Once upon a time, construction projects were managed by hand with pen and paper. The construction industry has since evolved to be heavily centered around and contingent upon the use of technology, and it continues to evolve as technological advances make it possible to manage and complete projects more efficiently, saving businesses money in terms of both time and resources.
Every construction project consists of a number of different processes, with a team of project members and stakeholders responsible for various aspects. Even a small project can have hundreds of moving parts, as well as numerous construction documents that need to be managed, stored, and shared. Without the right organizational tools, clear communication, and close oversight, things can get out of hand pretty quickly and result in budget overruns and schedule delays.
Construction management software provides the tools and structure to help you more effectively manage all phases of a construction project, from initial planning to closeout—but not all construction management software offers the same benefits. In a recent blog, we outlined the key differences between a cloud-based vs. on-premise solution. In this blog, we’ll dive deeper into how a cloud-based, SaaS solution will save you more money in the long-run.
No Extra Costs
One of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based solution is the immediate cost savings, which ultimately translates into long-term cost savings. On-premise systems require a large initial investment because of the server hardware, software licensing, deployment, and IT support staff. In addition to the large upfront investments, on-premise solutions require ongoing maintenance to the physical infrastructure, in addition to the time required to perform routine software maintenance, back-ups, and updates. With a cloud-based, “pay as you go” model, all of those costs are eliminated. Everything is saved on the cloud, updates and maintenance are handled by the service provider, and all you have to do is pay a subscription fee.
Efficient Resource Management
One of the most fundamental aspects of successful project management is understanding how much time and resources are required to complete various tasks. This information is not only important for monitoring current projects but also provides critical insight that helps project managers more accurately forecast future projects. Construction management software offers time tracking capabilities that give project managers the ability to constantly monitor progress, and to see exactly how much time and resources are being spent on each individual task to ensure resource management is optimized.
Streamlined AR Billing
The construction industry utilizes several different types of billing methods, and sometimes there may be multiple payment methods required for one project. Because of this, knowing how much to bill clients, and when to bill clients, can be tedious to track—especially considering most companies have multiple projects occurring simultaneously. Construction management software can take the guesswork out of your AR billing by streamlining the entire process, saving you valuable time, while also providing a higher level of accuracy than manual entry.
Less Paperwork
Paperwork can be a huge pain—and a huge cost—in the construction industry. Construction documents can be hundreds of pages long, making it a cumbersome job to manage manually, especially when you consider the number of changes and revisions that are made throughout the entire process. Construction management software not only saves money on paper and ink by providing one centralized location to store all construction documents digitally—which also means you’ll never have to worry about losing a document again—it also saves a huge amount of time by updating documents in real-time to ensure everyone has the most recent version at their fingertips. And with a cloud-based solution, you’ll have the added benefit of unlimited storage.
Organizational Performance Improvement
Construction management software can help you improve organizational performance by providing detailed reports with the information you need to make better, faster, and more informed decisions. With a number of different reporting options and a customizable dashboard, project managers can easily view high-level KPIs, pending items, approvals, as well as cost and revenue summaries, each with full drill-down capability.
Conclusion
Running a construction company and ensuring its ongoing profitability is no easy feat, but investing in construction management software is well worth the cost in the long-run given its ability to save you time and money in so many different ways.
To learn how Premier Construction Software can meet your company’s specific needs, click here to schedule a personalized product tour.
