
• strong integration with Outlook for tracing emails and creating alerts
• document imaging and workflow features
• earned value computations
• contract management
• user definable workflows
• realtime key performance indicator dashboards for management

With more applications come more complications as to how each vendor handles all the requirements and what, if any, third party vendors must be brought in to provide everything necessary.

With applications like project management, it is typical that the project management vendor will need to spend time studying the precise requirements (and even help advise on industry best practices) and to then provide a time and cost estimate to modify their software to meet the specific company processes. A typical scenario for creating a custom interface for a project management system to a construction accounting system can involve several months of work and $25-50k or more of expense.

Data can be a two way street

Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) are a way of describing and tagging specific costs assigned to jobs. Depending on which application captures those cost transactions, data may need to be moved between two different systems. For example, if Primavera is used to capture transaction costs it may use an entirely different set ofcost codes than the codes used by the construction application program (Timberline, Viewpoint, Dexter Chaney,Maxwell, Computer Guidance, etc.) . It then becomes necessary to set up a mapping translation between the systems so that data reporting is consistent between the two systems. This is critical for things like earned value computations which companies with government contracts must comply with (as well as others where the contract requires it).

Working with WBS codes and earned value according to job cost schedule budgets requires a higher degree of competence than just performing simple job to complete reports in a typical job cost accounting system.

Summary

Given the scope of applications, more sophisticated accounting requirements and potential multiple points of integration, evaluating construction software for larger contractors can be exponentially more complex than evaluating the needs of smaller ones.

To do the job right often requires expertise in accounting, financial management, project management, supply chain/inventory control, engineering, HR, and risk management. To execute the evaluation and selection of construction software for this category requires a well led committee of experts in each area who have the absolute confidence of management and are fully committed to the project.

When you should NOT be looking for new software

What could more apple pie than searching for a new construction accounting software solution for your company.

After all, it’s something you think you need and that would help your office get organized, run more productively as well as provide needed management information on a timely basis.

All this is certainly achievable. The problem is most users are not seriously looking. They just don’t realize it until the time comes to write the check   and go through the inevitable pain that comes with converting their data and learning a  new system.

Yes, it is a major commitment even for a small company.

Here are the some of the signposts that companies should keep in mind to find out if they are truly serious about acquiring new construction software.

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Construction Software Buyer Alert – Separating Fact from Sales Hype

If you have spent any time surfing the web for information on construction software, you may have noticed that all the vendors appear to be a good solution for just about anything you want to do.

In fact, most of them are probably are a pretty good solution for 97% of what you want to do. But it’s the last 3% that might just do you in. And that is where buyers can take a big hit.

When it comes to entering job cost transactions and running essential reports, most products are just fine. However, if you have to deal with any of the following, straighten-up and pay attention because these are items that separate the average vendors from the stronger ones. And these are areas that sales literature (or so called “Demo” CDs) will never call to your attention:

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Selecting New Construction Software Tips

Any company that is beginning the process of selecting and implementing new construction software hopefully understands the need to have adequate leadership throughout the process.  An individual or team must be selected to lead the process of evaluating, selecting, implementing, customizing, and training end users to use the new software.  These people need to have a large amount of knowledge about how the company operates as a whole, including intimate knowledge of all processes, as well as a good understanding of construction management software functionality.  As such, I have compiled the following lists of individuals that should be included in this team, or should at the very least be consulted with if they cannot dedicate the proper time to the entire process.  Additionally, I have listed several factors that should be a part of any software evaluation.

Input that is “Nice to Have” (highly recommended)

The following individuals are recommended to be included in the software selection team.  They may not need to be permanent members, but their input should be taken in to consideration.  In most cases, the size of your company, more than anything, will dictate how involved each member needs to be.

• End users (anyone that will ultimately be using the new software)
• Management (all levels in large companies)
• Accounting (they need to provide input on how the new software will impact their operations)
• Payroll
• IT ( they will need to know the technical aspects of the software implementation, among other things)
• Sub-contractors (if necessary)
• Suppliers
• Vendors (once selected)
• Other members that are deemed necessary, which will vary depending on each unique company

Factors that Must be Considered in Any Evaluations

Smaller companies, especially, will probably not have the time and resources to justify dedicating an entire team to a full-time software evaluation.  Additionally, the benefits in terms of process improvement that a formal team may be able to identify and implement will likely be less significant in smaller companies.

Thus, smaller companies need to make the most out of what resources they do have.  They cannot afford to be lazy in evaluating software any more than larger operations can.  At a minimum, the following things need to be thoroughly evaluated for each construction accounting software package that they consider:

• The number of varieties of each product and what makes each version unique
• The number of available vendors
• The history of the product, including testimonials from current users
• The history of the vendor, including testimonials from current users
• The functionality of the product
• The product interface and any potential issues that it may create
• The necessary steps require to integrate the new system with current processes
• Other factors that are unique to your company