Published on September 25th, 2018 | by Guest

Features to look for while implementing construction management software

As a construction project manager, you have a lot of details to keep up with. Right from estimating delivery timelines to managing the budget, there is a lot of work that needs to be done and goals to achieved. As a result, it may become very difficult for you to handle all that without proper construction software to back you up.

The far you go with it is highly dependent on the type of construction management software you are using. But before you take the plunge, you need to come up with a list of features that would work for you. What are some of the features you should not miss in your go-to construction software?

This post rounds up a list of 7 important features your software solution should offer:

Customer relationship management – A CRM systems is one of the most popular tool among the project managers that can create a significant difference in the way the manage projects. Integrating CRM features in PMS allows the project managers and contractors to attach important documents related to a particular client. It also helps contractor to enter, import or export client’s contact information. Some of the CRM features allow project managers to automatically schedule and send any reminders to stakeholders and clients. There are those that offer client search and history options. As a result, it becomes easy for contractors and project managers to track the communication and progress of each client.

Accounting and financial management – Having integrated accounting features is quite important. That’s true especially where you are taking care of accounting by yourself. Whether you have to process payroll, budget or create invoices, accounting aspect of the software will take care of all those. It also helps you make informed financial decisions. Sometimes it could happen just straight from the field – for instance when you would need to plan expenses. It also helps you make various financial forecasts on the spot. Some of the other great aspects of the accounting feature are the functionalities like e Payments and payment tracking.

Task scheduling – Scheduling features might not be as complicated, they remain very helpful project organization tools. Using the tools, project managers can keep track of their team’s activities and also organize their days efficiently. Besides, scheduling allows project managers to assign tasks to their team members and also track the progress of each task. It also allows managers to assign different levels to each task.
Team management – This feature might overlap with scheduling options. But, when it comes to specific team management options, this feature helps offer focused management of team activities. Using the feature the project manager can also track the status, progress and track the time consumed in each task. There are those that allow for more coordinated teamwork – keeping teams notified of changes to the task at hand. At times, some project management software come with embedded GPS tracking of the team. That way, it allows the manager to track the location of their team members.

Surety bonding – No construction project manager can perform work legally without being licensed and bonded. Unfortunately, it might take a lot of time to get a bond. Sometimes approvals might take forever – especially where you are working with paper-based bond applications. Today, sending your bond application or renewal online has not been yet been integrated in any commercial project management software. But the beauty of it all – there software solutions that offer bond applications or renewal online through their systems. They can help you a great deal.

Field management – Depending on the size of the project at hand, there are times when it becomes difficult to oversee fieldwork in every location. As a result, a brilliant project manager should look for software that offers field management and execution features. That way, it becomes easier for them to create and communicate daily work plans. It also helps them keep in touch with team members, and measure the job at the end of each shift. Besides, the feature will help project managers stay compliant by managing inspection forms. That way, it becomes easy for them to streamline the process for equipment, safety and plan for safety and quality inspections.
Actionable data analytics – Most construction management software you will encounter offers the basic tools that allow you to keep track of client communication, organize your workflow, and generally manage projects. But if you want to get the best out of your money, find PMS that makes it easy for you to review data. That way, you will be able to improve your process and make predictions based on the data you have at hand. There are those tools that offer you reporting features that give project managers insight into the team members’ productivity and utilization of assets. Thanks to such features, construction project managers will be able to track processes on a cost and schedule basis. That way, it becomes easy to monitor resources and measure earned value. It also becomes easier for project managers to improve productivity, increase productivity, and gain strategic insight. For example, thanks to this feature, it is much easier for you to spot challenges like labor shortage and take immediate corrective action to arrest the problem.

Summing it up

There is a lot of work that goes into managing construction projects. For the project managers to walk through all the marsh of details and manage the project to fruition, they need a savior. And, that is no other than powerful project management software. It not only helps them keep up with large project details, but it also helps them manage large crews and multiple projects without missing a beat. But, before you make a purchase, sit down with your team and decide on the exact features you need to run your project.

Author Bio– Sawailal Jangid is a Software Analyst at SoftwareSuggest. He is very enthusiastic and optimistic towards his work. He loves to dig deep into various Performance Management Software, MR Reporting, Restaurant management software, HR Software. He loves to dig deep into various categories software.

Tags: construction, software