Buildertrend

Avantages

It provides a solution for managing a construction company

Inconvénients

although the program performs many tasks, and even more than we need, it is glitchy and does not provide a smooth experience. When we click on windows to update budgets for instance, the windows flash and reload and resize multiple times. I have tried different browsers and different devices. This is not a user problem, but a problem with the way the data is served up. To perform some routine tasks, there is too many clicks required to get where you need to go. Too many windows and drilling down to get a number changed etc.
Too many places for messages to be hiding. Customers send a message and think we have it, but we have at least three places to check to find the message. Sometimes, messages that come to email cannot be replied to. Very frustrating.
BTW: We used Co construct for a while and liked the flow of the program much better. It ran smoother and was much quicker to get what we needed. It kept the spec sheet in front of the customer and kept good organization of communication. We switched to BT because of job costing and the time card feature, which we now understand are available with CC.
Another huge grind, the budget sheet does not do a good job of showing the running cost on the job and whether we are over or under our budget (variance). Several reports can be created, but none of them do that. We have to export to excel and manipulate it ourselves. Seems like this should be a basic function. CC does this well also. Just sayin' :)

Avantages

BuilderTrend has been a good solution for us to enhance our project management capability and ultimate become our CRM as we've migrated from an older CRM system. The subcontractor management and bidding, client selections, project management and scheduling, and client invoicing have all worked well for us, especially with the links to QuickBooks. We've recent adding timekeeping for our field personnel which also has simplified that aspect of our process. We also have enabled the client portal to allow our homeowners to see their selections, contracts, change orders, drawings, and payment schedules. In the 5 years we've have been using BuilderTrend, we have been impressed with the enhancements that have enable us to consolidate more of our software to BuilderTrend.

Inconvénients

Migrating old client data did not work well and we were not provided great support with this task. The front line support people were not up to the task and continually blocked us from dealing directly with their development people to come up with creative solutions to this problem. As a result, our old client information does not have accurate date records from when they became clients. Also, as new capabilities and features are added, the custom fields that we created are no longer needed but are difficult to remove as the past information is dependent on these now redundant data elements.

Avantages

I like how easy BuilderTrend is to navigate and use. The system is definitely more user friendly than any other platforms I have used in the past. I also like how visually appealing it is, rather than only focusing on functionality, creators also focused on it being nice to look at every day, which truly does make a difference when working in the same program for hours every day.

Inconvénients

The quickbooks connection to desktop is very very clunky and can can and has caused major issues for us in the past. In terms of accounting, there are somethings that could be better. I would like to be able to see what has been sent over vs. what has actually been paid out to a sub, so the builder can tell without having to ask the accounting department whether or not someone has actually been paid, a more detailed status report would be great. I would also like for it to play better with the "projects tab" in quickbooks. Quickbooks has made a great projects tab, but it is not usable without how the information is brought over. this may not be possible, but it would be nice. :)

Buildertrend is designed mostly for custom builders in the way that it is designed to connect homeowners and use allowances. I would like in the future if there were more production building type features.

Avantages

Having one place to manage all of our field operations has been a game changer. Especially the iunlimited document & photo storage -allowing us to grant access to all paperwork and details to the field team with just a few clicks. The flexibility of the scheduling platform and ability to connect tasks and create interdependent "living" schedules is great and the ability to have multiple levels of permissions for subs/clients & our team is very comprehensive as well and allows us to customize for the way we use the system.

Their customer service is top notch and there is always someone available to chat about an issue and they are on top of any issues with updates and consistently adding valuable features to the platform based on very specific user feedback.

Inconvénients

I think they need more work on the Lead/sales managing side of the platform -we had been using ACT customer management system and would love to have the ability to also manage all client contacts and leads in Buildertrend but it is not nearly as comprehensive although they did just roll out a reports function that will help I think more option for customization would be helpful. Even if they were able to integrate with ACT or the like.

I also wish they integrated with more accounting software as we use Sage and it is not supported. Admittedly it is not as common as quickbooks but the lack of integration creates more work for us on the accounting side of things.

Avantages

Using Buildertrend replaced an entire full time position, at least. It allows the information from the Sales to Project Management to Accounting to be all in one spot and easy to use. The project records are complete from lead opportunity stage to completion- which is incredibly valuable.
Setting up the software took time and effort, but it was mostly transitioning that took the most effort. But every time I am not sure what to do I just call the Customer Support and my problems are solved! It is an incredible service.
We have spent the last year and a half streamlining our business to remain competitive in a changing market- and Buildertrend has allowed us to reach the next level of business.

Inconvénients

There are some functions that could work better for us (ie: limited things you can do with a project while in lead opportunity status etc) but there are constant updates and changes being made to the system. I am confident that there will continually be developments to suit our needs better.
Another challenge was getting all of our vendors on board to accept PO's from the program etc. Also- the fact that the emails come from buildertrend.com instead of my own email address is confusing for some of our clients and vendors. Some clients have so much difficulty with their Owner portal that we have to accept sign offs outside of the system- which I hope to change.