Construction Client Portal
Simplify client communication
A construction customer portal offers you and your clients an easy and transparent way to set expectations, communicate and track construction progress.
Build a better homeowner experience with Buildertrend’s client portal software
With its client portal feature, Buildertrend makes it easy for homeowners to be involved throughout the construction process, improving communication and client satisfaction while minimizing back-and-forth that leads to costly project changes.
Buildertrend provides a system for easy and centralized communication, progress reports, invoices and payments. With these features in place, clients experience improved relationships with their builder and greater satisfaction with project results.
With Buildertrend’s client portal software, homeowners can rest assured that they’re kept in the loop throughout each phase of construction. Discover what Buildertrend can do for you.
| Buildertrend feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Daily Logs | Your clients can see progress reports shared by your team, filled with details on work completed, site conditions and pictures of where the job stands. |
| Documents, videos, photos | Provide clients access to project information, including documents, progress videos and job photos. |
| Messages and comments | Your clients can send, receive and log communication and view comments made throughout other features. |
| Change orders and selections | Provide a way for clients to formally request, review and approve change orders to handle work requests not already covered within the contract. |
| Warranties | Your clients can submit a warranty claim and categorize issues. |
| Invoices and payments | Your clients can view all past and present invoices, and fulfill outstanding payments with online payment processing. |
| Budget and purchase orders | If you enable it, clients can view budget and purchase order details to track and manage project financials throughout construction. |
| Dashboards | Give clients an at-a-glance view of their price summary, a weekly schedule and high-level project details. |
Strong client relationships keep projects on track and profitable
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Selections made online from the customer portal
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Access to project details from anywhere, at any time.
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In-app communication with clients through Buildertrend for improved project results.
Why contractors prefer Buildertrend’s Customer Portal
Homeowners expect a digital experience during a construction project. They want to send messages to their builder quickly and receive responses just as quickly in return.
As demand for access to more information grows, builders are faced with three options.
- Choose to not meet the demand for information – risking client satisfaction and increased change orders as a result.
- Manually track and answer client requests through multiple systems, risking miscommunication and draining resources.
- Digitize the client experience from the start, giving clients access to information while consolidating channels of communication into a manageable space.
An efficient client portal software provides builders with the ability to deliver the third option. Plus, when it’s integrated as a part of your construction company software, a client portal doesn’t take any more time or effort for your team to support – allowing you more time to dedicate to the project rather than managing homeowner expectations.
Here’s how construction companies benefit when they choose Buildertrend for client management.
Build trust with shared information
“We don’t hide anything in Buildertrend,” said Rebecca Remick, president and owner of City Homes. “Giving our clients access to their account creates more trust because they know they’re seeing everything. They can view their projects every day with Daily Logs, plus view their selections, budget and the schedule. They know nothing’s going to be done unless they’re signing off on it.”
Improve sharing of project information
For many clients, the amount of information they’ll have access to throughout a project – and the ease of accessing it – is as much of a selling point when choosing their builder as reputation is.
That’s because clients favor an interactive relationship – feeling like they’re an important part of the process with valued opinions and decision-making authority.
“With Buildertrend, we’re able to communicate multiple ways with our clients,” said Greg Wamhoff, owner at Wamhoff Design | Build.
Scale construction with customer service
With housing shortages and demand for new builds continuing to grow, many construction companies are aiming to scale operations and complete more projects. To do this without risking client service standards, building companies must be able to maintain personalized relationships as they grow. Buildertrend’s Customer Portal helps even the busiest builders accomplish just that.
Buildertrend’s top customer portal features to keep clients informed
Project updates and messaging
Having tools to give your clients project updates allows more transparency and makes clients feel comfortable. Two features you want to have in your toolbox are the Schedule and Daily Logs.
In Buildertrend’s Schedule feature, clients can see how the project is moving along and what’s coming up next. They can also leave comments and ask any questions pertaining to each stage.
Daily Logs are important for providing daily updates. Through these logs, clients can track site progress with photos and notes that are left by the building crew. If a task is running behind, the project manager can leave a note and the client doesn’t have to worry about it. Each log also includes weather reports to show more information on the specific job site.
Ensure your team has access to all client conversations with Buildertrend’s messaging feature within the Customer Portal, you can keep all conversations in one organized platform for your whole team to reference. No one has to wonder what was said, and everyone is on the same page.
Transparent finances and payments
Financial features like the Budget, Invoicing and Bills are important to have in a customer portal to provide transparency into the numbers. Clients are invested in their project and want to see where their money is going. Then, your clients can use online payments triggered by portal notifications.
Buildertrend’s Customer Portal shows homeowners budgeted numbers, invoices and bills if the builder allows, which can be crucial for open book projects. Clients feel at ease when these documents are available to them.
Krueger Brothers Construction found one of its first successes in Buildertrend through the ability to offer online payment options.
“Using credit card and ACH payments inside Buildertrend is super powerful,” said Michael Krueger, co-owner of Krueger Brothers Construction. “Clients are able to pay directly from the Customer Portal. So seeing the payments reflected in Buildertrend has been super helpful. And having a credit card option is great for clients who aren’t quite ready to write a full check.”
Selections
Intentionally planning and organizing selections can make the process more enjoyable for both the client and builder. Within the portal, homeowners are able to view and interactively choose products for their home build. They can see allowances and deadlines and sign for selections on the platform. By storing all selection information here, your crew, subs and clients all have access to keep your jobs moving quickly.
Managing selections can be a challenge for many businesses but can be made much easier within construction software like Buildertrend. Cardinal Crest Homes says Selections is one of the most-used tools for its team and an essential part of the client journey the company provides.
“It’s an invaluable tool that helps us do our job efficiently internally while showcasing professionalism externally to our clients,” Joe Christensen, co-founder of Cardinal Crest Homes, said.
Convenient change order process
To enhance the client experience even further, you can use the Change Order feature within the portal. Sharing change orders with clients in Buildertrend through a clear and organized process is a huge help for businesses like Wamhoff Design | Build.
Theresa Meyer, operations manager, said: “I definitely like the change order process. It keeps everything crystal clear and allows clients to go in and approve them electronically. The change order then becomes an official contract document that can be invoiced directly, which is a super nice feature.”
Customizable client interface
When choosing a customer portal, you want the ability to customize what your clients can see. Businesses differ in the way that they run. Some builders want their clients to have access to the budget while others don’t. Either way, with a customizable platform, you’re able to decide this for your business.
To customize Buildertrend’s Customer Portal, you can input your company’s custom branding and create a seamless look. That way, your portal looks like your own and not a third-party platform. This ensures your branding stays consistent and your construction business is always presented with professionalism.
Interested in learning more?
Customer portal software FAQs
Find answers to the most common questions about construction customer portals.
The easiest way to start using a construction customer portal is to invest in software that has one. After that, you’re able to simply add client contact information into the system and invite them to participate. From there, they can set up their own password to their portal. You, as a builder, can customize which aspects of the project the client can see when logging in.
The purpose of a construction customer portal is to be transparent with your clients and allow them to see project updates. It’s a central location for all project data, including a budget, schedule, selections and photos. It’s also used as a streamlined communication tool between a construction company and its client.
In a customer portal, you want the option to share the project progress with your client through a schedule and photos. You’ll want to choose a portal that has a user-friendly interface so clients can make selections, sign documents and communicate effectively with you. A construction customer portal app is also valuable to have so your clients can access information right from their smartphone.
A construction customer portal is a secure online platform that serves as a one-stop shop for project information. Clients can log in and see the latest updates on their project through progress photos, a view of the project schedule and budget details. They’re able to sign proposals and make selections on their own. The portal also serves as a communication tool between the construction crew and the homeowners. With access to this portal, clients know what’s going on with their investment and feel like a part of the project.
Customer portals are a quick and easy way to tell homeowners which stage their project is at through daily logs, photos and more. It saves builders time on the phone because all communication is done through the portal. Homeowners have fewer questions when information is available to them up front. Less time spent taking phone calls from clients means builders can focus on executing the project at hand.
The construction customer portal also serves as a staple for a company’s sales pitch to prospective clients. This tool can help builders win more jobs because clients value transparency and trust, and having access puts them at ease.
The portal provides a wealth of project-related data, including project schedules, progress reports, budget and expense tracking, change orders, design documents and more. It also facilitates communication with the team and allows for feedback and requests.
In Buildertrend, the Customer Portal can be customized so builders can decide which pieces of information they would like their clients to have access to. For example, you may not want your clients to have access to the budget. So you can simply turn that feature off while allowing them to see other things like photos and documents. With these choices, the builder can make the portal their own to fit their business.
The information in the portal is updated in real time. As soon as progress is made, documents are uploaded or changes occur, the portal will reflect those updates, allowing clients to stay informed throughout the construction process.
More tips and resources on construction customer portals
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