It’s 2013 and we still don’t have rocket cars or automatic homes that cook our breakfast for us. That’s pretty disappointing to many of us who grew up assuming the future shown in Back to the Future Part II would come true. It hasn’t…
However, what we do have are powerful computers that fit in the palm of our hands. Chances are, you have one, or at least have some sort of technology that allows you to do things that you wouldn’t have been able to do 10, 5, or even a couple years ago.
Going Forwards, Not Back, to the Future
For many contractors, life is a mix of emails, whiteboards, and yellow legal pads. The balance between the old and the new can be tough, especially with an increasingly mobile workforce and a demanding customer base. Scheduling and communication is becoming harder as we get busier.
So, how do you bridge the gap while ensuring you, your employees, and your customers are able to keep up? It’s time to leverage technology and one of the most essential elements is contractor project management software.
Transitioning to Job and Project Management Software
The transition to job management software doesn’t need to be scary. The real goal here is to transfer your company to the “cloud.” What does that mean? Well, it means to put all the job information and scheduling you had on the whiteboard or in file folders onto a system that allows you to access them from anywhere at any time.
Don’t get nervous. It isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds. At least it doesn’t have to be. Contractor project management software has gotten better. The software world used to be a scary place, especially for contractors, but better days are already here.
Old vs. New Contractor Project Management Software
The traditional way of dealing with software, was to find a company that had built a program, and then change the way you do business to fit the way they wanted you to do business to work within their processes. Good news: things are changing.
Finding solutions that fit your company has gotten easier as of recent, because there are people who understand that flexibility is important in a product. It is important because no two companies are alike.
Most contractors using job management software are looking to stick to the K.I.S.S. principal. (Keep It Simple”¦). When you are going from spreadsheets or paper files to Software solutions, there is no need to go from zero to “hang on if you can!” This is obviously counterproductive.
The more complex a program is, the harder you will find it is to get the people in your company to accept it (let alone use it one a daily basis). The amount of training, complaining, frustration, and push-back that comes with complexity can seriously affect productivity for weeks and sometimes months. It may never work out.
The solution is a platform that you can work within, that you can customize with your own lingo, your processes, and that will keep you up-to-date and allow you to communicate effectively. Here are some features you might currently use, that you can streamline within modern contractor project management software.
- Calendar ““ Scheduling jobs, or following up on leads.
- Filing Cabinet ““ Storing documents, pictures, contracts, etc”
- Invoicing ““ Write estimates, quotes, send invoices.
- Customer info ““ Maintenance, follow up, warrantee info, marketing.
This is a pretty general list, but you really don’t need a whole lot more than this to survive. In fact, having too much more than this just makes the software bloated and less likely to be adopted easily. Plus, chances are you aren’t doing too many more things than this currently so, finding a system that can take care of this efficiently and affordably will be a huge help. To do it simply is the key.
Once you have things working for you, you can add to it. Imagine doing all these things and more from your smartphone. Communicating with customers, sub-contractors, or insurance companies would be great too, right?
Lead tracking, job analysis, costs, team efficiency, and more can be tracked through a well-built system. The exciting thing is, it is available to you now. JobNimbus can help.
Our training portal and free CRM option with a 14-day full featured trial can get you pointed in the right direction. If you’re looking to adopt job management software into your processes this year, give us a call. The adoption into your company will be easy and smooth because JobNimbus is easy and inviting. It is working for companies like yours, every day.
If it is time to take your company to the next level, you can become the hero and take some smart steps to make your life easier.
