Incredibly Useful Construction Business Tools for All Purposes

Nothing will help you grow your construction business faster than taking advantage of the resources and tools out there.

There are many different software and services out there that can be used as tools to help any construction company, from project management software commercial construction estimating services to even simple calculators designed exclusively for construction.

The Untold Effects of Construction Business Tools

A few years ago, I used to work as a superintendent for a construction company in downtown Miami. When I walked into the office on my first day, I instantly knew there was a lot of work to do.

What stood out to me the most was that they were still doing their estimating by hand, which takes up a ton of time unnecessarily. This was the common theme throughout the entire company, they operated most of the important aspects of the business by hand, instead of doing it digitally.

If your construction company or the one you work for is still trying to do everything by hand, let this be a call for you to catch up with the times. The world is going digital, and all the businesses that don’t follow along will get left behind.

So with that being said, let’s dive into the tools you can start using today to start ramping up your revenue.

Construction Estimating Software

Estimating software is very familiar to us because we use it everyday when we estimate projects for our clients. We typically use Planswift in our office, which is a takeoff software that allows you to quickly perform takeoffs and estimate jobs.

It is also so simple that even a child can use it.

Using construction estimating software instantly frees up more hours in the week for a construction company to focus on what really matters, like getting more jobs. And if you want to take it a step further consider outsourcing your estimating altogether to free up even more hours in your week.

Putting all this together it’s a no-brainer to get an estimating software, and as for which specific one to get, we’d recommend Planswift simply because it’s what we use everyday at our office.

Project Management Software

When it comes to project management software, most people immediately think of Procore, and for good reason. Procore is an all-in-one project management software designed for the sole purpose of making the lives of construction professionals easier.

Having software to manage all your construction projects is definitely non-negotiable. I speak from personal experience.

If you’re a construction professional who typically works in the commercial sector and you don’t already have a project management software, then you need to bend over backwards and start applying it to your company.

With a system that prioritizes communication throughout all trades working in the field, it suddenly becomes much harder for issues to come up on the projects.

There still will be issues of course, but modernizing your project management gives you so many benefits, and ultimately can save you a lot of money from solving problems before they even happen.

CRM Software

If you’re anything like me, you probably have many different people you work with everyday, and sometimes it can be tough to keep track of everyone.

This is where customer relationship management (CRM) software comes in, more specifically the Zoho CRM software. It allows you to connect with other construction professionals in a much more organized and systemized way. This goes a long way for the sales in your construction company.

No more stacks of papers and calling people whenever you feel like it, with a sophisticated CRM software you easily keep track of contractors to follow up on, keep a database of contact info and more.

This is a must-have for any construction company, and it’s surprising how many construction companies to this day don’t have their customer relations modernized.

So if you haven’t already gotten your sales process up to date, be sure to do so. This is one of the most important construction business tools on this list.

Construction Bidding Software

This ties together with the estimating software; a modern bidding software gives subs and GCs a tool to consistently and effectively bid projects.

Bidding software gives GCs a tool to handle practically the entire process of hiring subcontractors, and it also gives subs a tool to find GCs and place their bids for projects.

But what exactly does a typical construction bidding software do?

Manage data for all contractors you’ve worked with or potentially will work with one day, gives GCs opportunities to prequalify subs before they work with them, and of course, managing the bidding process from sharing blueprints to inviting others to bid on projects.

Here at I AM Builders we notice some of our clients submit their plans to us via an “invitation to bid” email, it looks a little something like this:

This is a construction bidding software at work, and believe me, construction companies taking full advantage of this tool are in a much better position than those that aren’t.

Because who doesn’t want more projects?

Conclusion

Using the right tools for any business is a must if you ever want to scale it.

After going through this article, you’ve been introduced to a number of extremely useful software to use in any construction company, large or small.