Some of my favorite work over the past 20 years has been with specialty contractors, so I’ve seen my share of good and bad construction management software solutions (more bad than really good).
When business owners are ready to move away from QuickBooks, I always recommend going through presentations for Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, and NetSuite. For small business CRM solutions, I have a shortlist. Likewise, I have a shortlist of just two titles for any specialty contractor wanting not necessarily to upgrade their construction management solution but to improve on what they already have because, after about one day, I can spot the operating deficiencies of their current system.
Not Using a CMS?
In the twenty-plus years I’ve run my practice, only two business clients have used big chief tablets and spreadsheets to manage all projects. Accordingly, show me a specialty contractor not using a CMS, and I’ll show you a stressed-out CEO who wonders where the cash is going and cannot figure out why he or she cannot obtain PO financing for current and future contracts. Accordingly, this brief article also applies to any contractor trying to skimp and save money by using spreadsheets, paper, and post-it notes for construction management.
The Construction Management Software Shortlist
I only have two titles for consideration. I want you to be on your own to identify and assess two more titles. The two titles are:
I prefer UDA because the desktop and online versions are impressive and affordable. While I’ve only had one experience with one of their internal consultants, their expertise was phenomenal. Plus, the user interface is intuitive and easy to figure out.
I have a love-hate relationship with ComputerEase. It’s a powerful system. I sense (my opinion) that it has an older feel to it. I don’t like the built-in trial balance and accounting system–it’s awful. However, the construction management components are solid.
The lone consultant I’ve worked with on ComputerEase is Amy Kaczanowski-Farrell, and she’s one of the brightest and friendliest ERP consultants I’ve ever worked with. If you decide on ComputerEase, grab her if you can for your implementation.
Five Questions For Your First Construction Management Software Presentation
When I’m serving as the part-time COO for clients looking for a new CMS solution, I quarterback the process from cradle to grave. In preparation for my first meeting with a vendor, I start with a list of questions I want answered. Most of the time, most of these questions will be included as follows.
Can you provide success stories of customers similar to ours?
I always ask this question before the presentation to give the vendor rep plenty of time to prepare before our first meeting. I’ve never been burned on this question.
Furthermore, I include in my message that I don’t want to be sold and that I’m looking at two to four other software solutions. I let them know I’m serious about their software, but I want my due diligence to be thorough.
This question reveals whether their solution can be a fit for my client’s unique needs. There is no ‘perfect’ system, but I’m generally good with an 80 percent solution.
Can you provide a test environment that mimics our situation?
Like the one above, I ask this question in advance. My success rate on this question is about 50 percent, which is bothersome. I want to run through examples as close as possible to the workflows of my clients. That tells me if this solution is a fit or not.
If you strike out with this question as I have, hopefully, you’ll still see software functionality that can be reproduced in your current workflows.
What is the biggest sticking point in the software?
Of the five questions on my list, this is the one I generally do not ask directly. I try to figure it out. If I do, I can then ask follow-up questions on workarounds.
Let’s assume a certain type of vendor invoice must be approved before entering Intacct (an ERP solution). Also, this particular invoice requires two approvals before it can be included in an AP batch. Is the invoice entered first in Intacct or the construction system?
In this vein, I do my share of data analysis in Tableau and other BI products. Is software extraction easy or hard? Surprisingly, the answer may not be the one you like. If so, what are the workarounds?
How long is implementation and training time?
This question is critical. For ERP solutions, never hire the software vendor to do the implementation. They write software and sell it. Don’t use them for implementation, never.
You can throw that advice out the window for smaller software houses that serve an industry niche. Accordingly, determine who will implement the new system, how long it will take, and how the training will be completed.
Consider interviewing the vendor’s implementation specialist to ensure they will be a fit. Normally, they are because they are used to working with many different personalities.
How long before we reach mastery status with this solution?
You’ll more than likely get your answer from the success stories from the first question if you have spoken with them before the software presentation (that’s my preference).
I’ve never experienced a vendor inflating the time to mastery in this niche software space. That’s probably because they know you’ll verify their comments.
I’m not looking for a quick, short answer. Their response guides me on the cost of ineffectiveness between implementation time and hitting a high level of proficiency with the software.
The Software is Not Cheap, It’s Not Expensive Either
In broad generalities, a package for five concurrent users will cost ComputerEase clients more than the UDA products. My smallest client, doing about $2 million in bookings annually, didn’t blink an eye when he invested in UDA along with portions of their online version.
Yes, the new monthly cost could be a tough pill to swallow, but here are a few benefits to getting over the cost hurdle:
- Streamlined operations – this will be huge, or it can be. I cannot count the number of occurrences when rework is needed because of the current system’s inefficiencies.
- Some of my peers say that a new or better construction management system improves decision-making. My vote goes toward faster decisions due to better clarity and confidence in the system. Decisions can still be good when using a weak system, but they take time because of the quality of the system they are using.
- I cannot quantify the benefits of an enhanced user experience for staff members, but an intuitive user interface cannot be discounted when contemplating a CMS purchase. Remember the jump to Windows from DOS applications in the 1990s? The user interface can be a difference maker.
- I dislike using the word ‘scalability’ because it’s in my 100-word weasel phrase dictionary. Scalability is a cool-sounding term rarely understood by most small business owners in the U.S. A better way to think about scalability in this context is that if bookings increase 3x, will the software come close to choking? Generally, the answer is no.
- Even with the best software solutions in this vertical, I still export data for further analysis in my BI tools of choice. However, the most basic of reporting is a vast upgrade over the reporting you currently have.
This Is a Suggestion, Not a Recommendation
I’ve provided two suggestions as a starting point to start your CMS due diligence journey.
I’m not recommending the software. Instead, I suggest starting your presentations with these two vendors because you will gain new insights and the right questions to ask in future presentations.
Be patient in this process. But don’t protract the process, either. For contractors with less than $5 million in bookings annually, you can easily select your software of choice within eight weeks. If your team has high mental and data readiness levels, you can go live by the twelfth week (or four weeks after implementation). Add four to five more weeks for continuous training. Mastery usually does not occur until about month number nine.
As always, if you have a question, you can let me know here.