3 reasons why homebuilder software is as necessary as a tool belt

We’ve probably heard this story 100 times from our customers before they used our home builder software:

You look at the home you just finished. You admire its perfect roofline. You take pride in how solid the structure is. The finishes are flawless. Seeing the ear-to-ear smiles on your clients’ faces as you turn over the keys is priceless.

It’s a great moment.

Except for the fact you feel 10 years older due to the amount of stress you experienced in completing the project. It was a roller coaster ride … and not in a good way.

Does this sound familiar? You – and our customers – are not alone.

This is where home builder software can come to your rescue. It is, of course, not the end-all be-all solution that will magically make home building woes disappear overnight. However, it can significantly reduce your level of stress. We’ve seen how necessary using home builder software is among our customers — it’s just as essential as bringing along your tool belt to the jobsite.

We’ve compiled the top three ways home construction management software can make the home building process a more positive experience for you and your team:

1) Patch communication cracks

Home building and remodeling can easily turn into the blame game when things go awry. “He said dig 10 feet” vs “No, I said dig 12.” “She said demolish this wall” vs “You’re wrong, I said demolish that wall.” We’ve seen our fair share of these battles ourselves, and we’re pretty sure you’ve found yourself refereeing the same situation many times. And who wins in the end? No one. Good communication is the foundation of a great home building project. By using home builder software, real-time communication can happen between the jobsite and the office to ensure everyone is on the same page:

• All communication is documented, logged, and organized in one place — minimizing the risk of something falling through the cracks
• Support for media attachments to make sure everything is as clear as can be
• Hold subs accountable by assigning to-do lists that seamlessly integrate with communication features

We believe there is no such thing as too much communication when it comes to building a home. Besides, at the end of the day, it’s better to over-communicate than under-communicate.

2) Close scheduling loopholes

Do you watch shows on HGTV? If not, one of the most common lines delivered by hosts of flipping or remodeling shows is this: “The longer the renovation, the more money we lose.” It’s true. Home building involves a lot of moving pieces, and we all know the importance of creating a solid project timeline, especially if you’re dealing with multiple subs. With everything that needs to happen, it’s easy to mess things up. Doing project scheduling on a whiteboard in your office won’t cut it.

When it comes to construction project management, anything that needs to be manually written down is considered Jurassic. A home builder app allows for the seamless creation of home construction timelines. You can easily adjust deadlines and allow for instant notification of the subcontractors involved. With different view options such as a Gantt Chart view or a calendar view, you can easily see dependencies and what needs to be accomplished before something else can be done.

3) Bulldoze over budget problems

Did you know that building the International Space Station went over budget by 68 billion dollars? 68. BILLION. DOLLARS. Image Source Of course, constructing a home doesn’t necessarily equate to building a livable habitat in outer space, but you catch our drift. Going over budget is almost a fact of life, but what if there’s a way to build a home on budget? Or better yet, under budget? That’s always the end goal of creating and managing a construction budget using home builder software. With pre-loaded reports, it’s easy to get bids from subs, keep track of estimated costs, and record actual costs. Based on our experience, the earlier you can recognize the signs of going over the budget, the easier it is to prevent it from actually happening. Don’t let your home building project be the next International Space Station. Just kidding.

Software + tool belts = positive (and safe) home building experience

All in all, it’s obvious that home builder software can be a great asset for you and your team. From the construction site to your office, home builder apps can help facilitate good communication, seamless scheduling, and effective budgeting. While hiccups are inevitable, using new home building project management technology minimizes the risks and gives you and your team a great overall experience.

Buildertrend provides residential construction companies a user-friendly, web-based software to help them build more projects, complete projects faster, reduce costly communication errors, and maximize customer satisfaction. Discover how our software can work for you by scheduling a live demo.

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