Mining the data field: Best New Year’s resolutions for construction companies in 2022

As the new year fast approaches, it’s time to leave the past behind and start anew. Nearly three out of every four Americans set a personal New Year’s resolution – and you should apply that same thinking to your construction business.

As jobs briefly slow down over the holidays, now is the best time to take stock in your current performance and then forecast for the future. Ask yourself: How do I want my company to grow? What can I do to improve quality? Are greater profits possible in the coming months?

No matter your goal, your business really can have it all in 2022. Sometimes all it takes it a little planning and the right tools. Buildertrend’s proprietary data shows one of those right tools is construction software.

To help you set your intentions for the year to come, we’re highlighting what our platform made possible throughout 2021. Home builders, remodelers and specialty contractors across the globe are already winning big with Buildertrend – and their success can become yours.

Here are the top New Year’s resolutions for construction businesses – and how our software can help make them possible.

I resolve to … impress my clients at every stage of their build

Depending on where you’re building, you may be fighting against hundreds of other contractors for the same jobs. It can seem almost impossible to get ahead. But consider this: So much of this industry depends upon word-of-mouth. With that logic, the best way to stand out is for your current clients to shout your praises to any and everyone who will listen.

But how do you win over clients in today’s digital age? It’s all about construction software. One of Buildertrend’s most popular tools is the Customer Portal. So popular in fact that there were over 34 million client logins this year.

Transparency and client collaboration come together here, as this acts as their single source of truth for checking the progress of their builds. Instead of late-night phone calls and scattered email chains, Buildertrend centralized communication through 1.3 million total messages sent to clients and nearly 73 million uploaded photos.

“With the Customer Portal, I find that I am getting less questions with the same satisfaction customers yearn for,” said Paul Ledet, owner of Chris Ledet Homes in New Orleans, La.

“It’s become a much more pleasant build because everything is right at their fingertips, whether they’re at work, home or wherever.”

I resolve to … improve team communication

Buildertrend construction project management software is about more than just client communication. Team collaboration is taken to new heights, too.

One way that happens is through Daily Logs. Think of it as journal entries for the modern and on-the-move builder. With the click of a button, your team can document and share important information that keeps everyone updated and informed. Throughout 2021, builders created 8.5 million daily logs in Buildertrend.

“We’ve become more efficient with the use of Buildertrend,” said Marty Morse, owner of Morse Custom Homes in Davis, Calif. “There’s savings in that because we’re saving our time, using it to do things we are paid to do instead of finding paperwork, on phone calls or checking in with each other.”

Also eliminated is all the back-and-forth of figuring out when your crew was on the site and for how long. Crew members can clock in and clock out right from our home builder app while geofencing ensures employees only clock in at the job site. This year, to date, there have been 10.6 million Time Clock punches.

Just think of the management hours and dollars saved through effortless, accurate time tracking. Speaking of money …

I resolve to … strengthen my company’s financial health

You know how concrete, steel and wood fit together to make a home, but you struggle to track your expenses for constructing that home. Invoices sit on your desk for months before you remember to send it to the client, and then it goes unpaid for months until your accountant gives you the nudge.

Any of that sound familiar? Buildertrend lets you leave problems like this behind in 2021. Payment Processing in our construction app helps teams improve cash flow. You can send digital invoices, collect from clients online and keep your business moving forward instead of constantly waiting for revenue. 

This is no small online payment operation either. To date, $1.5 billion in payments have been processed through Buildertrend in 2021 alone. That’s a 69% increase from last year’s total.

“Online processes absolutely speed payments up,” said Brian Ensminger, general manager of Waunakee Remodeling Inc., in Madison, Wis. “If you’re not participating in Payment Processing, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.”

I resolve to … grow my business

For many in the construction game, this is the ultimate New Year’s resolution. You’re in business to make money, and more money comes from more projects.

To grow effectively, you first need to easily win jobs through a streamlined and organized sales process. Buildertrend’s CRM tool provides just that – one place to capture, track and close deals. In 2021, a whopping 2.1 million leads were created in Buildertrend.

But once you have the job, the work to expand your business doesn’t end there. It’s about being nimble and getting the work done quickly, too. During this year, nearly 1.3 million active jobs were entered into Buildertrend with the average job lasting 97 days from start to finish.

Adding process and organization to job planning, material procurement, client communication, team management and financial tracking gives teams the power to do more in less time. And, ultimately, all those extra hours allow builders to add extra jobs to the annual schedule.

“The key thing is Buildertrend handles what one full-time person would normally do … maybe two,” said Joe Robertson, owner of Shelter Solutions in Portland, Wash. “It’s the magic formula: Buildertrend decreases overhead and increases production.”

I resolve … to make this the best year yet

2022 is your year if you’re serious about taking your construction company to the next level – especially with construction software on your side. Congratulations to the teams who helped make this year such a successful one with Buildertrend – and it’s never too late if you haven’t given our tech a try yet.

Schedule a demo to see the difference Buildertrend can make for your business in 2022 and beyond.