Management Software

FLRoofPro

True Grump...The horsepower you need in the server really depends on how many will be accessing it. A standard desktop could be relegated to that role if you have only a couple clients accessing it. If you need a server with ten+ clients like we do, it has to be a rig suited for the task. Especially if you will be doing a lot of file transfers like job pics and forms.

buildpinnacle

I just took a spin around the block with Acculynx. I do primarily insurance work as we have a lot of small local storms through here every year. It appears to be everything I have been looking for and I can send all my Xactimate data into the estimating portion with a quick transfer to excel and download. I like the idea of entering my information one time and the system knowing everything based off my original data entry. I personally sell 5-6 res roofs per week average plus around a mill or so in commercial every year. This looks like it will change my life. I am starting my 30 day trial and will update as I go. I get the hook on web based software....after months of entry all my stuff is in their system so I am almost a slave to the company to keep subscribed. However, if it works and I create more time, more referrals, and more sales then sign me up for life.

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buildpinnacle

Ansel......until your shop burns down. That happened to a good friend of mine and he lost everything. My main concern is to try out acculynx for my personal usage for my own quality control and time management. I know opinions vary, but I personally like the idea of off site storage. I have a paper file of everything we do with everything that will be in the software, but when you're a two man show roofing 300+ houses per year, several low slope projects, and a ton of leak calls, I need a good dashboard to keep track of everythign.

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garabar

We're using Dataforma right now...We've had good experiences overall but it took some time and training to get the whole office on board using it properly. Demo it, see how it works...We like it for customer management and scheduling, but it didn't replace our dry erase boards...I don't think anything will.

It's not cheap so make sure you're ready for it.

Garabar Roofing

Grumpy

Handy backup and programs like it will automatically scan your hard drive(s) and send all the new or changed data to a ftp server. If you have a website you already probably have ftp access.

I am definetly a fan of tracking data, definetly a fan of off site storage. But not a fan of monthly subscriptions to do it.

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-Grumpy
Chicago Gutters Chicago Roofing

Ansel

The two days of training scares me off - I fear we would not get the full value of the service .... but of all the ones I've explored, it appears to cover the bases and you can customize the reports - so that is a bonus .....

garabar

The most important thing for us was to get a couple of the admin people to understand the program during the training so they could teach the rest. They're very good about getting you up to speed but it is ALOT of information to take in and now even a few months later we still have people who aren't on board. It doesn't require advanced knowledge of computers but it is for the computer minded - So we have some people who just don't even want to look at a computer and DF is not for them, but our repair crews use it to perfection and it keeps them accountable and us apprised of what's going on.

As for covering all the bases, I think it does, but I know you'll have some frustrations in the beginning learning it yourself and getting others on board. We've had the DF people in at least 2 or 3 times since we got the program.

Roofing Florida

Ansel

Glad to hear you are getting value out of the service ..... sounds like the repair guys have it figured out ..... and of course some will never get it but that is true in most everything we do ....

My Partner is excellent with mechanical stuff where I am more focused on the administration end of the business ..... but that is what it takes to make the world turn ....

Best,
Ansel

Bodhisativa

I was kicked up to the office out of the field 2 years ago to handle our IT and operations. We've had mobile offices in our estimating trucks since 2004. I started out with just a simple spreadsheet in excel (not much roofing software out at the time) which grew to a large application written in Visual Basic that now does all our roofing, siding, soffit, fascia, eavestrough, windows and door estimates. I'm still working on a web-based version and we have a server that should be arriving any day. I haven't given up on 3rd party software yet and try to keep my hand in there whenever possible. I spoke to Curt Panfil over at Acculynx today and expect to start the trial version on Monday. We've looked at satalite measures for some time now but haven't found anyone with detailed enough maps for the Golden Horseshoe. We're hoping that they will be available in the near future. We're not sure if Eagle View will be available or not but I expect to hear from their rep next week. I try to look at our software needs objectively and so far I've yet to find anything that measures up to the one I've been working on for the last few years. I'll certainly research some of those other packages that were mentioned as well. Good Thread!

Ansel

You are blessed to have the skills to utilize Visual Basic, an application building software for those not familiar, as that is some pretty heavy stuff - Most of us still can't build a descent spread sheet .... Congrats are in order that you have your system in place and working .....

What we are doing is just capturing data - recording it and printing work orders / requests / reports / records / etc of our customers / jobs ... We have found that the database Filemaker http://www.filemaker.com/ works very nice for our needs .... they even have a single computer version called Bento that has plenty of templates that can be customized for one's needs ..... In fact here is one that a small company could use and the template download is FREE and whole program is under $100 ..... http://bentotrial.com/bccm/?homepage...&try=bento-ccm .....

We are working on a new build right now in Filemaker 10 - our last build was 1996 in Filemaker 4 - which has been updated over the years but now we are starting from scratch .... We hope to have a runtime version available for others to use someday but we have been saying that for years so we will see .... but basically all it is is a simple contact manager with jobs and work orders attached - but with this little system we can go to any job record in about 3 seconds and then go to our hard paper files and get the real dirt ..... it has proven invaluable to be able to keep track of our jobs and customers - now with over 13 years of records we really have a nice database of completed jobs - size - hours - materials - date - notes on the customers - photos - the whole nine yards ..... and since we have hard records from 1985 we could, if wanted, go back and enter that info ...... (hum project for secretary comes to mind) ......

You mentioned sat. images ... We have had good luck with http://pictometry.com/home/home.shtml but Bing now has same images but no measure tools ....... but they are costly and not up to speed yet - but soon .......

Have a good year

As for estimating - we take info out of database for time studies but still do estimates old fashion way - with pencil and paper ...... but then our average job is the under the price of a good used car and we do well over 600 jobs a year ..... so a lot of small, I know price before I get off the roof, jobs ..... a lot of time / material work too I might add which as you know requires just round budget numbers which based on number of men per day thing .....