Many things can happen during a job that might cause it to get off schedule, such as inclement weather or delays in material deliveries. However, keeping jobs on schedule even during busy times is entirely possible, especially when you have the right construction project management tools at your disposal.
Here are four ways that the different project management tools within AccuLynx keep your roofing business on schedule no matter what comes your way:
1. Save time with direct ordering from material suppliers
Supply chain issues, rising costs from inflation and material shortages continue to affect roofing businesses everywhere. Understanding your roofing material order costs can help you plan and predict future spending as well as help navigate pricing increases and product availability. It’s also important to track your material orders so that you can keep customers informed, especially with current supply chain issues.
AccuLynx integrates with three of the top material suppliers in the industry: ABC Supply, SRS Distribution, and Beacon Building Products. These material supplier integrations make it possible to see real-time pricing and availability, allowing you to stay on top of material costs and easily create accurate estimates. Being able to order materials through the same software you use to manage your business means no double data entry and closes the gap for mistakes. Once an order has been placed to the supplier of your choice from AccuLynx, you have the option to see the status and automatically receive documented proof of delivery in AccuLynx.
2. Stay on track with a production scheduler
It’s time-consuming to manage all of the details that go into the planning and scheduling of a roofing job and to make things even more complicated, you must factor in all the elements that are out of your control, such as weather and delayed material shipments.
The Production Scheduler within AccuLynx is designed to help roofing contractors keep every aspect of the production process, from material deliveries to your crews’ jobs, in one centralized location. Your production staff can visualize, plan, schedule (and reschedule) all of your company’s labor and material deliveries, right from a calendar in AccuLynx.
With the Production Scheduler, you can color-code your crews by trade or name, and view appointments by the day, week, or two weeks out. Also, when weather delays inevitably happen, it’s easy for you to reschedule your crews and material delivery dates by simply dragging and dropping those events to a new time or date.
3. Know what’s happening on your sites with labor management tools
Every roofing job has a lot of moving parts, and even the best crews can forget something from time to time. Checking in on your crews by driving to the job site or making calls throughout the day is time-consuming. With a roofing crew management app, you can gain visibility into your projects and better understand what your crews are doing without spending hours checking in.
AccuLynx’s mobile Crew App is the easiest way to manage your labor crews more effectively and ensure your roofing jobs are progressing as expected. With the mobile Crew App you can:
- See check-in and check-out logs so you can keep track of when your crews arrive at and leave the job site.
- Create custom job checklists for each of your roofing jobs so your crews don’t forget something throughout their busy day and you get insight into how the job is progressing.
- Send and receive messages within the apps to create a record of your communications that are then saved to the AccuLynx job file for you to reference when needed.
- View job site photos taken by your crew and upload them to the AccuLynx job file, so you’ll be able to see how the job is progressing in real-time.
“With the mobile Crew App, I can see when my subcontractors complete checklist items and add photos. I can also monitor all the communication, like emails and text messages, between teams and homeowners.”
Matthew Jaynes | General Manager | KPost Roofing & Waterproofing
4. Keep homeowners in the loop with customer management tools
There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to your roofing projects, and you never know what inconveniences may come your way. That’s why it’s important to have a good customer service process in place. With the right customer management tools, you can keep your homeowners informed and provide them with an easy way to contact you if anything goes wrong.
The AccuLynx Customer Portal is a fully branded, one-stop shop that lets your customers follow projects along from start to finish. Here are a few ways that the Customer Portal can benefit your business:
- Streamlined communications: As you make updates to job information in AccuLynx, the Customer Portal will update automatically, keeping customers in the loop on their projects in real time without adding extra work to your plate.
- Increased accessibility: Customers can send messages right from the Customer Portal at any time, instead of having to call or send an email. This makes it easy for your customers to reach you whenever they have a question, and it also allows you to keep all communications in one centralized location in case you need to refer back to them.
- Time savings: The Customer Portal provides several self-service capabilities, such as electronic invoicing and online applications for job financing. This eliminates the need for you to play phone tag or make an in-person visit to collect payments.
Construction project management tools can help you stay on schedule
Roofing can be unpredictable, and that’s why it’s important to have construction project management tools in place that can help you keep your roofing business on schedule regardless of what obstacles may arise. Using roofing CRM software like AccuLynx makes it easier for roofing contractors to keep track of their crews and materials, provide outstanding customer service, and keep their projects on schedule.
Learn more about how AccuLynx’s construction project management tools can help your roofing business in a quick demo. If you’re already a user and want to learn how to better use AccuLynx’s tools, you can do so for free by contacting support.
