The hard-working employees of Just Building Group, a family-owned and operated building company based in the Southeastern part of Melbourne, Australia, don’t miss the days of pencils and manual updates. Long days at the office were often made longer when important documents, like variations, were lost.
Fortunately, those archaic days are long gone since the company started using Buildxact’s estimating and project management software.
“Things don’t get missed,” says Stephen Griffin, estimator for Just Building Group. “In the old days, paper and pen, emails, plans, if there is a change in office, it’s left on someone’s desk, gets put under a pile of other paper, and the variation doesn’t get to the supervisor; doesn’t get to the supplier. With Buildxact, that is all eliminated.”
Since they started using Buildxact, Just Building Group says they’ve significantly improved productivity. By moving from stacks of paperwork to one digital, online solution, they are out of the office and on-site to keep all projects organized and flowing.
“Back in the day, I’d have sheets of paper everywhere, especially for ordering and changes,” says the company’s Project Manager Justin Monk, a registered builder and carpenter with 30-plus years of construction experience. “Now, nothing gets changed and missed from job to job.”
Buildxact has drastically reduced the time it takes to build estimates and get bids out the door from weeks to just days.
“That often makes the difference when closing a new customer,” says Griffin. “In this environment, time is of the essence. The quicker we can get a quote out to a client, the less cold they go.”
The team knows a quick response is essential for a superior customer experience that helps them stand out from the competition and win more work.
“If you get a customer waiting too long, they go cold and standoffish,” says Griffin. “You have got to try and bid ‘em when they are still excited. It’s a personal endeavor for them, so you have to keep that endeavor upbeat.”
The team’s key to getting accurate bids out the door quickly is using Buildxact’s digital takeoff tool to replace time-consuming material takeoffs done with pencil and paper.
“With a click of a computer mouse, square meter measurements can be worked out for multiple tasks, like plastering, insulation and painting,” says Griffin. “I don’t have to keep going back and doing that same calculation. It’s really good and easy.”
Just Building Group team members say they have found Buildxact’s construction estimating software easy to learn and easy to use.
With Buildxact’s takeoff tool, contractor labour and overhead costs for things like equipment rentals, can easily be added to ensure complete estimates that protect the company’s profits.
“The ease of using this program allows us to set goals and achieve those goals in a timely manner, so I can go home and be with the family,” says Griffin.
Buildxact’s job management, accounting integration and cost-tracking features also allow for seamless communication between the company’s clients, office staff and those on the building site.
Nicky Monk, Operations Manager for Just Building Group, says she quickly works out variations and other customer changes among the clients, suppliers and trades working a home project.
“It takes us out on-site more, rather than being stuck in the office doing mundane things,” she says. “The tradies can be out on the site discussing build tasks, rather than going over notes a hundred times.”
“With Buildxact, approving estimates and variations is made easier,” says Griffin. “The team can upload photos and other visual aids to the online Client Portal, which shows the customer exactly what they are buying and the related costs.
“When they see the level of detail of what they are getting, it blows their mind,” he says. “They rarely come back with questions. I’ve never seen any other program do it — we love it.”
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