The Man with the Plan

Published: Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Builders can set themselves apart from their competitors and offer a complete design and build service by undertaking the design process themselves using PlansXpress.

That’s the view of Anthony Botibol, marketing manager at HBXL following research into the number of customers that request drawings for a project, and the small quantity of builders in the country that currently provide such a service.

He also believes that by using the services of an architect to do the drawings wastes vital cash that could be paid by the customer them self, thus creating another way of generating revenue.

Survey Results

When asked how they currently provide plans and designs for clients 34% said they use an architect, 12% design in-house by hand with 14% using CAD software. 40% said they didn’t provide any plans and designs for its clients.

For those who outsource their drawings to an architect, when asked how much they pay for a set of plans or drawings 37% said they pay between £300 and £600, 39% pay between £600 and £2000 with 5% over £2000. 19% said they pay £300 or less.

In terms of how long it takes to get a set of drawings 33% of clients would typically wait over 10 days for a set of visual plans or 3D drawings. 23% would expect to wait between six to 10 days and 26% to wait between four to five days.

Finally when asked if they had ever thought about offering a design and build service 44% said they had with just 15% saying they already do.

Anthony said: “With 74% saying they either use an architect or do not provide drawings at all, clearly shows that builders are missing out on a very lucrative revenue stream especially when you consider the cost to get a set of drawings made for them. Because of this builders should seriously consider providing plans and drawings as part of their service.”

Anthony added: “Historically builders were put off the design and plans aspect of a project because there was never any software that specifically caters for the industry.

“But with PlansXpress Ultimate builders have the ability to offer customers the complete build package from professionally presented drawings and visuals to totally accurate estimates and build programmes.”

Placing unrivalled power at the fingertips of the user PlansXpress Ultimate allows them to quickly and easily draw professional building plans and elevations without the need for any training or employing the services of an architect!

As well as designing houses, extensions, offices and flats users will be able to produce plans and layouts for plumbing and electrics first fix, loft conversions and domestic and commercial alterations.

In addition users will get access to SketchXpress which adds instant style and flair to CAD drawings and elevations and PlansXpress Scan Pack which allows users to import a scanned image of a set of plans and trace over to cost up the drawing automatically using HBXL’s EstimatorXpress.

Those who purchase PlansXpress Ultimate will also get 6 hours of free training at a nearby workshop to get up-to-speed with the software.

Anthony added: “More clients are now requesting a set of drawings to go with their quote. PlansXpress will allow them to easily do this and when combined with our estimating software, EstimatorXpress means builders can automatically price up the building drawings directly from the original plans.

“And because it’s so easy to use builders will soon be producing a full set of drawings within a few hours which will hugely impress the customer and is far quicker than them having to wait nearly two weeks. We really can’t underestimate how powerful PlansXpress is and how it will transform the building industry.”

But it’s not just HBXL which thinks builders should take a close look at PlansXpress. Alan Darbyshire from Darbyshire Associates also thinks highly of the software.

Alan said: “This is definitely a software package that is totally geared up for the builder / developer and with some training or on-line support provides a very cost-effective drafting solution. The added bonus of exporting your drawings to create not only a costing for an estimate but a complete bill of materials is quite staggering when you think of everything that needs to be considered.”

For further information on PlansXpress or any other HBXL product please call T: 0845 1234 065