Are you well-informed about every roofing job your business has worked on? Can you recall every customer interaction you ever had? Do you know the whereabouts of your crew? Can you even track your entire roofing business operations? Unless you have it all together and are equipped with the right tools, your answer to these questions is all No.
And just as you want to arm your roofing team with the best tools to identify and resolve issues, you must also set yourself up for success in overall business management. This is where sophisticated construction dispatching and scheduling software enters the story.
In this article, we will walk you through what this scheduling software is, its common features and top benefits, and the factors you must consider when choosing the right software for your roofing business.
This is a good read when you try a software solution for your business. We hope you learn a thing or two!
What is Scheduling Software?
To simplify scheduling, software helps tradespeople, from construction managers to business leaders, roofers, plumbers, and other contractors, to manage the labor, resources, and materials required for projects. It allows tradesmen to monitor and track the overall progress of every activity in a project.
Software with advanced scheduling software plays a critical part in any business, and it helps improve the entire efficiency of the company operations, which delivers fruitful results. It may surprise you that only about half of contracting businesses today use advanced tools to assist with tasks, and less than one-third use software solutions to help handle critical project management operations like tracking expenses, invoices, and costs.
If you are among those tradespeople looking for cloud-based construction dispatching and scheduling software that will bring high visibility and efficiency to your operations, you just made the right move. This software solution is the perfect tool to help you navigate your operations and projects smoothly and seamlessly, whether you have many resources or limited resources.
Typical Features of Scheduling Software
A scheduling software system must be the central hub of your roofing business. Hence, it needs to have the right features that give you control in tracking all of your roofing operations, crew, clients, resources, etc.
Below are the top-rated features you can find in a scheduling software solution:
1. Project management and scheduling management
When a roofing project starts, you are expected to develop timelines for your entire team, including your subs, to get the project running. With many moving parts, making sure that everybody involved is on the same page is a challenge. 68% of trade contractors point to poor schedule management as the key contributor to reduced labor productivity.
Therefore, it should not come as a surprise anymore that project tracking is a primary feature most tradespeople seek, making scheduling and project management possibly the most desirable features. The best scheduling software for roofers can foster enhanced collaboration and helps develop comprehensive roofing project plans that can easily be shared with all stakeholders.
2. Inventory Management and Equipment Management
Most roofing projects call for thousands of dollars regarding materials, and it does not even include the expensive equipment that should be maintained, accounted for, and distributed to multiple locations. When not properly tracked, you may lose track of where these materials and vehicles are, alongside dealing with other issues.
The good news is that great scheduling software can help both areas. Software with advanced inventory software makes it easier to track and distribute materials efficiently and timely. In addition, it can easily be integrated with the system to send updates for when the equipment is needed on the job site and alert your crew when it is due for maintenance.
3. Full Integration
When numerous cross-functional teams are working on a roofing project, there is a risk of multiple project schedules and plans popping up simultaneously. Messy and sketchy schedules and plans make your roofing project hard to manage and cumbersome.
But a fully-integrated construction schedule software provides a single plan for everyone. It fully eliminates poorly scheduled activities and any ineffective resource allocation, ensuring all your roofing team works toward the same goals.
4. Document Management
All tasks cited above produce some paperwork, like RFPs, submittals, financial documents, contracts, etc. Physical paperwork comes with so many downsides, including the need to be stored in a physical space, costing additional money and time.
Rather than waste money, time, and space, you should consider going paperless using a cloud-enabled construction scheduling software. With this software in place, you can say goodbye to sifting through a lot of paperwork.
5. Communication
Whether it be text messages, phone calls, or emails, you and your roofing team can easily find yourselves lost in communication channels. From receiving many requests from your clients to answering many questions, information can easily get tangled and lost. With this situation always happening every single time, the progress of your roofing projects may also slow down.
So, to keep your roofing crew intact in one place and move forward with timely communication, crew scheduling software is a big help. Automating your replies becomes easier by integrating this system, and connecting to your crews can be done anytime and anywhere.
6. Mobile compatibility
Most projects in the roofing industry take place at many different locations. On top of that, everyone involved, including you, the project managers, subs, and your roofing crews, are usually not all onsite at the same time.
With cloud-based software, you and your partners can access all data they need anytime and anywhere. Great scheduling software for roofers is accessible from a mobile device via an app with a mobile responsive design. And this only means you can access project specifications in the palm of your hand!
The Benefits of Scheduling Software
For sure, you are already in awe of some of the best features of scheduling software and how capable it is in improving every aspect of your roofing business. Now, by citing more benefits, we will give you more reasons for how beneficial and powerful it is when used properly.
- A more accurate plan of execution
- Higher quality
- Quick update on schedule when conditions change
- Higher, higher, and higher efficiency
- Greater accountability
- Reduced risks of unexpected issues
- Streamlined processes
- Cost savings
- Quicker completion
- Increased customer satisfaction
By now, it should be crystal clear that your roofing business can reap various benefits when using a construction dispatching software solution. We also want to remind you that one of the main goals you should set is to find a sweet spot between costs and complexity and always choose a top-tier software tool that is top-tier and sophisticated enough to meet your needs. And that brings us to the next section!
Top Three Factors You Have to Consider When Choosing a Software
The following three factors are crucial to consider when picking the right software. These factors will best help you during your decision-making process:
- Cloud: One of the best features of most scheduling software today is cloud-based. Cloud-enabled software solutions offer the best ease of access since anyone can access it anytime and anywhere – making collaboration and coordination more accessible.
Cloud-based solutions are also way cheaper than others due to start-up costs and a minimal need for any IT staff. For such reasons, the cloud-based feature is one factor you need to highly consider when it comes to choosing the right scheduling software for your needs.
- Security: Security is perhaps one of the top factors you must consider when picking the right software. Cyber-attacks are rising in the industry, and 74% of construction organizations are not even prepared for the cyber-attack. Ensure to pick software that offers multiple functionalities and a strong security solution, with integral user rights and permissions.
- Costs: The cost of the software is another critical factor you need to consider. The price is typically determined by its functionalities. The costs may reflect certain conditions like the vendor’s service offerings, how the system is implemented, how many users accounts to add, and more.
Make sure to see different pricing models and compare pricing details.
Pro Crew Schedule Roofing Professional Software is Your Ideal Software Solution
Pro Crew Schedule is a top-tier cloud-enabled scheduling software designed for all tradespeople who seek better, seamless operations in their businesses. This all-in-one platform offers you everything you need to achieve high-level efficiency in your operations. With this software, you will find a complete suite of tools and advanced features that help you streamline every step of your project delivery process – from scheduling, billing, and tracking to full 360-degree visibility into all job activities.
Key Features that Set Pro Crew Schedule Apart from Other Software:
- Work Scheduling
- Inventory Monitoring
- Digital Time Cards
- Integration
- Document Management
- Crew Leader Access
- Task Management
- Software Views
- Unified Search
- Time-off Requests
- Tasks View
If ever you are concerned with our pricing, do not worry. You get exactly what you sign-up for at an affordable price! With no surprises and hidden costs. Most of all, no obligation and no credit card are required.
Go sign-up for a 30-day trial for free and start scheduling like a Pro!
