Are You Using Construction Software in Your Contracting Business?

For many contractors, reliance on specialized construction software is relatively low, and many important processes are still left to manual estimation and calculation.

If you’re looking to take your construction efforts to the next level, here is a brief explanation of the benefits of construction software for contractors and how migrating some of your more calculation-heavy tasks to software can save you time, money, and effort:

The State of Construction Software

According to a recent survey of prospective construction software buyers conducted by the consulting company Software Advice, the average respondent was investing just 1 percent of annual revenue in software and information technology.

This is about a third of what other industries budget for IT, according to reporter Kimberly Hegeman, writing about the survey on ForConstructionPros.com.

This suggests that many professionals in the construction industry have not yet recognized the benefits of propriety or specialized software for processes such as estimating and bidding.

In fact, the survey indicated that 52 percent of respondents still prefer manual pen-and-paper calculations for these processes. Only 24 percent of respondents use software tools for this task, Hegeman reported.

Hegeman observed that there could be several reasons for this unwillingness to move to software tools that would improve operations and make key processes more accurate, such as software cost, tradition, lack of knowledge of smaller-scale solutions that would fit within the company’s budget, and simple resistance to change.

Companies that move to using software can improve their business by using software in areas such as:

• Accuracy: Bids and estimates are more precise.
• Profitability: Less waste and more accurate purchasing improving profits.
• Scheduling: Scheduling can be tracked with more precision, making it easier to work ahead of schedule.
• Competitiveness: Being able to respond quickly to bid requests, project changes, and other factors will make a company more competitive.

Construction Monitor reports in depth on the construction industry, providing the latest information on building permits, housing starts, and important trends and developments. Contact us today for more information on the benefits of construction software for contractors and how you can use today’s construction software to make improvements in the office and in the field.