Contents:
Using Outlook for Scheduling
Taking Credit Cards
Protect Yourself Against Plywood Price
Hikes
My own experience with computers tells me that I'm not likely
to start using a new piece of software in my business unless
it's very similar to the process that I'm trying to improve.
For example, we used to keep all business transactions in a
checkbook. Meanwhile, our accountant was advising us to start
using an accounting program that we thought only a bookkeeper
could understand. But then along came Quickbooks, with its
entry system that felt like a checkbook. Although I've been
told many times that "it's not real accounting," our
accountant, ten years later, is still perfectly happy with the
reports we send him for preparing our taxes.
Likewise, we hit upon using Outlook for scheduling by accident,
because it looked like something we were already using —
namely paper calendar pages. My partner and I run a production
trim carpentry business in Charlotte, N.C. We've built up a
steady volume of work from national production builders
operating in the area. In a typical week, we will install trim
in anywhere from 7 to 12 houses. This is on average, mind you;
on some days we may have seven houses scheduled and none the
next. Keeping up with several crews, material deliveries,
payroll, and invoices necessitated a computerized approach. But
for us to adopt it, it would have to be straightforward.
The Paper Past
Like most small business owners, my partner and I started our
business out of the back of a pickup truck — actually,
two pickup trucks. We spent all our time together trimming
houses — usually six days a week, often seven. Our main
concern was finding more work for the following week. The few
builders we worked for knew where to find us and we knew where
to find them. Our schedule was pretty much predetermined: If
you didn't see drywall in a house one week, chances are you'd
have no work the following week. This was the pattern for the
first couple of years.
However, over time, the phone started to ring with people
looking for good trim crews. They would normally be referrals,
from a superintendent who had changed companies, for example,
or a sales agent who had moved to a new neighborhood. We first
concentrated on improving our production speed, but the extra
work we executed generated even more work. We began to have
problems keeping track of which crews were doing which houses,
so we could pay them accurately but also bill accurately. And
when we took control of supplying our own materials, we had the
further headache of accurately scheduling deliveries.
So we started with a simple paper schedule. Rather then write a
trim date down on a crumpled receipt in the truck, we took a
blank sheet of copy paper, turned it on its side, and created a
grid with the days of the weeks down the side and columns for
the jobs and crews across the top. We photocopied a bunch of
these so that we only had to fill in the job names and the
date. We were proud of our ingeniousness, but within a couple
of months the system was beginning to show its
weaknesses.
Like all good schedules, dates had to be constantly moved. This
meant scratching out a house and filling it back in. Some weeks
the schedule had more cross-outs in black pen than actual work.
Plus, if we moved a crew to a different job, we had to make a
new note about who actually did the work and then cross out
another note. After a few months we had a section of the filing
cabinet filled with dirty, messy, practically illegible paper
schedules. In addition to the schedules, we also kept separate
paper records of who trimmed which houses, in case we had
warranty issues. We also wanted to keep an accurate count of
the houses we trimmed in any given period, so we could monitor
productivity. All the information we needed was in the file
cabinet, but we didn't have the time to retrieve it and make
sense of it.
About this time my wife and I bought a new PC for our home. In
addition to being loaded with Microsoft Office, it came with a
birthday card program that uses Outlook to keep track of dates.
As my wife entered the birthdays of friends and family, little
reminders to send someone a card kept popping up. One day I got
tired of it and opened the program to see if I could shut it
off. As I began to explore Outlook, it seemed like the program
had been made specifically for our business.
Drag-and-Drop Calendar
The basic layout of Outlook is simple. Using the Calendar
function, you can choose which view you want to see — one
day, five days, one week, or a month. I kept it simple and
started with the one-week view. Now I have something that looks
exactly like our handwritten schedules, only better. When a
superintendent calls us up to move a house further in the week,
it's as simple as dropping and dragging the data to the
appropriate date. Entering the data is also a breeze. By
double-clicking on the date, we can enter the crew's name under
the Subject header, and the lot number and neighborhood under
Location.
Outlook allows you to quickly
switch from a one-month view (right) to a weekly view
(above), which displays more detail. |
We can move trim dates and deliveries very easily. More
important, we can now also accurately track which crews trimmed
which house, very important for payroll. With our old system,
it was easy to pay a crew twice for the same house. Now, that's
virtually impossible. When it's time to pay a crew for their
work, all we do is print out the calendar during the pay period
in question. We then simply highlight the houses that the crew
in question (named after the crew leader) did during the period
— no more disputes about partial days or confusion over
who did which houses. The system has become efficient enough
that we only use our workers' notes to double-check our data
entry.
We also use the schedule for invoicing our customers. At the
end of the week, we print out the schedule and invoice the
correct builder for each job we have entered in Outlook. By
doing this methodically, there is almost no way of not billing
a house that we have actually completed.
Quick Info Retrieval
Another feature we like is the Find function. We use a
shorthand code for the various developments we work in, entered
under the Location header. For example, we'll enter PG 45 to
indicate the Providence Glen neighborhood, Lot 45. By entering
all our data the same way, we can use the Find key to retrieve
all the entries for that house, to quickly see who trimmed the
house, and when. No more digging through the filing cabinet and
sifting through stacks of paper.
The secret to all this is constant revision. Throughout the
week I carry a printed copy of the schedule in my truck. If I
move a crew to a different house or a job is not ready, I'll
mark it on the paper schedule. Then, when I go back to the
office, I'll change the information in the computer. My partner
does the same. Because we're consistent, the data stays updated
and accurate.
This is not exactly rocket science; for those who already use
some type of planning program, it probably seems pretty
elementary. But for anybody out there who works alone or, like
us, is merely scheduling a task and not an entire job sequence,
I can't think of an easier, faster transition from handwritten
schedules. As we've become more comfortable with the program,
we've transferred our book of business cards to the Contacts
section, and all our email comes through the program as well.
We don't use the Tasks feature yet, but it may help in the
future: Our idea was to start simple and take it from
there.
Keith Kellyruns AMK Construction in Charlotte, N.C.,
along with his partner, Wally Ackerson.
Taking Credit Cards
by Stacey Dean
After getting numerous requests from customers, we decided to
look into taking credit cards. My husband and I use
frequent-flyer miles to get free airline tickets, so we could
understand why our clients would want to pay for building and
remodeling projects with credit and earn miles along the
way.
After a bit of research and an extensive credit check, we
signed up with Nova (Nova Information Systems;
www.novainfo.com). The electronic card
machine cost us $549, and we pay a transaction fee of around
10¢ per charge. On top of that, it costs us 2% to 3% per
transaction. There is a limit on the amount of individual
charges as well as a total monthly limit.
The funds get deposited into our account the next day if I do
the transaction by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. We have never had a
disputed charge.
Because our company allows for credit payments, we can't ever
know for sure whether a customer will choose to take advantage
of the policy. So we include an extra 3% in every job to cover
the possibility, whether the client ends up using a credit card
or not.
Our customers have been happy with the choice of using credit.
The biggest advantage to them, besides some cash-flow
flexibility, is that it allows them to earn those flyer miles.
Most Alaskans leave the state to visit family and enjoy a
warmer climate at least once a year. On occasion, the customers
have made a deposit on credit, then used the miles earned to
travel while we remodeled their home.
Stacey Deanand her husband, Cody Lee, own Grayling
Construction, a residential and commercial general contractor
in Anchorage, Alaska.
Protect Yourself Against
Plywood Price Hikes
Who knows when we'll see an end to the sudden jumps in
structural panel prices? What was thought to be a temporary
spike last fall has turned into a seemingly permanent hike with
short-term surges thrown in on top. Because there's no end in
sight to the current material shortage, the volatility is
likely to continue. Here are a couple of contract clauses that
may help, courtesy of
Nations Building News, the
online newsletter of the National Association of
Homebuilders.
--The EditorsESCALATION CLAUSE FOR
PANELIZED LUMBER
The house will require approximately ________
square feet of__________ (describe
material--plywood, OSB, other). As of the date of
this contract, the Builder's cost of
_________________ (describe material) is__________
(price) per thousand square feet, based on
_____________________________ (describe basis for
determining cost--name of supplier). The stated
consideration to be paid under this contract is
based on current material costs without margin for
fluctuations in the price of ___________ (describe
material). The current market for __________
(describe material) is considered to be volatile,
and sudden price increases could occur. The Builder
does agree to use his best efforts to obtain the
lowest possible price from available building
material suppliers. But, should there be an
increase in the price of _____________ (describe
material) purchased after execution of this
contract for use in the construction of this house,
in order to avoid inequities, the Owner agrees to
pay this cost increase to the Builder. Any claim by
the Builder for payment of a cost increase, as
provided above, shall require written notice
delivered by the Builder to the Owner stating both
the increased cost and the source of supply,
supported by invoices or bills of sale. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
RIGHT OF TERMINATION
Should there be a rise in the cost of __________
(describe material), exclusive of any other price
changes, that would cause the total contract price
to increase by more than ____________ (%) percent,
the Builder shall, before making any additional
purchase of _____________________ (describe
material), provide to the Owner a written statement
expressing both the percentage increase of the
contract price and the dollar amount of the
increase. The Owner may then, at his option,
terminate this contract by providing within ______
business days both written notice of termination to
the Builder and payment to the Builder for all
costs expended in performance of the contract up to
the date of termination, plus payment of a prorated
percentage of profits based on the percent of
completion. Should both notice of termination and
full payment, as provided above, not be forthcoming
within ________ business days, the Builder may
proceed to purchase the ______________ (describe
material) at the increased price, and the Owner
shall be required to pay the increased cost as
provided herein.
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