Article appeared in Master Builder, May 2008

Choosing the right software can bring increased profits, improved productivity and better efficiency while at the same time streamlining a business – especially if opting for products that work together as an integrated suite. Selecting software can be difficult without pragmatic advice on what it can do, how it can fulfill your company needs and information on investment costs.

Tip 1: Have a demo & check out its feature set
No program can guarantee you’ll win every project but you need a full assessment of its features to make sure it does the job.

Tip 1 is to make sure you have a demo before you buy. Some companies can come out and see you in your office but these can be high pressure sales demos. So take your time. Better still make use of what is called a ‘Remote Demonstration’.

This way you can be sitting in the comfort of your home or office and the software demonstrator is sitting in their office.You get to see what you want and then decide if it’s for you at your own pace. No stress, no hard sell. Software bought this way is often cheaper too as you are not paying for salesmen’s petrol costs and commission!

Tip 2: Ensure it’s easy to use & check out the company’s credentials
Obviously you need to make sure that the software is easy to use. Don’t be blinded by companies who tell you their product’s easy without trying it first as in Tip 1.

Take construction estimating software for example. It manages many variables to ensure you get an accurate estimate and can therefore be quite complex but using the software should be as easy as possible. However don’t mistake simplicity and inflexibility!Some software may appear really simple, when in fact it is little more than a spreadsheet and you have to do all the hard work!

Good advice is to see how many genuine customers the company has, check out testimonials and if possible ask to speak to a few of their users to get real unbiased advice. Alarm bells should ring if the company you are speaking to starts criticizing another software product. This is often a technique to distract from what’s lacking in their own software.

In addition, look for a company who has experience in your sector. For example HBXL is run by builder and developer Adrian Wild who has over 30 years in the trade. All HBXL’s software packages are designed purely for the construction industry - written by software developers with building experience. Not only that, HBXL’s sales and support advisors have worked on construction sites so they talk your language.

Tip 3: Ease of installation & set up
The software you choose should install quickly and set up without error, regardless of your computer experience so opting for a Demo Disk or Trial CD should show you the quality of the product.

As with learning anything new, when trialling software in this way you need to devote some time to getting to grips with the software to assess it properly.Our advice is to have a personal demonstration as per Tip 1 inconjunction with a trial. That way you really get to put the software through its paces and get a little free training to boot!

Tip 4: Integrated software
With designing plans, estimating, health and safety and booking keeping…it might seem a builder’s work is never done. It’s worth looking at software that ‘talks’ to other packages and shares product information.This means information need only be inputted once saving huge amounts of time.This is massively important in terms of coordinating projects across the company.

Top Tip 4, don’t go for software from different companies if you can get it all from one!

Tip 5: Help documentation & back up
Developers of any software should provide software tutorials, manuals and training workshops to help you learn how to utilize all features in a productive manner.

Companies which hold back on this, often withhold on the telephone support side too.A phone number and email and other contact methods should be readily available for technical support – particularly if moving to IT for the first time.

You definitely don’t want to be without back up if you have that all important quote to get out and you need some tips from an experienced support team who can quickly answer your questions. So Tip 5, ask the software company if they provide printed guides to getting started as standard and how many people operate in their support team that aren’t sales people in disguise!

Tip 6: Updates and upgrades
Make sure that there is an Updates and Upgrades path for your software so you don’t get stuck with outdated, outmoded tools. Don’t be surprised if there are annual costs for this – you do get what you pay for. If you are looking for estimating software check out whether they provide a link to live prices to update the software which ensures your estimates are 100% accurate. After all, what’s the point of having estimating software if you have to type in all your prices and keep them up-to-date yourself? If you are looking for health and safety software make sure it has regulation updates –it’s useless without it as regulations change all the time!

A small investment of time and money in a flexible, quality program that can handle your needs can increase your productivity, free up your time and ultimately add to your bottom line.

For more information and advice please call 0870 850 2444 or we can call you - click here!