Earlier this year, CompuTool announced that its business management software would become entirely Web-based, enhancing not only its project management capabilities but its usability as well.
CompuTool guides contractors through a project using a flow-based system. Unlike a lot of other software that handles just one aspect of the remodeling process, CompuTool is multifaceted, providing users with a client relationship management system, estimating tools, scheduling, and even a marketing module that allows users to evaluate which media sources are most efficient at generating leads.
“We will be able to print reports that outline our top lead sources ... and what each is costing us,” says Bruce Engstrom, whose company, Design Matters Bath and Kitchen, in West Greenwich, R.I., is preparing to go live with CompuTool in July.
Engstrom also touts the systematized estimating module, which uses materials databases and customizable product packages to produce accurate estimates more efficiently.
Add in the Gross Profit Margin Lock, which alerts salespeople when an estimate dips below acceptable profit levels, and owners can be sure jobs are being estimated and sold correctly.
Once an estimate is accepted, CompuTool creates the contract proposal and the production schedule. “All of my lead carpenters have laptops on site so they can access job folders if they have questions about project details or the scope of work,” Engstrom says. In the event of a scheduling delay, only the affected task needs to be adjusted on the project schedule, and the calendar adjusts itself accordingly.
CompuTool can be customized; each user can engineer a home page, or “dashboard” (above), that displays information pertinent to them — an important feature, since all aspects of the business flow through the system.
For Engstrom, the biggest thing in transitioning his business’ systems to CompuTool was getting employee buy-in and setting expectations. “We understand that our current systems won’t allow us to grow,” he says. By embracing CompuTool’s flow-based system, Engstrom hopes growth isn’t far off.
