Do you ever feel like you’re drowning in paperwork? Spending too much time on paperwork, whether it’s physical or digital, decreases efficiency and takes time away from other aspects of the business. But it can be hard to minimize the amount of paperwork you’re doing, especially when it’s related to essential components of your business. Here are five ways that roofing contractors can reduce paperwork, spend less time on day-to-day administrative tasks, and stay organized without being buried in files.
5 Ways to Cut Down on Paperwork
#1: Move away from paper files
Some roofing companies are still using the same paper filing system they’ve been using for years. While paper filing was once a smart way to manage your roofing business, relying on digital systems for business management is now the most efficient way to work. Moving away from paper files is the first step towards reducing the time you spend on paperwork.
While going digital won’t make all your work disappear, it does mean there are fewer steps involved in completing your everyday tasks. For instance, instead of printing out a document and having a customer sign it in person, you can send a digital document over email and capture a legally binding e-signature. Instead of worrying about damage to your physical files, you can rest assured that your information is protected. Roofing software such as AccuLynx offers a comprehensive digital database you can use to organize and manage every aspect of your business, replacing paper files with a more efficient and accessible system.
#2: Keep everything in a single, easily accessible location
From missing files to incorrect information to multiple versions of the same document, there are many issues that can arise with paperwork when roofing companies are disorganized. In order to reduce paperwork, it’s important to have a good organizational system in place. In particular, keeping all information and documentation in a single, easily accessible location will help ensure that your paperwork is accurate and up to date without multiplying the number of documents.
Resource: 4 Reasons Why You Should Trust The Cloud With Your Business Data
Using a roofing CRM system like AccuLynx provides companies with a centralized, cloud-based location to store all your documentation. The information you need for a job, including documents like estimates and contracts, is saved to a digital job file that you can access from anywhere. Finding information in our system is simple and only takes a few clicks, so you don’t have to hunt for a file or document. It’s safe and secure, preventing you from losing important information and making sure that everyone on your team is always up to date. You’ll never have to recreate a missing file or wonder if a contract has the most accurate information. The AccuLynx system creates a single source of truth for your roofing company so you can reduce the time you spend on paperwork.
#3: Use standardized templates to create new documents
When you create a new estimate or contract, do you have to start from scratch? If you put together a brand new document every time, it takes significant time away from your other tasks. Simplifying this process through the use of standardized templates will help you reduce the amount of time you’re spending on paperwork.
In AccuLynx, it’s easy to create and upload templates for estimates, contracts, and other commonly used documents. You can add templates for different trades, types of jobs, and more, to reflect the work that you most frequently do. When it’s time to put together an estimate or contract, all you have to do is select the template and update the customer information. With our SmartDocs feature, the process of adding information to a template is simplified even further. SmartDocs pulls customer information automatically with a click of the mouse. Instead of making new documents over and over again, or spending lots of time on filling out estimates and contracts, you can quickly and efficiently produce the documents you need.
#4: Improve estimating accuracy
An accurate roofing business is an efficient roofing business. Over- or under-estimating a roofing job leads to inaccurate ordering and changes in cost—which creates extra paperwork for already-busy roofing contractors. Improving the accuracy of your estimates and orders will help you minimize the amount of paperwork related to your jobs.
One way to generate more accurate estimates is to use aerial measurement services. These services use drone technology to capture images of roofs, then turn those images into measurement reports with all the details you need to create an estimate. Aerial measurements are not only more convenient than measuring by hand, they’re also more accurate. AccuLynx integrates with two of the most popular aerial measurement services, EagleView and SkyMeasure, so you can order measurement reports directly from our software. Since the reports are stored in AccuLynx, you can automatically populate your estimates with the numbers, reducing errors and saving time.
#5: Process payments electronically
Missing or late payments can add even more paperwork to your already busy schedule. When you can process payments efficiently, securely, and in a timely manner, you’ll cut down on the number of payment requests you send and streamline your bookkeeping.
Read More: Integrated Payment Options for Roofing Contractors
Processing payments electronically and accepting credit and debit cards can help you get paid on time more frequently. Since your customers will be able to make payments on the spot, you won’t have to chase down payments later on. And when you process payments electronically, there’s significantly less paperwork involved. AccuLynx offers electronic payment processing for credit, debit, and ACH transactions directly from our software platform. Using AccuLynx to accept payments will help you process them safely, reduce late or missing payments, and keep paperwork around bookkeeping to a minimum.
Reducing Paperwork for Roofing Businesses
Spending less time on paperwork doesn’t have to be difficult. By standardizing your workflow, relying on digital tools, and improving the accuracy of your estimating, you can keep repetitive tasks to a minimum and free up time for growing your roofing business.
