Success story: Elevating general contractor relationships with construction tech

Buildertrend’s construction project management software may have been built for home builders, remodelers and specialty contractors, but they’re not the only ones reaping the rewards of construction software. Subcontractors such as Arrow Lift have found it valuable to their operations as well.

“There are many ways that home builders and other construction companies can handle project management and getting everyone on the same page,” said Pete Newstrom, vice president of Arrow Lift. “Custom home builders are using Buildertrend and finding it to be advantageous for them, so it only makes sense for us as subcontractors to do the same.”

Arrow Lift, an accessibility lift and home elevator company, subcontracts for several high-end custom home builder clients who initially introduced them to Buildertrend. They soon realized Buildertrend’s invoicing and communication capabilities allowed them to work better with home builders and keep jobs running seamlessly.

Industry

Stair lifts and elevators

Location

Several locations around U.S.

Established

1985

Winning solution

Invoices

Their story: Home elevator subcontractors

Arrow Lift Glass Elevator
Glass elevator by Arrow Lift

Arrow Lift has been improving the lifestyle of their clients by enhancing their mobility within their homes since 1985. For over 30 years, their multi-generational, independent and family-owned business has installed accessibility lifts and home elevator solutions including luxury glass home elevators and specialty elevators powered by air.

They started their business in Minnesota, where their headquarters remains, and have grown to include locations in Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio and California. As they continue to grow, they are proud to maintain their values and family-owned identity.

“We pride ourselves on a couple things,” Pete said. “First, we’re a veteran-owned business with a diverse team of military veteran and spouses. Second, we’re still family-owned, which is becoming less and less common these days.”

They also put a big emphasis on maintaining quality and safety of their products and services as well as their unique offering of custom work. Whether it’s a stair lift or a home elevator, the Arrow Lift team gives their home builders the opportunity to make customizations that will match the décor or personality of each homeowner.

Their team is led by experts with decades of experience in the industry. Over the years, the hard work, dedication and honesty of the Arrow Lift team has led to trusting, long-lasting relationships with their clients and homeowners.

Their goal: Unify communication among home builders

Home Elevator Arrow Lift
Home elevator by Arrow Lift

As specialty subcontractors, the Arrow Lift team learned about Buildertrend through their clients who are custom home builders. Much like construction tech helped home builders streamline their processes and communication, it has done the same for their subcontractors.

“Now, when we see a job come in from a builder through Buildertrend, we’re glad because those jobs always seem to go smoothly,” Pete said.

Compared to the old-fashioned methods using pen and paper, Buildertrend’s construction invoicing, lien waivers and communication tools make working with home builders simple and efficient.

Their solution: Streamlined invoicing and communication

The Arrow Lift team found the Invoices and Lien Waivers features to be helpful tools to keep all their processes on track from start to finish.

“Using invoices and lien waivers through Buildertrend streamlines communication between home builders and us, as the subcontractor,” Pete said. “For home elevators, it’s not like we can just show up and install. We have some rough-ins as well as measuring and coordination upfront, so there’s a process for making sure everything’s going to fit.”

Documentation is also important when it comes to these specialty projects, and Buildertrend helps them with that, too.

“There are many points where we need documentation, whether it’s an invoice or a lien waiver or something else,” Pete said. “It tends to work pretty smoothly where we get a notification initiated by the builder. It prompts us to log in to the portal, make sure everything looks correct and follow the guidelines for next steps. We’re able to move the jobs forward and the end result is getting paid. Everyone’s happy.”

They also like how Buildertrend facilitates quick communication using email notification and text messages.

“We also use the email and text message alerts,” Pete said. “Builders let us know when there’s a new job that requires a quote from us or if a milestone was reached on a current project. Which, I’m sure, saves them time since they don’t have to pick up the phone and call.”

But Buildertrend doesn’t just save home builders time, it saves their subcontractors time as well – Arrow Lift is no exception.

“Using Buildertrend definitely saves us time as a subcontractor,” Pete said. “Whenever you’re doing point-to-point communication with somebody in another organization, it’s dependent on that person being available to take the call or respond to the email. But when you have a tool like Buildertrend where everything is online in a secure portal, the information is there so we can see it, and we don’t have to wait on a response. It keeps the wheels moving on the project.”

Their success: Efficient, cost-saving processes through construction management software

Pete and his team work regularly with home builders using Buildertrend construction invoicing software, which streamlines their processes and ultimately saves them money.

“Whenever there’s a tool like Buildertrend to make communication more efficient, it saves our team members time and therefore, it saves us money,” Pete said.

Additionally, their experience with using the platform makes them more marketable to builders who use Buildertrend.

“The fact that we’re already set up with Buildertrend – and we have many clients who use it and are familiar with it – is a differentiator,” Pete said. “It makes it easier for home builders to do business with us.”

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