In earlier blogs (linked below), we discussed various ways the COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted the construction industry last year. And although we’ve finally put 2020 behind us, we’re still figuring out how to navigate “the new normal” and what that will entail for the future of construction.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Construction Costs
How COVID-19 Has Shifted the Construction Industry in 2020
Despite lingering uncertainty and a lot of unknowns, it’s still necessary to develop a resource strategy for this year in an attempt to make more informed decisions and more accurate forecasting. To do so, you’ll want to start by reviewing and assessing last year’s performance metrics to develop a strong foundation for managing future resources more effectively.
It’s important to note, however, that the ability to improve your business strategies is heavily contingent upon the reliability of your data—and herein lies one of the major benefits of utilizing Premier Construction Software. Premier’s all-in-one construction software solution features job costing, accounting, project and document management tools to ensure the data syncs real-time, making it easy for businesses to trust the data when making important business decisions.
Read on to learn about five of our core features, how they help keep your office and field in sync, and why that matters:
Job Costing
Job costing relies on accurate, up-to-date data—and that’s where we excel. Our software boosts efficiency by providing real-time, automated job costing data with complete transparency across all your projects. The comprehensive job dashboard is your hub for to-the-second job costing, and helps streamline the entire process by providing all the data you need in one place.
Using the job dashboard, project managers can track and compare the original contract to the current costs and the estimate at completion, enabling them to make smarter decisions. Using the forecasting module, they’ll be able to account for unanticipated costs and electronically request internal budget transfers to keep the project on track. It also features sections for key performance indicators, at-risk or outdated items, approvals, and pending items.
Time Entry
Our time entry feature makes connecting your field crew to the home office easier than ever. Using our mobile app, employees can log their time in and out from the convenience of their phones. The app automatically tracks dates and times, as well as job numbers, cost items, cost types, and even occupation codes. When your employees enter their time from the field, that data routes directly to your foreman. This workflow creates a seamless, transparent time tracking process for the foreman, enabling them to stay on top of their crew.
Change Orders
We understand changes happen—and in construction, they can happen a lot. With our software, your team can send, track, and approve change orders from one convenient place. Upon approval, the software automatically uploads the signed change order to the system with the updated status. It also saves you time by auto-generating progress billing lines, as well as creating and emailing subcontract change orders and purchase orders. Your reports benefit as well, as approved change orders update them automatically.
Document Management
Sometimes the quickest way to get everyone on the same page is to share a document. With Premier’s document management system, you can create customized document folders, making important documents easy to find and share. Every folder has customizable security settings, enabling you to grant safe, secure access to those who need it. And because we offer limitless storage, project managers can quickly and easily refer back to former document versions and track the entire history of a document.
Compliance Tracking
Premier makes it easy to manage compliance documents across all of your construction projects from one dashboard. You choose which documents to require, update statuses instantly as they come in, and upload them to the document management system for safekeeping. You’ll receive notifications for missing, expired, or soon-to-expire documents and drill down to get to the bottom of it. You can also program the system to automatically place the invoice on hold or initiate a hard stop until there’s a resolution.
Getting Everyone on the Same Page
While we can’t predict what the rest of the year will hold for the construction industry as a whole, you can utilize construction management software to make more accurate project planning and estimating predictions.
To learn more about how Premier Construction Software can help get your office and field in sync, click here to schedule a personalized product tour.
