How Using One Construction System Instead of Multiple Apps and Spreadsheets Can Make Business Lulls & Surges Easier to Navigate
One of the greatest challenges in running a residential construction company is managing the lulls and surges in business. Project loads often seem to seesaw between feast or famine. One month you’re sitting around hoping to hear from a builder about a new subdivision and the next you’re scrambling to schedule crews for three new subdivisions at once.
Not only does this generate a lot of anxiety, but it leads to practical operational problems that can negatively impact the productivity of your team, impede your business growth and even threaten your financial stability.
So how do you manage the surges without hiring more people than you need during the lulls? How do you streamline your processes so that they serve you well, no matter what the current workload demands? The simplicity and efficiency of a single construction management system can make business lulls and surges easier to handle.
Consolidate Process Management
Residential construction companies often introduce technology into their processes one process or one department at a time. This is a step above manual operations and paperwork, but it is still inefficient. Whether the software is for accounting, business management, project management, estimating, scheduling or for just one part of the business such as construction, service or warranty work, the challenge lies in the difficulty of transferring vital data from one application to another and keeping the many stakeholders in a project completely up to date. In fact, using multiple systems can compound the struggles of adoption and make the back office team feel as if their lives have been complicated rather than simplified.
Managing every step of your operational processes in a single software solution without multiple spreadsheets or apps simplifies learning and use for everyone. And the simpler technology is to learn and use, the more consistently your team will employ it and the more benefits your business will gain from it.
Keep a Lean Team
Having one easy-to-use system also can reduce the need to expand your team with seasonal or temporary changes in workload. One reason is that your technology can automate many repetitive tasks and reduce the need for human effort and hours. The other reason is that, when your entire team knows and understands the software, there is more opportunity for members to cross-train and help out with a variety of tasks. There is less chance of people sitting around idly, waiting on others to complete their tasks, if they are able to go into the software themselves and perform authorized actions.
Growing Sustainably? Speed Up On-Boarding
By handling your operations and projects efficiently and well, you can satisfy more builders and gain more opportunities to grow your business. When sustainable growth justifies additional hiring, a single easy system will yield additional benefits.
Hiring and training new workers can be a frustrating process when you need them to be up to speed as quickly as possible to meet increased demand. An integrated construction business management system that is easy to use and already well known by your staff can offer a smooth introduction and reduce the time, expense and frustration of onboarding.
Make Business Lulls & Surges Easier To Navigate With SupplyPro GM
SupplyPro GM is a single cloud-based construction software system that enables you to manage residential projects in their entirety from work order creation through approvals and payments. Feature-rich and built for mobility, this effective contractor and supplier software gives you real-time information and control in every part of your business, so you can survive lulls and surges while increasing productivity, profits and builder satisfaction.
Learn more about how SupplyPro GM can help you manage your business more effectively or schedule a demo today.