HBXL User Case Studies...

Lee Goodwin, Oakleafe Property Services

08/10/2008 15:35:00

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a skilled tradesman, Lee now operates a specialist family run renovation company called Oakleafe Property Services Ltd,

FMB Regional Council member Lee Goodwin, played for West Ham United FC so he was used to being part of a team whose only goal was to win, but when a severe knee injury cut short a promising football career, he had to focus his attention elsewhere. Thanks to his dad’s guidance and his own hard work, Lee knuckled down and concentrated on completing his apprenticeship.

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a skilled tradesman, Lee now operates a specialist family run renovation company with his brother Dean and father John. Called Oakleafe Property Services Ltd, the team operates the business from Dagenham, covering all of Essex and London. The main focus of the business is to provide a skilled renovation service, and with orders coming in thick and fast it seems Lee and his team have a winning formula.

For Lee, staying true to the company motto that ‘Quality and Integrity still counts’ is key to maintaining its reputation, and is why they will never over-stretch the business, risking compromises on quality. Lee has been using HBXL’s awardwinning EstimatorXpress to produce his quotes and estimates and is something now he just couldn’t do without.

Lee said: “For us, impressions count so we ensure that (for example) during a project the site remains immaculate.That way we know we’re working in a safe environment which enables us to produce high quality work. The customer is left happy in the knowledge that a thorough job has been done.

“My father always said that money in the building industry is made not with your hands but with your brains. You have to be able to connect with the likes of architects and clients to procure the work in the first place. HBXL’s software packages help us to do this.”

Making the right impression starts at the very beginning, in the way that Lee and his team produce and present their estimates. Lee added: “One of the HBXL packages we use is EstimatorXpress. It has been extremely effective for us and very accurate. It gives us added confidence when we present the estimate. Updating products, labour and material costs automatically is a massiveboost with ever fluctuating prices. Sundry items get included that are very often forgotten when producing quotes manually and its ability to adjust profit margins, produce reports and graphs is
incredibly clever.

“Our company and accreditation logo’s are also inserted for a really professional look. Most importantly it saves time - and therefore money. On many occasions our estimate has influenced potential customers in our favour due to its professional and in–depth presentation. We are not always the cheapest either!

“I can produce a quote for a £100,000 extension in less than 30 minutes, something that would have taken me at least half a day in the past. “Because we can demonstrate precisely where the money is being spent it has given us a huge advantage over our competitors. It stops ‘guesstimates’ and has helped us improve our overall bottom line figures. As a result of the work we’ve brought in with the use of EstimatorXpress, it has enabled us to grow.We have now taken on two new apprentices and will be looking to expand further.”

As for PlansXpress Lee uses the software to draw up the plans which helps explain visually to a customer what their project will look like. Lee continued: “Being able to show a customer three dimensional drawings helps enormously. PlansXpress is easy to use and has added another dimension to our business.”

The final piece of HBXL software Lee uses is Health & Safety Xpert which ensures he can produce all the latest health and safety paperwork effortlessly as required by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). Lee said: “Health & Safety Xpert ensures we’ve got all the right health and safety paperwork which has become an excellent tool when tendering for larger projects. All I do is tell the software what the job entails and it simply prints out all the relevant documentation. That’s it! This demonstrates our compliance with the HSE and CDM 2007 and places us well ahead of the queue
to win the work.”

Lee concluded: “Without HBXL we wouldn’t be in the position we are today. It’s enabled us to raise the standard in terms of professionalism and provided customers with a level of service and information not usually associated with the building sector.”

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