The construction industry has always been slow to adapt to new technologies. This trend is changing though since many construction companies are starting to realize how valuable technology can be to their business. One of the biggest improvements in technology is mobile apps. We use mobile phones every day to make our lives easier, so why not do it on the job site?
Construction projects require a lot of coordination and communication between many different parties: workers, subcontractors, vendors, etc. All of this communication takes time, especially if it involves collecting paper work orders, bringing them to the construction site and then back to the office. Mobile devices are a natural fit to speed up this process, providing real-time information collection and distribution.
There are many options available when looking for the right apps. Stand-alone mobile apps are a cheap and easy way to make the jump into this technology. They provide different services from time clocks to measurements to enhanced communication. You can also buy pieces of software through apps that will do some accounting or work orders.
Many accounting software programs have an integrated mobile app. These apps will take information imputed into the app and push it to the software in the office. This speeds up the work order process even more. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of this kind of software.
1. Improve Communication and Collaboration
Assigning a work order used to require talking to someone face to face or at least on the phone, but that is no longer the case. With mobile apps you can assign a work order on your scheduling system that is integrated into your accounting software. All the information for that work order will be immediately sent to your worker’s phone, telling him where he needs to be with all of the pertinent job details.
2. Reduce Delays
Project delays cost valuable time and money, however, increased communication reduces these types of delays. Gathering real-time information with a mobile app helps project managers make informed decisions faster and more efficiently. It ensures that everyone is on the same page, with all of the correct information in front of them.
3. Increase Efficiency
Mobile apps reduce the amount of time spent entering the same data into different places. Instead of writing things down and someone in the office entering everything into the computer, all of the information entered into the mobile phone from the worksite is immediately updated in the office system.
4. Improve Documentation
Documenting things quickly makes the documentation more accurate. The best way to gather the most accurate information is by entering it into the system right on the spot. With mobile apps you can adjust work orders and take notes right as they happen.
5. Increase Cash Flow
Billing a customer used to take days, if not weeks, at times. With mobile apps you can bill them as soon as the job is complete. When customers get their bills quickly, payments turn around faster. The worker completes the work order, gets a signature from the customer and sends the information to the customer and to the office all at once.
Finding the right software and mobile app is just as important as what the software does. It needs to be something that works for your business and that your employees can use easily. C/F Data System’s STRUCTURE Blue was designed specifically for contractors.
STRUCTURE Blue is a Windows-based construction accounting software program with different modules available to suit different businesses, including project management, job cost and billing, work orders, workforce scheduling and inventory control.
STRUCTURE Blue also offers STRUCTURE Mobile, a purpose-built, well-integrated suite of apps. TechLinc is the perfect solution for work orders in the field. TechLinc dispatches service calls directly to field service techs on their mobile devices. In the field, the tech can access service history, get directions, enter a description and, when the job is complete, capture a digital signature.
With TechLinc you no longer have to wait days to bill a customer, you can do it instantly. Once the tech completes the call, the customer receives a signed copy of the work order via email. All of the details are updated in the STRUCTURE Blue system simultaneously, ready to be reviewed by the billing department.
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