How to Work with Construction Software Salesmen

As is true with any important business system selection process, finding a reputable construction software company with dedicated, knowledgeable, proactive sales people can be a difficult endeavor.

However, doing some up-front homework can help to minimize risks and provide promise for a successful selection, design, and implementation process.

Selecting a good software system always means more than making random selections from local Yellow Pages!  Some of the most important aspects for making such a selection are as follows:

Do some online research into the topic of Construction Management Systems, so you understand what options and functionality are most commonly incorporated in the most common and most recognized software packages; i.e., those designed for enterprise-wide integration.

Talk with some of your acquaintances in the industry; even your competitors.  Learn what works for them, and what does not.

Once you select a particular company, invite someone from that company to visit and pitch their product, including a working demonstration.  Be sure to include representatives in your company who will ultimately be involved with selection, design, and implementation; and, be sure some potential end-users are involved as well.

Get to know the Sales representatives.

• Ask about their background in the Construction industry, and in construction accounting software functionality.
• Pay close attention to how questions are answered; i.e., do they come across as knowing their product inside-out, or do they fumble and stumble and make guesses?
• Pay close attention to how the sales people talk about their competition’s products and functionality.  Quality sales people tend to refrain from too much bashing; it only makes them appear less confident in their own products.
• Be careful not to let sales people become your “friends,” as such a relationship can spell disaster in these circumstances.  You can perhaps have lunch with them, but the relationship should always remain one of seller and buyer, for obvious reasons.

Positioning Yourself to Implement New Construction Software

When construction companies begin to entertain the thought of implementing new construction management software, it is critical that they take a long, hard look at their current business processes, procedures, management controls, data protocols, and other related construction company functions, in order to be solidly positioned to institute software solutions.

Some construction companies, depending mostly on overall size and budget, will make feeble attempts at selecting and implementing new construction software without even thinking about their current “state of affairs.”  That is, they tend to think the software will fill any voids and make up for any lack of perfection in current business processes and procedures.

Unfortunately, construction management system software cannot fix all the imperfections; it’s that simple.  Thus, it is imperative that construction companies thoroughly examine, evaluate, redesign and improve upon current processes and protocols; in an effort to bring those up to date and into alignment with current best practices and construction management system software design parameters.

Rather than try to make the construction software fit old and outdated processes and procedures, Construction companies should always be looking to keep their business practices current with the latest Construction industry benchmarking and best practice philosophies.  That way, construction companies can keep their competitiveness keenly honed, and their proposals and project management endeavors will represent their attention and desire to being the best they can be.

Selecting a New Construction Software System: What to be Aware of

When construction companies are engaged in looking for a Construction Software package, it is critically important that those involved in the evaluation and selection process be keenly aware of the overall business practices, procedures and processes, in order to make the selection process a success.

While most Construction Management Software solutions provide the basics for most construction company models, there are some important major factors which need to be addressed as the process moves along.

For example, many Construction Management Software packages might come with innovative and useful modules or components which promise to help streamline some processes; but sometimes the streamlining might be a bit too straight-forward for the particular business model at hand.  When that happens, some processes or procedures already in place might need to be re-designed, in order to work effectively within the software parameters.  While process improvements are typically a welcome adjunct to any business, such efforts can bog employees down significantly.

Such scenarios can be frustrating and time consuming; and can slow down the selection process as well.  However, some of this might be a necessary part of fitting the business to the software, if the software cannot be easily fit to the business.

Furthermore, Construction Management Software selection can often lead to frustration with regard to assistance and input from other members of the construction company seeking the software solutions.  Everyone in the company should have plenty of work to do just to keep the business operating, and it is often difficult to solicit help or input from employees who are busy trying to keep up with everyday duties.

In order to ensure a smooth, comfortable, meaningful and successful Construction Management Software selection, it is imperative that upper management within the construction company be behind the effort fully.  Without management sponsorship, the selection process will drag on and on, and the outcome might be far less than what is needed or desired.  If upper management fully supports and backs the software selection team or individuals engaged in that, things will go much smoother; and the outcome will be far more agreeable.

Another source of frustration is that of picking and choosing the right vendors and suppliers of Construction Management Software.  Which ones will provide the most expertise; the most in-house, hands-on assistance; the most comprehensive and complete software solution and implementation for your construction company needs?  Choosing the right vendors, though sometimes difficult, can be overcome if the team or individuals engaged in the selection process do some research and homework about a variety of vendors.  Such an effort can save a lot of headaches going forward.

In other words, the software selection process must include some kind of measurable vendor-evaluation methodology.  Brainstorming for what is critically important to the particular business at hand will help to establish the basic vendor traits and characteristics needed to ensure a successful software selection and implementation.

The old adage “don’t put the cart before the horse” is probably a good one to remember when trying to select which Construction Project Management Software package is best suited for your particular construction company.  It is often very difficult, however, to know whether you should focus on fitting the business to the software, or the other way around.

For the most part, it is probably easier and more effective to study existing processes, procedures, and other internal controls as the software selection process is under way.  If you try to re-design those controls ahead of time, you might not fully understand enough about how the software works to fit the controls to its functionality.

Likewise, if you wait until you fully understand the software functionality to start looking at existing internal controls, you will undoubtedly lose momentum in the selection process.  A successful software selection and implementation is best accomplished when the selection team or individuals have opportunity to see the software functionality in action; that way, they can more effectively re-design processes for the best fit within the software parameters.

Using Construction Software to Get from ‘90% Complete’ to ‘100% Complete’ and Remain on Budget

The business is pretty simple.  There are two principal tasks: 1) get the projects; and, 2) do the projects.  Successful companies have productive business development programs and efficient project execution teams.  Although simple, the business is not always easy and can be subject to a variety of common problems.

One typical problem seems to be completing projects within budgets.  Getting from 90% complete  to 100% complete often consumes more than 10% of the allotted resources.  Reasons (or excuses) vary widely but a troubled project should never come as a surprise to management (although often they do).

To avoid going under water at the end of a project, budgets and variances need to be set and tracked properly.  This requires:

1. Making realistic and detailed initial cash flow/spending/invoicing projections, and

2. Monitoring the project’s financial performance and making proper adjustments

An effective construction accounting software system will tell the Project Manager how much of the budgeted costs have been expended.  However, without a good projection, the Project Manager will not know if the percent expended is correct at any given point during the project.

Variances need to be recognized early so the proper adjustments can be made.  Too late, and the best you can do is damage control.  It is critically important to understand the contract scope of work and, in particular, the client’s expectations to recognize when out-of-scope work should require an amendment or fee adjustment.

A number of construction software programs are available to establish and track project budgets.  These programs are often integrated with the company’s financial accounting package.  One key is to balance program complexity with simplicity.  The project tracking program must be capable of breaking the project down into components for an accurate projection.  For example, shop drawing review during construction happens long before development of record drawings.  However, the programs can’t be overly complex or they won’t get used.  Resource allocation programs used by construction project managers are generally too high powered for engineering applications.  Acceptance and effective use of the programs requires the right balance between program capability and simplicity of use.  A sophisticated spreadsheet approach can work, but without integration into a financial system.

As is often the case, completing the latter stages of a project while staying within budget depends on early planning, variance tracking and making the right course corrections early enough to be effective.

Special thanks to David F. Edson, P.E., Sr. Vice President of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc. for his assistance in writing this post.

How to Select your Construction Software Champion

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

Every company, large or small, needs someone to lead the charge for improved efficiencies through better software. This software champion must have certain traits to ensure that the company achieves the expected return on investment.

Here are 5 critical traits that your software champion needs to have.

1. Experience in Software Implementation
Learning the ins and outs of software evaluation and implementation on-the-fly will jeopardize your initiative. That’s why your construction software champion must have prior experience evaluating and implementing software. Keep in mind that the scope of previous experience needed to make a sound decision increases with company size and complexity of operations.

2. Knowledge of Company Operations
Your construction software champion must understand how your company operates. If he/she doesn’t, taking the time to learn the processes and operations well enough to know what questions to ask vendors during demos is crucial.

3. Full Support from Management
Choose a construction software champion you can trust. Committing time and money to a complex evaluation, selection, implementation and training process is not a place for wishy-washy management that doesn’t fully trust their champion to complete the project successfully. When full support is provided to the champion, you won’t be tempted to pull the plug when the going gets rough (which almost always happens at some point in the project).

4. Respect of Peers
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.

5. An Advocate for Change
Most people don’t like change and implementing new software is about as traumatic as it gets for the company’s accounting, project managers and IT departments. Your construction accounting software champion should have the skills to properly prepare and motivate personnel for change, while helping them feel less threatened by the new system. This requires sensitivity to people’s needs within the new software environment, as well as the ability to make the evaluation, selection and implementation of new software a team effort. Without a sense of participation, many employees will not “buy into” the new software and may even try, in subtle ways, to sabotage the initiative.

Summary

Your construction software champion is critical to a successful software implementation. He/she is the person with the most software experience and, once chosen, deserves full management support while leading to a final decision. There are many potential pitfalls along the way; trust your software champion to know where the mines are buried and how to avoid them every step of the way.

More Construction Software Conversion Tips

This article highlights more elements that are vital to getting your software up and running quickly and effectively. Following these guidelines and the guidelines posted in the previous construction software conversion tips post  before conversion provides the framework for your implementation and gives you control over the entire process.

Converting Your Data

There are two basic options when it comes to data conversion: manual and electronic. The choice you make will depend on the services offered by your vendor and how much data you want to bring into your new software.

Manual Data Conversion
This option entails manually re-entering specific data into your new software. A time and labor-intensive task, using a team approach can help, especially if your entire staff tackles the data entry with gusto. Some companies choose to bring minimal data over to the new software, keeping their old system around for look-up purposes. In this case, manual data conversion is adequate.

One caveat of manual conversion is data entry errors. Long hours and tight deadlines are a breeding ground for mistakes. Make sure you implement quality control procedures to verify the accuracy of entered data.

Electronic Data Conversion
Electronic data conversion involves the use of technology to bring your existing data into the new software. This option is ideal in many cases and for a multitude of reasons. Less labor-intensive than the manual method, the electronic route benefits smaller conversion teams or more aggressive timelines.

If electronic data conversion is available through your software vendor, give this tool serious consideration. Guidance on how to retrieve your data from your old system should be provided, as well as a listing of acceptable import formats.

Data quality, validation and formatting are key issues with electronic data conversion. Make sure you fully understand what your vendor can and cannot do, what your responsibilities in the process are and what procedures are in place for error checking.

Although electronic data conversion can import master files, job cost history, customer information, vendor details and open invoices in a very short period of time, it does require some technical knowledge. If this is a problem, your vendor may offer technical consulting or services to handle your electronic data conversion for you.

Data Cleanup
The “garbage in, garbage out” principal applies to data conversion. The quality of your converted data will only be as good as the source you import from – whether that import is done manually or electronically. Taking steps to clean up your data prior to conversion gives you the opportunity to:
• Standardize your data (capitalization, abbreviations, acronyms)
• Identify missing or duplicate records
• Purge unnecessary data
• Reformat your data if necessary
• Evaluate for corrupted information
• Test your data’s validity when exported

Testing
Testing your converted data is just as crucial as data cleanup. Manually or electronically entering data into a test database on your new system gives you the chance to evaluate critical processes and review vital reports for accuracy.

Think of testing as a practice or dry run for the real thing. Verifying data integrity, running queries and comparing reports in the new construction accounting software with those from your old system are just a few safeguards gained by testing. The end result? Issues can be identified and corrected before going live.

Tip: Consider hiring temporary help during your conversion to assist with data entry or to provide day-to-day business support during this time.

Training

Once your software is installed and your data converted, training is the next phase in your implementation. Do not cut corners on training. Adequate instruction on the functionality and features of your new software will lay the foundation for continuous improvement in your workflow processes.

On-site training will be your best option for hands-on learning using your own data. Start with training on the core modules such as job cost, payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable. Once these fundamentals are mastered, you can begin to roll out your additional program modules.

Follow-up training can be done on the phone, via e-mail or perhaps another on-site training session. Proactively improving knowledge of your new system will result in a more complete implementation, providing a strategic advantage to enhance your construction management processes. In any case, heed your vendor’s recommended training guidelines for the system you have purchased.

Tip: Consider on-site training “refreshers” once a year, when you upgrade to a new version of your software or when you experience staff turnover.

A Continued Partnership

Long after your go-live date has passed, your relationship with your vendor will continue. Nurture that relationship whenever possible. Communicate enhancement requests to the development team. Offer to be a reference for prospective clients. And if regional or national user conferences are planned, attend them if you can.

Construction accounting is a complex environment. The time and monetary investments made in a new management system are commitments to your long-term profitability. Building a partnership with your vendor will contribute to your ongoing success.

Successful Construction Software Conversion Tips

Implementing new construction management software can be a significant challenge. To ensure success, it’s important to fully understand your business objectives regarding the new software and develop a plan to meet those objectives.

This article outlines some elements that are vital to getting your software up and running quickly and effectively. Following these guidelines and strategic planning suggestions before conversion provides the framework for your implementation and gives you control over the entire process.

Assemble Your Team

Your conversion team should resemble a pyramid of sorts. With a team leader at the top, followed by layers of support personnel with various levels of involvement, you will create a strong foundation for positive results.

Conversion Lead
Your in-house conversion lead is the primary contact between your company and your software vendor. This might be the company owner, CFO or controller. This person should play an integral role in using the new software and will be responsible for keeping your implementation on track.

Top Level Managers
The next layer of your team is comprised of the top-level managers. Some examples would be the controller (if he or she isn’t your conversion lead), chief project manager, equipment manager and service manager. These individuals will provide valuable input on what they need from the new software to most effectively perform their jobs.

Data Entry Staff
At the base of your pyramid is your data entry staff. During your conversion, it’s important to include staff that will use the construction project management software on a daily basis. Discuss current processing procedures and identify ways that the new software can improve or streamline work flow.

In addition to these core groups, make sure you include other personnel at some level. This from-the-top-down approach to assembling your conversion team will effectively gain company-wide commitment and support for your implementation.

Tip: consider bringing in your outside CPA as an additional team member or consultant.

Get Software Vendor Assistance

The most knowledgeable source for conversion assistance is your software vendor. With hundreds or thousands of implementations under their belt, your vendor can provide invaluable guidance every step of the way.

If a conversion or implementation manager is available through your vendor, take advantage of their experience. Use vendor-supplied conversion checklists and do the legwork suggested to best prepare for your transition.

Resources offered by your vendor are worth the financial investment and will deliver a significant return on investment.

Tip: Get your vendor’s recommendation on where to order new checks and forms for your software.

Create a Timeline

With your vendor’s assistance, create a detailed timeline for your implementation. List everything that needs to be done, start to finish. Brainstorm with your entire in-house team to gather additional to-do items; the more thorough your list, the greater your chances are for success.

It may help to designate general categories to organize your thoughts. Some examples include: Pre-Installation, During Installation, Data Conversion, and Training Topics. Hardware and software installation dates and are just a couple of specific timeline items for consideration.

Conversion is an excellent time to evaluate your current chart of accounts and cost codes, and to make changes if needed. Adding these items to your timeline will prompt you to review and revise before it’s too late.

Develop your timeline in calendar format with hard dates or date ranges for each milestone. Assign a team member to each item, making sure your conversion lead checks in frequently.

As you create and complete your timeline items, it will be important to ask questions. Communicate with your vendor and conversion team by asking: Are we on track? Are there things to add to the timeline? What potential pitfalls or delays can we anticipate and avoid?

Tip: Don’t forget to add your “Go Live” date to your timeline.

These are only a few tips for a successful software conversion.  There are several other things that you can do to ensure a successful conversion to new software.  I plan to return to this topic at a later date.

Choosing Between Construction-Specific Accounting Software and Generic Accounting Software

Trading up from a small business bookkeeping package to a full construction accounting software system is going to ask a lot from you in terms of time and expense. The issue comes down to – do you want to go from simply recording job data into your accounting system or do you want to proactively manage jobs, deadlines, and costs using software specifically designed for your industry?

Here are some questions to ponder before you take the leap.

In addition to the capital expenditure required to purchase mid-market construction software, are you committed to providing the resources required to be properly trained on the new software? That means spending the money and having staff who have the right attitude and skills to learn the new system.

Furthermore, are you committed to getting all the requisite job information into the system to give you the output needed to better manage your jobs?

What is driving your initial interest in construction-specific software? Is just because you think you need it ?  Or do you have job experiences that went bad because you did not track your estimated costs to your committed costs? Or have you just been lucky so far ? Does your current job costing system not recognize costs at the time of commitment but only when you receive the bills or when you pay your labor?

How do you handle your Progress Billings? Do you create your Progress Billings separately from your accounting system?  Where do you maintain your schedule of values ? What system do you have in place to ensure that all costs incurred are actually billed?

What type of job purchasing controls are in place to ensure that committed costs do not deviate from your estimated costs? Is your purchase order and subcontract system allowing you to job cost at the time of commitment?

How does your estimating process work? Do you have dedicated construction estimating software or is it all spreadsheet based and very specialized? Do you have a handle on tracking estimating costs and revisions against your job ledger?

Where do you store all of your job file information and documents? Do you see any advantage in maintaining all of this in a construction software package? What is your litigation exposure for incomplete job files?

Has new management been added? One of the key drivers for seeking out new software is new management. A new CFO or Controller may recognize the need for better information systems and may even have been brought in for that purpose.

Is your company growing? Growing companies will stretch and eventually break the boundaries of a small business package in terms of transaction volumes and functionality. A classic example is the need for integrated project management and document control. What needs to be in place for you to manage the performance of your projects?

Finally, and perhaps most important for many, is the surety issue for performance bonds. Surety coverage demands detailed metrics for job costs and job progress. In many cases, this type of detail simply cannot be provided without a robust  industry package.

How much can you justify spending? Some metrics suggest that you can afford 2 – 3% of net revenues but if you are struggling to manage your business due to the lack of realtime information, you may be able to justify more.

How will you find the most appropriate options? If you surf the web you may identify dozens of products that look like they might work for you.  You now have a two step challenge; identifying who to put on your shortlist and then making a final choice between them. This is not a simple task. Often, users actually become more confused as they go through their research instead of less due to all the claims and counterclaims of competing vendors. That means you need someone on staff that has the time to invest and knows how to navigate the muddy waters.

Who is in charge of the search?  Sometimes the person(s) tasked to find the new system may be selected simply because they are the most convenient, least cost choice. A bookkeeper/accountant or office manager usually does not have the breath of experience to handle a major project like software evaluation and selection.

The best choice to lead the project is someone who understands all the operational and accounting aspects of the business, has strong communication skills and who has the full confidence of the decision makers.

Evaluating Construction Software? 10 Traps to Watch Our For

There are some pretty major differences in how software for contractors operates. Some of these differences are significant; others are not that critical to the methods of operation by the contractor. How does this net out for the contractor looking for software? What are the implications? One has to first of all know his/her particular business, i.e. what your requirements are for running the company, and to pay close attention to the details when looking at packages so that your business methods are not in conflict with the software you select. This sounds like a simple task but this is no small order when shopping for software.

Accounts Receivable

What kind of billing do you do? Do you issue time and materials or cost plus invoices? In either case, you’ll want to check how the system integrates job cost with billing and how much flexibility it provides in modifying your invoices. Do you issue draws in AIA format? Do you do service work and have a need for invoices to be issued from work orders?. Based on your key operational requirements you’ll want to concentrate on how the prospective package handles those requirements.

General Ledger/ Financial Reporting

Areas that distinguish systems are in the areas of budget tracking (multiple budgets and revisions), intercompany accounting for use with multiple entities (with automatic intercompany entries based on a single journal entry). You will also want to pay close attention to the report formatting capabilities. Does it handle basic column formats only or will it also let you do row formatting with calculations? Key issues for reporting are ease of use and power. Most of the time custom reports will have to built to meet all your reporting needs.

How easy is it to handle consolidations? Do you need to roll all entities together with automatic eliminations or is it a matter of combining specific companies? You should see how easy it is to accomplish this in the different packages.

Cash management can range from simple cash flow projections to full blown cash management capabilities including complete bank reconciliation, cash flow reports and float information on bank accounts. Some systems will even include cash flow projections based on outstanding AP, AR and PO’s. Some systems have separate cash management options while in others this function is within the general ledger or accounts payable modules.

Only a few packages can handle foreign currency requirements.

Payroll

Union payroll is a big item for contractors. Be sure to evaluate how the software computes union benefits and deduction calculations. Most systems are pretty flexible. Just be sure the construction software can handle the way the union does it (e.g. deduction percentages taken before or after taxes). Union reports are another potential stumbling block. Some system are very flexible, and can report to a specified union format, while others can be more challenging. If the vendor cannot perform the format you need out of the box, it may take a lot of work for you to create the necessary union reports!

Collecting payroll data from remote locations is another major differentiator. The first issue is how is PR data collected at the remote site (e.g. time card machines, computer entry, etc.)?  The next question is how to get the data from the field to the home office computer. Variations here can involve batch file transfers, direct entry from the field to the home computer via special server software and the like. Look at the need for real-time information and the amount of effort needed to make the transfer. Some packages may even offer a web interface for data entry/reporting from remote locations.

Similar to GL, making inter company payroll entries where one entity processes the payroll for other entities can be a major item for some companies. You’ll want the system to make all necessary inter company entries for you. Most systems can handle all the basic PR tax reports.

Accounts Payable

An important issue in AP is the early warning (also known as “alerts”) capabilities of software. For example, you may want the system to warn you on subcontractor insurance expiration dates or when an expense transaction causes you to go over budget. Different systems provide different levels of warnings during invoice entry.

Another area is how vendor invoices are selected for payment. Some contractors need a “pay when paid” capability where invoice payment is determined when the contractor is paid by the customer for a project, and not  just by  invoice due date.

Integration between Accounts Payable and Purchase Orders

What are your needs for updating purchase orders and creating AP vouchers? Systems handle receipts against PO’s and voucher creation differently. Some systems will automatically create a voucher based on a PO receipt and let you set tolerance levels for acceptance. Also, commitment accounting is important for most users who want to be able to track purchase orders against budgets and receive a warning when an AP entry causes them to exceed budget!

Another interesting variation is how the system handles unapproved invoices. Some will let you set a flag to indicate they have not yet been approved and will not post to job cost or GL until they are approved. Some systems will even offer “Compliance groups.” These are user defined parameters (e.g. receipt tolerances, cutoff amounts for subcontract, etc) set up for subcontracts and PO’s which will check to see that invoices entered meet compliance for that group. When compliance is exceeded, the system issues an alert to the operator.

Job Cost

The main issue for job costing is integration. You will want to carefully investigate integration between job cost and other modules such as scheduling, project management, and estimating. How easy is it to move data between these applications and to make changes? This is particularly important for larger contractors. Project management and document control is another major need for contractors. Users want to move to a paperless office.  Does the package support this? Some of the packages support web-based project tracking and updating.

Input and Uses of Percent Complete Reports.

How detailed do you want these to be? Some systems will project cost to complete by cost distribution based on different factors.

Job cost reporting is an area where major differences exist between systems. You’ll want to review the system’s standard job cost reports to understand the data source for the reports and how easy it is to develop new reports or modify existing ones. Some users want to be able to override the data fed into the job costs to complete based on one-time events that the system does not take into account.

Equipment

How do you want to handle tracking equipment costing and preventative maintenance? Do you want a visual maintenance tracking system? Do you need to charge equipment usage to jobs? Some systems will track tool usage through their equipment modules. How does the system handle depreciation costing? What are your needs for integration between PO and equipment for purchases of parts for maintenance?

Inventory

Systems vary in inventory costing capabilities. Some systems provide a variety of pricing mechanisms (i.e. LIFO and FIFO), while others are limited. Can you update inventory with an outside pricing service? It is also important to gain an understanding between the integration (or lack of it) of the inventory, purchasing and estimating databases.

Purchase Orders

Some systems can create PO’s based on estimates. This sophisticated capability is important for homebuilders. Another consideration is how the system handles PO backorders.

Summary

When choosing software, it is crucial that users focus on looking at product differentiators that match closely with user priorities. That is the only way you can be sure you are going to get what you need from a given vendor.

Test Your Construction Software Selection IQ

Think you’re well-prepared to launch your search and selection for new construction management software? Take our quick quiz to test your construction software selection IQ!

Question: Which references are more valid?

1. Companies who have used the construction software for many years
2. Companies who have installed the system within the last 12–1 8 months

Answer: 2. Recent references are best. The older ones have worked out any problems long, long ago.

Question: What one factor below has the best chance of guaranteeing your software selection success?

1. Buying at the right price
2. Getting good references
3. Past experience working with a system
4. The database it uses
5. Number of installations
6. None of the above

Answer: 6. A single factor cannot guarantee your success. Although this may seem like a trick question, you’d be surprised how many people think otherwise!

Question: You really can’t go wrong buying a recognized brand name with thousands of installations — True or False?

Answer: False. There are plenty of unhappy people using well known systems.

Question: The system’s database doesn’t matter as long as the software does what you need it to do — True or False?

Answer: False. Eventually, older databases stop being supported or become incompatible with more current operating systems (like Windows Vista). They may also lack full Windows conventions like opening multiple windows, performing searches, optimizing communication and navigating the screen.

Question: Who is the best person to lead an construction software selection project?

1. IT Manager
2. CFO or construction manager
3. CEO
4. Outside consultant
5. The person with the most time to work on the project
6. It depends

Answer: 6. The best person to lead your software search is the one who has relevant experience evaluating and implementing software and thoroughly understands your company’s needs. Choose that person wisely.

Question: What is the main reason why a software initiative fails?

1. Not enough time is allowed for proper training and installation
2. Bad fit for the business
3. Employee resistance to change
4. Staff turnover
5. Vendor misrepresents product capabilities
6. Lack of due diligence

Answer: 6. Although a failed construction software initiative is usually the result of a combination of all six factors, the most important reason is lack of due diligence on the part of the buyer.

Question: A Web demo of the construction software is the best way to begin your evaluation — True or False?

Answer: False. Requesting a Web demo is actually one of the last things you should do when evaluating construction software. Schedule demos only after defining your requirements, checking construction software reviews, and screening possible vendors using targeted questions.

Question: What is the most important criterion when selecting your software vendor?

1. A lot of installations
2. A large vendor with deep pockets so you know they’ll stay in business
3. Local support
4. A well-delivered demo presentation that answered your questions
5. A good recommendation from a reference
6. None of the above

Answer: 6. No single factor can guarantee satisfaction with your software vendor. Consider a variety of criteria when choosing a technology partner.

Question: A 30 or 60-day guarantee is adequate protection for your investment — True or False?

Answer: False. It is virtually impossible for any buyer to discover enough about the software within 30-60 days to know if it will be a satisfactory long term solution. But even if a vendor offered you a one-year guarantee, why would you want to invest 12 months of your time and resources without getting any return on your investment – even if you could return it? Do your homework up front and the 30-60 day guarantee won’t matter.