Ah, the File Cabinet. Big, bulking and taking up space in your office, it’s a necessary evil for storing your paperwork and archived files – right?

Contractors that have ditched the file cabinet in favor of digital and cloud storage for their business documentation have seen immense benefits. A dramatic reduction in paper-related costs is only the tip of the iceberg – according to ADP,

“Organizations spent $80 per employee on paper annually, and 50 to 70 percent of office space was devoted to filing and storing documentation.”

Contractors who have gone digital also see more efficient use of time, better document security, space saved, and a better eco-footprint.

So, how can a company reduce the use of paper, and save money?

Roofing CRM software like AccuLynx can give contractors a central, digital place to manage all of their Job-related contacts, documentation and photos. When applied to a company as a whole, contractors can see returns as much as $20.00 – $40.00 for every dollar invested.

AccuLynx is unique among these job management applications; in addition to multiple integrations, by providing customers access to SmartDocs with eSign, contractors can manage all of their paperwork digitally, 24/7 from any device, dramatically reducing the amount of time and money spent by field and office teams on paperwork generation, maintenance and storage.

5 Ways SmartDocs Can Reduce Your Paperwork:

SmartDocs can be created from any PDF document that you already have and use, so your contracts, change orders, warranties and more are still yours – they’re just made into editable, digital versions. It’s as simple as uploading your PDF to AccuLynx and assigning the proper form fields. Once it’s done – it’s done! The document is saved in your Files and can be used for any Job.

Once that SmartDoc is saved in your Files, it will automatically populate with a Customer’s information, dramatically reducing the time it takes to fill out paperwork, and avoiding human error or messy handwriting.

This feature allows your sales and field teams instant access and the ability to create all of the custom documents they need from their mobile device.

1. SmartDocs Packets:

There can be a lot of paperwork involved when you start a new project. Contracts, checklists, warranties, insurance forms – and all of that paper can stack up. When you’re using hard copy paperwork, or even emailing several digital files, you run the risk of misplacement, saving over previous information, the customer not signing where they need to or not downloading all of the files – you get the picture. A lot can go wrong and hold up production.

Creating all of your paperwork in AccuLynx SmartDocs, you can send all of these files as a Packet. This Packet contains all of the paperwork you need to start a job, in one place, and keeps it all together in your Job File. Your customer gets everything they need, and you are notified when documents are signed and returned, so you can start work right away.

2. Pre-Start Checklists:

Before production starts on a Job, many contractors will send the customer a Pre-Start Checklist or set of instructions. Having a Pre-Job Checklist document in SmartDocs allows you to send these instructions and specific notes to the customer as an individual document or as part of a Packet.

3. Change Orders:

The eSign feature can be used for more than just contracts. Using SmartDocs for your Change Orders can save you the time of writing up the document, and having a runner take it to the Job Site or Customer, and get a sign-off – all of which can halt work on a project and delay your timeline.

For example, you may find some rotten wood on your jobsite, and need to submit a Change Order to your customer. By submitting a Change Order through SmartDocs, your customer automatically has a revised contract, can sign off and work can continue.

4. Final Inspection:

When a Job is finished, you can use SmartDocs to send in your Quality Assurance form into the Job Site, to assure that the production was completed to your company’s specifications. Your Foreman can use that form on his tablet or phone to complete that walk-through on-site and have your customer sign-off.

5. Warranties:

After the Job is complete, and the bills are paid, you can send over your Labor Warranty as an AccuLynx SmartDoc. Rather than hand-scribbling information and sending it to the customer, you can send a pre-filled document with any additional notes quickly and digitally.

Instead of all of this documentation residing in a file folder, in a huge cabinet somewhere in your office, Job Files are stored digitally in the cloud, and accessible anytime. These files won’t be lost, or misplaced in the wrong folder – they’ll always exist where they need to be, and archived for any future reference or new project.

We’re the Roofing & Exterior Contracting industries #1 software. AccuLynx is designed to help contractors see their business more clearly and communicate better — there’s nothing to download or install — you just log in and get to work.