{"id":6176,"date":"2021-01-27T09:50:41","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T14:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=6176"},"modified":"2026-02-12T04:53:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:53:35","slug":"invest-in-construction-specific-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/invest-in-construction-specific-software\/","title":{"rendered":"7 signs it&#8217;s time to invest in construction-specific software"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/technology-innovation\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Technology &amp; Innovation<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t7 signs it&#8217;s time to invest in construction-specific software\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-01-27T09:50:41-05:00\">January 27, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"7 signs it&#8217;s time to invest in construction-specific software\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/invest-in-construction-specific-software\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/robarkes\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/03\/Q2-FY17-Sage-People-Picture-V2-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/03\/Q2-FY17-Sage-People-Picture-V2-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/03\/Q2-FY17-Sage-People-Picture-V2.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Rob Arkes<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIs it time to invest in construction-specific software?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a question nearly every contractor asks at some point as their business evolves. Perhaps you are, too. And like many of your peers, you may be finding it difficult to answer. After all, new software implementations can be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how can you be sure that it\u2019s time to invest in construction-specific software? Here are 7 common problems related to key facets of construction. The more that apply to you, the more likely you\u2019re ready to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/5-things-to-consider-when-choosing-construction-management-software\/\">invest in construction-specific software<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-hours-spent-in-accounting-and-admin-related-tasks-decrease-productivity-and-profitability\">1. Hours spent in accounting and admin-related tasks decrease productivity and profitability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You spend hours reconciling your books.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s not immediately clear what needs to be billed or paid.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Field personnel continually calls the office or stops by to get information or assistance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Closing the books and producing financial statements is a time consuming, manual process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-change-orders-are-a-continued-source-of-frustration\">2. Change orders are a continued source of frustration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You miss<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/four-strategies-for-effective-change-order-management\/\"> change order<\/a> approvals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your process for tracking change orders is complicated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You have on occasion failed to capture the information necessary to submit a change order.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-manual-processes-are-slowing-you-down\">3. Manual processes are slowing you down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You have a manual process for tracking committed costs to actual costs, and often don\u2019t know actual costs until a job is completed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You often fall behind knowing your actual labor costs, which can hurt profitability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some jobs don\u2019t make money. If you had the right information during the job, you could have made a different decision and made a profit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You do not have access to information indicating when job costs may soon exceed the budget.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-reports-are-often-inaccurate-or-don-t-convey-a-complete-picture\">4. Reports are often inaccurate or don&#8217;t convey a complete picture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Most of your construction-specific reports, such as a certified payroll, or union reports are manually created, making it a long workday when you need them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You don\u2019t have access to the reports necessary to confirm which jobs or which aspects of the work bring in the best margin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-estimates-are-often-wrong\">5. Estimates are often wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You create estimates in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/5-signs-its-time-to-dump-your-spreadsheets\/\">spreadsheets<\/a>, and often miss costs or discover inaccuracies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your process for setting up new jobs from estimates is a manual process, requiring duplicate data entry when transferring information into accounting, to initiate documents, such as purchase orders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tracking how you perform on a job against the original budget is only known after combining numbers together.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-project-management-is-non-existent-or-there-s-not-a-clearly-defined-process-in-place\">6. Project management is non-existent or there&#8217;s not a clearly-defined process in place<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are not automatically alerted when things need attention, such as insurance about to expire, or outstanding lien waivers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You often spend time searching for the most recent project document, such as RFIs, submittals, transmittals, or the latest approved drawings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You constantly contact the office for information because you don\u2019t have access to drawings, specifications, submittals, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-service-management-is-unorganized\">7. Service management is unorganized<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Technicians on site are constantly calling the office for customer site information such as equipment repair history, specifications, operating manuals, and warranty information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Critical inventory parts are unavailable to the technician on site, causing delays in repairs and costly purchases from the field.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Invoicing work orders is both manual and time consuming, which leads to untimely and inaccurate billings, ultimately causing customer satisfaction issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scheduling technicians based on current location, skill level, and availability is a highly manual process, leading to costly delays, duplication of effort and inefficient utilization of resource.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Delays in billing of work orders is leading to poor cash flow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-making-the-case-for-a-move-to-construction-specific-software\">Making the case for a move to construction-specific software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If even a few of these issues apply to your business, it\u2019s time to seriously consider investing in construction-specific software. It\u2019s likely that your team is performing manual tasks that could be automated, increasing efficiency and accuracy. You may be making decisions based on information that is untimely, inaccurate, or incomplete, eroding profit margins and exposing your company to unnecessary risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-five-key-ways-your-company-will-benefit-from-construction-specific-software\">Five key ways your company will benefit from construction-specific software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you make the decision to invest in construction-specific software here are five key benefits a solution built for contractors should deliver:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stronger and earlier visibility into the actual status of job costs and expected future performance as projects progress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase business confidence by connecting construction processes, centralizing financial and operational data within one system, delivering strong audit capabilities, and providing managers with construction-specific reports, alerts and more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduced errors and redundancy that results when using multiple, disconnected systems, including Microsoft Excel and Word to manage a business.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stronger communication between the field and the office to keep projects moving forward. Better communication contributes towards earlier visibility on arising issues before they become problems that drain the bottom line.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help to effectively and efficiently comply with governmental, union and other reporting requirements specifically affecting the construction industry. It also handles the complexity associated with owner, general contractor and subcontractor relationships.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-download-investing-in-software-built-for-contractors-to-learn-more\">Download &#8220;Investing in software built for contractors&#8221; to learn more.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The four-page assessment will help you further determine whether it\u2019s time to investment in construction-specific software, as well as highlight some of the ways that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/sage-construction\/\"> Sage Construction and Real Estate<\/a> solutions can help you run your business more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Sage Intacct Construction Coffee Break Demo + Live Q&amp;A<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>Pour yourself a cup of coffee and join us for a 30-minute in-product overview of Sage Intacct Construction, the only native-cloud construction financial management solution.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><em>Happening daily at 9 am PT \/ 12 pm ET<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/cp\/cre-daily-demo\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-8047\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Register today<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/CRE-Coffee-Break-Demo-Banner.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/04\/CRE-Coffee-Break-Demo-Banner.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">When should you invest in software built for the construction industry?<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Take our assessment to determine if this is the right time for you to consider construction-specific software.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-3d5b175e-fa2b-4330-929e-75fa2ae70964\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1242\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/CRE_iStock-531059950-1242x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/CRE_iStock-531059950-1242x810.jpg 1242w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIs it time to invest in construction-specific software?\u201d This is a question nearly every contractor asks at some point as their business evolves. Perhaps you are, too. And like many of your peers, you may be finding it difficult to answer. After all, new software implementations can be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive. So how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":407,"featured_media":8273,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[404,48],"tags":[192,184],"business_type":[],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[50],"persona":[98],"imagine_tag":[246],"coauthors":[608],"class_list":["post-6176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction","category-technology-innovation","tag-construction","tag-construction-it","industry-construction-and-real-estate"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Rob Arkes","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/iStock-521076351.jpg","imagine_tags":{"246":"Construction"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/407"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35005,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6176\/revisions\/35005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=6176"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}