Category: <span>Software</span>

Category: Software

RT3 Member Acculynx named in Capterra’s Top 20 Most Popular for Construction Management Software

Posted on

RT 3 Member AccuLynx announced that it has been named a Top 20 Construction Management software product by Capterra, a free online service that helps organizations find the right software. This year, the company’s roofing contractor software is ranked #5 on Capterra’s list of the most popular construction project management applications based on verified ratings from users.

“AccuLynx is proud to have been selected as one of the top 20 construction management software providers for the third year in a row, and we are even prouder to have moved into the top five,” said Katie Badeusz, Director of Marketing at AccuLynx. “This recognition is a reflection of our status as a top tier software application for roofing companies and our continued focus on customer satisfaction.”

Top 20 Most Popular Construction Management Software is an independent assessment that evaluates user reviews and online search activity to generate a list of market leaders in the construction management space that offer the most popular solutions. The Top 20 Construction Management report is available at https://www.capterra.com/construction-management-software/#top-20.

About AccuLynx 

AccuLynx is the leading cloud-based software application for roofing contractors. Since 2008, AccuLynx has helped thousands of contractors—from rapidly-growing start-ups to multi-location operations—streamline their processes and grow their businesses. AccuLynx’s all-in-one solution includes easy-to-use business management tools, such as estimating, production management, aerial measurements, material ordering, photo sharing, custom reporting, unlimited document storage, field applications, and more. AccuLynx is a preferred vendor of CertainTeed, GAF and Owens Corning, and has direct integrations with QuickBooks, ABC Supply, EagleView Technologies, SkyMeasure by CoreLogic and others. For more information, visit acculynx.com.

Source: Acculynx. 

5 Reasons To Harness The Tremendous Power Of WordPress

Posted on

By RT3 member, Art Unlimited.

The Art Unlimited Programming Team has over 29 years of combined knowledge of building websites to fulfill our clients’ needs. We make our websites with WordPress, one of many website-building and content management platforms.29

Currently, WordPress is the largest website builder platform, holding 60% of the market share, which transfers to about 33% of all websites on the internet today. In fact, WordPress’s next closest competitors only hold 6 and 4% of the market, respectively (Joomla and Drupal).

WordPress sites host some of the biggest names, including Sony, Disney, PlayStation, and BBC America, but can handle your small businesses website as well.

There are probably a million reasons for WordPress domination among programmers, but here are the top five reasons the Art Unlimited Programming Team prefers WordPress.

1. Community Keeps it Free

“Free, you say? How can that be? Doesn’t someone need to make money from this?”
WordPress is more than a company; it’s a community. While this may sound hokey, it is very true. WordPress isn’t owned by one single person or business. They like to call themselves an “open source community.” It’s a group of tens of thousands of people who contribute to making the software. Anyone with a programming background can join the community. This community is also readily available for support and questions by its users. They even put on conferences multiple times a year! Once the software is made, it’s free for anyone to use and it is made to be copied.

2. A Plethora of Plugins To Do Practically Anything

The advanced features plugins add to a website are pretty cool. Most are free, but some have a minimal charge. Do you want to sell merchandise on your website? There’s a plugin for that. Do you want to put forms on your website? There’s a plugin for that (we really like Gravity Forms!). How about an event calendar? Yup, there’s a plugin for that also. WordPress has about 20,000 plugins made by the community, and you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try 3rd party plugins!
Before you install a plugin into your website, check the reviews and see what people are saying about it. Look for plugins with 4 stars and over 100,000 downloads to know they are good. You also want to check if the people who made it have a support team for questions. Some plugins are made and forgotten about, so make sure the plugin you pick is still being supported and is occasionally updated (within the last year) by the creator.

3. Own Your Website Files

This is the most exciting feature for our Art Unlimited peeps and something we’re most proud to offer. When we build you a website, we don’t own the files—you do! This is not something offered on any other website building platform. We will gladly host the files on our servers for you, but if you should at some point decide you don’t want us to host them, you won’t have to start from scratch! We can easily transfer them to you so you can continue to have your existing website. Other website building platforms insist on owning your files.

4. Easy to Optimize for Increased Ranking

Keywords and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are always on our minds. When a website is lacking good SEO and the right keywords, search engines have a hard time finding it — which means customers have a hard time finding that website. WordPress includes an assortment of tools to help you incorporate keywords into your content. They even offer advanced features (plugins) which allow you to write specific metadata and descriptions for your pages. This will help the search engines find your pages, and even possibly move your website up in the rankings.

5. Google Prefers WordPress

According to digital.com, search engines like Google and Bing tend to rank websites which use WordPress higher than those which don’t. At one of WordPress’s conferences, Matt Cutts from the Web Spam team at Google presented, and says “WordPress is a fantastic choice, and solves ‘a ton’ of SEO issues, taking care of 80-90% of the mechanics of SEO.”

WordPress is a tried and tested website building platform we are proud to use! It helps us give a higher level of customer service to our clients. We can build custom websites which they own after we have built them. To learn more about our website building and hosting services, give us a call today!

Get the latest roofing technology news delivered right to your inbox when you sign up for the RT3 Smart Brief enews.

Source: Art Unlimited.

10 best technology tools for a successful roofing contractor

Posted on

By Anna Anderson, Art Unlimited.

Recently, I met with some of our tech-savvy roofing contractors from across the United States.
Using technology allows each of these businesses to have a strong, seamless integration with clients and team members. So what are the top tech tools these guys use to help further their success?

The contractors I sat down with include Ken Kelly (owner of Kelly Roofing in Naples, FL), Juan Reyes (owner of Pro Roofing & Siding in Marietta, GA), Brad Mosakowski (operations manager at Straight Line Construction & Roofing in Placerville, CA), and Taylor Yarbrough (owner of Quality Roofing in Austin, TX).

The common thread I found between these companies was they use technology as a tool to enable their staff to work smarter! They use technology to streamline business processes, empower staff with a strong backbone of technology at their fingertips, and also to engage with clients remotely. If you are looking at increasing technology usage in your roofing company, check out these options!

1. RoofSnap

RoofSnap is the top pick for Ken from Kelly Roofing when it comes to requesting detailed measurements for a roofing estimate. Reports can be automatically created to easily measure and estimate right on location. It works with Ken’s CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) and is optimized for use on mobile or big screens. RoofSnap allows for fast reports which in turn enables proposals to be created automatically. His sales reps simply review and customize proposals before sending them to clients.

2. Asana

Asana is a cloud-based project management solution which helps companies organize their tasks. It can also connect with countless applications through its robust API connection! Pro Roofing & Siding harnesses the Asana tool to help organize meetings and internal project management. Using the power of Asana, Juan is able to keep on top of internal business goals from anywhere!

3. Contractors Cloud

Contractors Cloud is a full CRM solution used by both Pro Roofing & Siding and Quality Roofing for their clients’ scope creation and project management. It enables team members to connect with client files, manage jobs and automate systems. Working with Contractor Cloud is a great solution for Roofing Contractors who are larger than 3 million in sales.

4. Skitch from Evernote

Skitch is a sweet tool which allows the team to highlight elements within photos that clients need to be aware of. Text and graphic elements are easily added to photos. In the past, Juan’s team at Pro Roofing & Siding would have to write out descriptions of problems. Now, by using Skitch, their clients immediately see what they are talking about through images! Tyler and the Quality Roofing team, like Juan’s team, use the Skitch platform when presenting clients with roof failures. The ease of use is astounding.

5. Dynamic BPM

Brad at Straight Line Construction & Roofing has worked countless hours refining their Business Process Management system with Dynamic BPM. They have custom workflows and automated systems propelling the team members through jobs much faster. Customers also receive the white glove pampering which owner, Jack Borba, knows is a vital reason why their company is growing by leaps and bounds.

6. OneDrive

Having a photo bucket system which integrates with the office, estimators, and project managers is critical. The Kelly Roofing team turns to OneDrive to store all of their job images, which are then connected to the clients’ profiles within the CRM.

7. GoldMine CRM

Every business needs a powerful CRM such as GoldMine CRM to manage hundreds of thousands of customer data. The entire StraightLine team uses the GoldMine platform within their day to day activities. All of the vital business data is in one place, enabling the team quick access to countless files.

8. SketchUp

SketchUp is a 3D modeling tool allows the Quality Roofing team to model a roofing job for clients and general contractors. It’s a must-have tool for the office staff!

9. Excel

Brad and the StraightLine team are not alone in using Excel. This is a common business tool referenced by multiple contractors when speaking about managing a thriving business. Excel is used to run countless jobs and business metrics.

10. Surface by Microsoft

Being able to connect to your files is critical so many teams turn to the Surface by Microsoft to power their business. The Surface is a lightweight, high powered computer that can be used on the job site or in the office. It’s a must-have tool for many of the Roofing Contractors our Art Unlimited team works with.

I hope you had fun reading about the available technology for roofing contractors which have ignited a portion of the success these 4 companies have earned.

If you have questions or are looking at using additional technology within your roofing business I’m sure you will find a new tool or two off of this list!

Source: Art Unlimited

Finding the right combination of tech for your business is an ongoing process

Posted on

RCS Influencer Heidi J. Ellsworth says to take the time to constantly evaluate your company’s software.

What is our technology stack at the Coffee Shop? Well let me tell you, it has changed a lot in the last three years. First of all, when we asked our RCS Influencers what their technology stack is, we wanted to know what software they were using for their business and how it all works together. For Vickie and me, it has been a challenging road to find and utilize the right combination of software for our business and we are still working on it.

I share that because we are technically a technology company, but we are also a publishing company and, in the end, Vickie and I always say, we are in the roofing industry. So, as you look at the multiple hats that all companies in roofing wear it means finding several solutions to get the right fit. For contractors, as many of our RCS Influencers have noted, it takes time.

One of the interesting challenges we have is working with the dual systems of Microsoft and Apple. It is so frustrating when they do not communicate well – especially with meeting notices. So, then someone says “just use Google calendars” but now that is three systems. Where does it end?

RoofersCoffeeShop® is a virtual company with our team living across the United States so we have to look at how we can all communicate without going crazy. We have adapted to make it work for both Microsoft and Apple, focusing on cloud-based systems like Basecamp (project management), Google Docs and Dropbox. That stack is just about communication and projects.

Then we look at the website and a whole new stack of software comes into play including our new custom website software, Google Analytics, Mail Chimp and Survey Monkey. It is a lot to manage and we have an amazing team that keeps it going in the right direction under the leadership of Vickie Sharples. But it has taken three years to find the right combination and we are still tweaking it.

My advice overall is to constantly look at what is working and what is not working. If software systems do not play well together, figure out how to make a change so it works. We can waste an incredible amount of time trying to put a square software in a round hole. Taking the time to make changes to your stack to make it work for your employees is critical for your business and sanity.

Heidi Ellsworth is owner of HJE Consulting Group and a partner in RoofersCoffeeShop.com.

Source: RoofersCoffeeShop.

Use technology as leverage to grow your roofing business

Posted on

RCS Influencer and RT3 member Wendy Marvin says that when considering technology, ask around.

Technology is the leverage we use in our roofing businesses. It can administer tasks faster, store data, provide calculations, and so much more. Technology and all the changes and headaches that it can bring, is necessary for a growing business.

We live in a world of information. Where names, details, numbers, and data are just plain too much for our brains to hold and still remain functional. Ever have someone say, you have too many balls in the air and you’re dropping some? Technology can be a handy helper to eliminate this problem.

In business – technology is necessary. You need an accounting mechanism, even if it’s an excel spreadsheet, to assess the health of your business. We started with the standard accounting software that’s available online and desktop. It’s robust for reporting and keeps accounts payable and accounts receivable updated. You can balance your checkbook here too. Problems arise however, as you grow with data growing exponentially with your company growth. Slogging through all that data to give you daily information takes a robust backend program. Most starting programs just can’t handle the load. Moving to a new system means hoping you chose an old system that allows exporting of data in a manner that’s usable by your new system.

All in all, although difficult and frustrating, I recommend that when choosing technology for your business, you consider your future growth and try to head off the frustrations of working with multiple systems that don’t talk to each other. Currently, my office has three places they have to place information before a bid can be processed. The process is inefficient and costly. We are designing our own system, to hold massive amounts of data, and then add apps around that data to allow us to run our business with efficiency and exceptional customer service.

In operations – technology is also necessary IF you want to remain competitive and grow your business.

  • Distribution: We work with an app that confirms time and site of deliveries, show us pictures of the load and gives us the ability to pick up additional materials and add to the PO for a current job. Most larger distribution companies now produce such apps for free.
  • Estimating: We use satellite-based apps that gather accurate information for us. Our program notifies the customer when we’re on the way, it gives our estimators a GPS map to follow, and sends and receives notes and pictures live. We are also currently in working towards our Drone pilot certification. We see drones as a “get going or get left behind” type of technology in our industry.
  • Payroll: We’re moving to an app for payroll. Instead of messy, water spotted and poorly written time cards, our data will now be supplied via geo-fencing (address is gathered when they’re on site) and show that the roofing professionals has done the “clock in, clock out” onsite. Yes, we still have to verify data, but it won’t be ten hours of trying to get the information we need to process payroll. Again, efficiency and cost savings for our company.

When considering technology, ask around. Identify the needs of your company (ask employees), and then find a company that meets most of those needs. Expect customer service, as you’ll need help setting up your company with whatever they offer. Technology is expensive and choosing incorrectly can be frustrating. Most of all, be patient with yourself, and with your employees. We all have barriers to learning new things, but by sharing the payoff, and savings of technology, our employees often become advocates and assist us through the process.

Wendy Marvin is CEO of Matrix Roofing. See her full bio here.

Source: RoofersCoffeeShop®

How to choose the right roofing software

Posted on

By Megan Brehm.

Whether you’re looking to streamline your business process or simply just wanting to get organized, a CRM or project management system has what you need to do both. But, no two CRMs are exactly the same. Here are a few things to know and look for when deciding on a roofing software company.

Roofing Software vs. Standard CRMs

Knowing the difference between a standard CRM and roofing software is important when deciding on what features work best for your business.

Standard CRMs allow you to manage customer information, track activities, look at project statuses, run basic reports, and view potential leads. Standard CRMs can be used by a variety of trades—meaning it is not roofing industry specific.
Roofing software can perform all the same functions as other standard CRMs. But, it also gets a lot more specific. Most roofing-specific software allows businesses to manage everything including managing production teams, ordering job materials, auto-populate aerial measurements for accurate estimates, tracking and reporting on sales performance, and more!

Areas for Improvement in Your Business

When deciding on what CRM software works best for your roofing business, it’s important to look at the areas you are wanting to improve. Whether it’s something broad like organization or more specific like being able to order aerial measurement reports, these things can help you choose the right software.

One way to get started is looking at areas where your business is lacking and if you notice trends where projects seem to hit snags. Is duplicate information being missed? Are estimates inaccurate? Wherever you’re noticing these issues, this can be a deciding factor on whether you should chose a standard CRM for basic needs or you need something with more detail like roofing software.

Know What Works for YOUR Business

While we’ve talked a lot about the functionality that is out there and where your business might need improvement, the most important thing to consider is what is going to work for your business.

Looking at your current business process and performance will help you decide what functionality you should look for. Let’s say you want different teams to be able to track material orders. With this, you’ll want to make sure the CRM you are working with allows for the ability to place and manage any orders right from the manufacturer.

Understanding the things that you want to help improve and streamline your current process is going to help with choosing the right roofing software.

Source: AccuLynx

Get your employees on board with roofing technology

Posted on

By Meghan Breem for AccuLynx.

No one likes change. It takes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to basically re-learn everything you already knew. But in the world of technology, change is inevitable. Everyday there’s some app or newfangled gadget designed to make like a little simpler. And the roofing industry is no exception.

While these changes for roofers are helpful (and necessary), some team members aren’t always the most excited when it comes to updating their processes. This kind of resistance can make it hard to fully implement new changes as well as affecting morale across the office. Here are some ways you can help implement these changes without scaring off employees.

Explain the Benefits
Before anyone can shoot down the idea of new technology, it’s important to be able to explain why you are making these changes. Employees may not see the need for any upgrades if they are unaware of current performance and overall business goals.

Take some time to prepare an outline of where the company currently is and what you would like to see in the future. That could mean anything from adding more locations to increasing revenue.
When you are able to provide your employees with these kinds of details, they are able to have a better understanding of just how important implementing roofing technology is for the business. You can also explain that the more the company succeeds, the more money that goes into their pockets.

Provide Education
Making sure your team understands how your new roofing software works is the first step to being successful. This can range from providing one on one training with team leaders for department specific functionality to educating the entire company on each feature.

Start off by addressing the updates to all of the employees who will be using the new software. Plan to give them a high-level demonstration so they are aware of how each part affects each team. You should then meet with each team separately to give them a more detailed description, go over functionality and explain how it will affect their day to day activities.

Promote Consistency
The hardest part of implementing new roofing technology is making sure everyone is using it. Some team members can easily fall into old habits, leaving more room for missing or duplicate information.
Maybe you have an office staff member who prefers tracking project statuses with Excel spreadsheets and isn’t comfortable with any type of tools that use automation. Remind them of the benefits by letting them know that while the process is changing, they no longer have to stress about errors, working late to meet deadlines, or waiting for someone to submit missing paperwork. All of these things are added in the system instantly.

Stay up to date on the latest roofing technology news when you sign up for Smart Brief.

Source: AccuLynx.

Q4 Commercial Construction Outlook – Focus on Technology

Posted on

By Karen L. Edwards, RoofersCoffeeShop® Editor.

Contractors believe that new technologies like drones, augmented reality, artificial intelligence will be useful for productivity and improved safety on jobsites.

Throughout the year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and USG Corporation survey contractors and release a quarterly report detailing their findings. In the recently published Q4 report, contractors shared that the lack of skilled labor is impacting productivity, scheduling and safety. They are searching for new innovations and solutions to address the labor issue.

The Q4 report explored the topic of technology on the jobsite and found that contractors believe that new technologies like drones, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and more will be useful for productivity and improved safety on jobsites. Their show that 74 percent of contractors expect the adoption of technologies to grow quickly over the next few years.

Contractors were asked about their use of advanced technologies and 54% reported that they have used at least one of the following technologies on their jobsite, with drones being the most widely used.

  • Drones – 34%
  • Equipment tagging – 16%
  • Wearable technology – 6%
  • RFID Tagging – 8%
  • Augmented and/or virtual reality – 13%
  • Reality capture – 7%
  • Automated equipment or robotics – 5%
  • 3D printing – 5%
  • Not using any of the above – 46%, with 26% indicating that they plan to implement in the near future

The use of these advanced technologies is more prevalent among general contractors than trade contractors. Seventy-three percent of GCs reported that they use at least one of the advanced technologies and usage is expected to grow faster by GCs (to 85%) and larger contractors than by smaller contractors and the trades (59%).

Since many of these technologies are just emerging in the construction industry the study questioned contractors to find out the top three benefits that would encourage them to adopt a new technology. They indicated that labor productivity (66%) is by far the biggest benefit that would convince them to invest in a technology. Schedule, budget and safety were close behind.

Seventy-five percent of contractors surveyed believe that advanced technologies like equipment tagging, robotics and wearable tech can be useful to improve labor productivity and manage project schedules.

Other trends show that at least ¾ of the large companies expected to hire more workers in the next six months where only about half of mid-sized and smaller companies plan to do so. Finding skilled workers remains a challenge with well over half of respondents reporting difficulty. Interestingly, contractors in the western U.S. report a higher level of difficulty (70%) versus their counterparts in the rest of the country, which ranges from 52 – 58 percent. One survey respondent said, “My single most important concern about my business in the next 12 months is hiring the right people and keeping the right people.”

For the purposes of the Commercial Construction Index, the report defines commercial construction as the following types of buildings: office, retail, hospitality, education, healthcare, multifamily residential (mid-and high-rise), government, warehouses, airport terminals and other transportation buildings.

Check out the full Q4 report here.

Source: RoofersCoffeeShop

4 Ways Software Can Give Roofers a Better Work Life Balance

Posted on

By Molly Stein, AccuLynx.

For roofers, it can be challenging to balance your busy work life and personal home life. When you’re busy at the job site all day or on the road, your evenings can be dominated by playing catch-up with your office work or reporting, instead of with your family at home.

Mental Health America encourages workers to develop a healthy balance between work and downtime, stating,

“While we all need a certain amount of stress to spur us on and help us perform at our best, the key to managing stress lies in that one magic word: balance. Not only is achieving a healthy work/life balance an attainable goal but workers and businesses alike see the rewards. When workers are balanced and happy, they are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more likely to stay in their jobs.”

Luckily, advancements in cloud-based technology like those in AccuLynx roofing software can help contractors re-establish that balance by giving them access to the information they need, while providing time savings that they can invest back into their personal life.

Emails, Texts, Phone Calls – All in One Place

Maintaining communication with your office is a crucial part of running a roofing business. But when that communication is spread out over emails from your accounting department, texts from your foreman, and phone calls from your project manager it can all get a little distracting.

Activity feeds and production dashboards can bring together all of the correspondence and data that you need to run your business and collate it into one simplified location with everything you need to know and see in one place.

Eliminate Extra Trips to the Office

When you’re in the field all day, it can be difficult to find the time to stop and check on the status of your other projects, file your paperwork and catch up on your emails – which often means a trip back to the office after an already long day.

When your office is cloud-based, software platforms give roofers comprehensive access to their important files, including estimates, signed contracts, warranties, and more. When roofers can access, edit, and submit their paperwork digitally, they can avoid that extra trip to the office.

Something on Your Mind?

Have you ever felt completely monopolized by work even at the oddest hours of the night or even on vacation? As a business owner or manager, it’s probably hard to focus when you’ve got a nagging question or just want to check one more thing…

Mobile apps let you check in on your job progress or stay up to date with your communication. Skim the Activity Feed, do a quick review of your job statuses and get the peace of mind you need quickly without letting it stop your day.

Get Things Done Right the First Time

Roofers often need to fill out a lot of paperwork on the job site. When you’re collecting contact information, insurance details, measurements and photos of the damages over and over, it can be easy to miss a form field, misspell a name, or even submit the wrong material order for a job.

Smart templates can pre-populate job information for you so that you save time creating estimates and contracts. When you create all of your paperwork within a job file, paperwork isn’t misfiled or misplaced, and all of your information is the same across your documentation, ensuring you won’t have mistakes that need correcting later.

Having a healthy balance between a home life and work is a crucial part of your business. Remember,

“Your work-life balance will determine your career and life successes, so make sure you take the time to focus on each role and balance them accordingly.”

Source: AccuLynx