3 Unbeatable Benefits of Using a Construction Project Management Software

I was in an elevator yesterday, going to a meeting with a potential client. One lady came in on the third floor and we started talking about the building and the company’s interior that we both noticed on the way in. Suddenly she asked what am I selling/representing and I told her that I am pitching Aproplan to the CEO of the company. She looked at me with wide-open eyes and asked me something that gave me a clear view of what people really care about. But before I share the question and the rest of the story, let me briefly tackle the reality.
Although we are finishing the first half of 2014, many construction companies are still using spreadsheets to manage their projects and track the volumes of details that go into a single job. Of course on the other side are we, the people who care about improvement and optimization of processes by using software and hardware created especially for your construction projects. And to be honest, project manager software delivers many benefits to construction companies. And if you check the past blog posts that I’ve written, you will find facts like including executive-level reporting for a single job or across all projects, field administration such as punch list tracking and daily report logs, change order management and purchase order management. But, the lady in the elevator asked me this specific question:

What are the three biggest and boldest benefits that will make me invest in your software?

And it clicked! I can promise and show you thousands of benefits, but the CEO’s mind is always overwhelmed with a lot of different questions and in order to alert his brain to listen, you’ll have to make it simple and powerful. (Also I am sure you know about the “rule of three” i.e. we are wired to grasp three things at a time). In other words, people don’t really care what your product does, until they grasp what it is in for them. That being said, here are my three unbeatable benefits of using Aproplan as your PM software:

Process Standardisation

Aproplan provides a standardised method of managing jobs. With this, you will be able to streamline each step of your project execution and it makes it easier for new employees to learn your system – which will result in the ability of project staff to seamlessly move from job to job. All this will be done with a minimal learning curve and quick ramp-up time. Standardising project management forms (such as RFIs, submittals, transmittals, change requests and business letters) and a visible dashboard for collaboration provides a consistent look and feel to all of your documents. This presents your company in a professional manner and contributes to your brand awareness, employee efficiency and effectiveness, PLUS happy clients.

Document Control

Using Microsoft excel spreadsheets and word processing documents for your project management documentation is flawed because in this manner you don’t have one centralized hub for project information. Instead, records are often kept on the project managers’ local hard drives, email clients or scattered around your company’s network.
Not only does Aproplan provides a single source for all of your project documents, it also provides a systematic method for documenting, tracking and following up on critical issues. Having a hub for data storage, enables better and faster communication between your employees and subcontractors, which leads to profitable business decisions.

Cost Control

Having control over costs on a project is the key to protecting your profit. Through Aproplan, we will supply you with a real-time cost data so you can make profitable decisions on your jobs. The status of budgets, contracts, change orders and more are all available with a click of the mouse for instant assessment. Now, check this out: Aproplan provides you with an early warning system for issues such as cost overruns and scheduling snags, so you can take corrective action ASAP.
Although your spreadsheet and word processing systems may be comfortable and familiar, but please check are they the most profitable method for project management or they are silently eroding your revenues.

To complement this article, here are the most common construction problems that software can solve. And here’s an interesting article how construction management software can maximise revenue. Complement this with our free ebook, The Circle of Productivity.