How much time do you spend cleaning data? How much time are you spending manually moving numbers and data across multiple spreadsheets? If you are a construction company, how much time do you spend double-checking your work to avoid losing millions in your contract bid estimation? Most importantly, WHY are you still doing this?
Spreadsheets are often the top choice still for data processing – and we get it, kinda.
It’s what we know, it’s what we learned in the classroom, it’s easy for non-programmers and non-mathematicians to perform simple calculations. But if we are being honest, while spreadsheets may be easy to do simple formulas, it’s not that simple.
It IS simple to have errors go unnoticed on spreadsheets filled with redundant data (90% of spreadsheets have errors). It IS simple to forget parentheses or quotations and not notice any of such blaring errors until that little yellow flag comes up with codes like, “#REF”, “#VALUE!” or “#DIV/0!”.
It IS also simple to be among the one in five businesses who suffers financial losses as a result of errors in spreadsheets, spreading chaos while losing millions or even billions. Most importantly, it IS indeed simple to ditch old-school spreadsheets and switch to a more modern, smarter construction management system.
Here’s what you need when you transition to an integrated, fit-for-construction software and away from spreadsheets:
Software built for Construction
The construction industry is not a typical IT company. Don’t waste time researching software if they aren’t designed for construction. Find a construction project management software that understands your different projects, and can connect your jobsite and office teams with real-time updates.
Accurate data and Tracking
If you are busy moving redundant data from one spreadsheet to another, you become prone to errors and may miss real-time data. To make it worse, spreadsheets have no audit trail to prove where your numbers came from. Even if someone on your team does make an error, you can’t track where or when it originated. Yikes!
Construction companies have data. Lots of data, spread across multiple systems. What a construction company needs is a construction software management system that integrates with software to analyze data accurately, and easily generate customized reporting.
Fosters Collaboration
There’s no need to save multiple versions of a spreadsheet using outdated data. Find a system that’s made for more than one person, allows team members to reference new changes, and give real-time updates to the project site. Collaborating seamlessly and exchanging crucial updates in real-time allows construction companies to focus on delivering projects faster and at the highest quality.
Ease of Use
There is no need to learn confusing features such as a laundry list of shortcuts. There’s also no need for general contractors to see the same tasks and alerts as employees on the architecture side. The best solution has a breezy user interface, personalized and responsive layouts, and a system to meet industry or business-specific needs with role-specific dashboards, alerts, task lists, and reports. A lot? Yes!
Support Team
Switching to a new software may come with a learning curve to understand the advanced features. Learning new software can be overwhelming. The best solutions come packed with a team of experts and consultants to walk you through the process and provide immediate IT support services to ensure confidence during transition. Focus on your construction needs and projects and find a solution with a fully equipped team of functional and technical consultants back you up.
Ditch the pain point and learn more about CEM’s applications made for your industry that simplify complex and time-consuming processes.