What is Buildertrend Software and why should my Contractor Business use it?
Buildertrend Software is a specialized construction management program with features tailored for contractors, especially home builders. Previously, we discussed Knowify’s benefits, including AIA billing and other features for commercial contractors. While Waterford prefers Knowify for the clients we currently support, Buildertrend has its place, especially for homebuilders.
When it comes to specialty contractors, Waterford does prefer other programs out there, unless you’re a massive scale specialty contractor, like a landscaper who really specializes in doing landscape replacement, or even a pool installer who specializes in doing pool installs. But once again, when you’re in that field, the features that are going to work for the homebuilders will also work for you.
The nice thing about Buildertrend is that it manages almost everything in one place. You can start with planning and design, then move into estimates, scheduling, purchasing, project management, and even customer communication.
Planning and Estimates
When you’re getting started with a customer, Buildertrend lets you set up selections. This can be especially useful for custom homebuilders and remodelers.
For example, maybe you have three different fixture packages available. You could have a basic package, a mid-level package, and a higher-end package. Your customer can see what is included with each option and make their selection.
You can also build your estimates and see exactly what each part of the project will cost. This gives you a much better picture of the entire project before construction even begins.
One of the best features is the scheduling. You can determine how long it will take to draw up the plans, when you’ll start preparing the site, how long site preparation will take, when the foundation will start, how long the foundation will take, and then continue that process throughout the entire project. You are building a timeline for the entire construction process.
Managing Your Subcontractors
Another nice feature is the ability to send requests to your subcontractors. Let’s say you need site preparation. You can create that task within the project, provide the details to your subcontractor, and send the request directly through Buildertrend.
The subcontractor can then come back and say, “Yes, this is going to cost X amount.” Now you have that pricing contained within Buildertrend. You can use those bids to build the complete estimate and give your customer a much clearer picture of what their project will look like.
Once you move into pre-construction, you can continue gathering bids, purchasing materials, and recording expenses. Buildertrend also integrates with QuickBooks Online, which is something we really like. Your operational information can flow into your accounting system so that you can get more accurate job costing and keep your financial records up to date. You can also set budgets and compare them to actual costs throughout the project.
During Construction
Once construction begins, Buildertrend stays useful. You can create daily logs that let your customer see what was completed that day. Instead of the customer calling or emailing you asking what happened at the job site, they can log into their portal and see the progress.
The person managing the job site can document what was completed, what is coming next, and what tasks are currently scheduled. You can assign tasks and due dates and coordinate your different crews. For example, you may have your framing team scheduled for certain days. Once framing is complete, you can bring in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and other specialty trades.
If something changes, you can adjust the schedule. It may have rained for several days, and your framers couldn’t finish on time. That means your plumbing and electrical schedules may need to move as well.
Buildertrend allows you to push those schedules through the system so everyone can see the updated timeline. This can be extremely helpful when you’re coordinating many subcontractors.
Communication With Your Customers
Communication is a strong point of BuilderTrend. Your project managers can communicate with customers and team members all through the platform. Your field crews and subcontractors can communicate with project managers, and your office staff can handle documents, budgets, schedules, and other administrative tasks.
Everything is in one central location. That can reduce emails and phone calls because your customer can log in and see what is happening with their project. Your subcontractors can see when they are scheduled, what they need to do, and the pricing associated with their work. You can also manage change orders:
Let’s say a customer originally chooses one fixture package but decides later that they want to upgrade. You can record that change order, get the customer to approve it, and have documentation showing exactly what changed. That is important because change orders can become a major source of confusion if they aren’t documented properly.
Buildertrend also lets you manage sales. You can track leads, create proposals, and even handle email marketing through the system. You can manage bids, budgets, estimates, time tracking, change orders, and much of the project’s financial side. Depending on the Buildertrend level you choose, you can also manage selections and warranty claims.
Buildertrend and QuickBooks Online
Another major benefit is the integration with QuickBooks Online. As you invoice customers, incur bills, and record expenses, that information can sync over to your accounting system. This gives you better financial information throughout the year, instead of waiting until the end of the year to figure out what actually happened on your jobs. We don’t see this consistently in the trades, and having your operational and accounting software communicate can make a big difference.
How Much Does Buildertrend Cost?
Buildertrend is on the higher end when it comes to pricing. It offers many of the same features as Knowify, but Buildertrend adds additional benefits, especially around sales, customer communication, selections, warranty management, and project management.
One difference with Buildertrend is that the pricing includes unlimited users. Your pricing generally depends on your business size and revenue. Buildertrend has three primary levels: Essentials, Advanced, and Complete. At the time of this recording, Essentials starts around $499 per month, Advanced starts around $799 per month, and Complete starts around $1,099 per month.
However, your actual pricing can vary based on your company’s revenue and the features you need. For most builders, I recommend the Advanced plan because that is where you start getting important features like change orders, estimating, and job costing.
If you’re doing a lot of spec homes, managing many projects, or doing significant warranty work, the Complete plan may be worth considering. That’s where you get additional features such as selections and warranty tracking.
Is Buildertrend Worth It?
Buildertrend is worth considering if you’re a homebuilder, custom homebuilder, or remodeler who needs a centralized system to manage your entire construction process. It is not necessarily the program I would recommend for every contractor. Other programs may better serve some specialty contractors. Our current clientele tends to prefer Knowify but Buildertrend has a lot going for it.
Its sales tools, customer communication, scheduling, subcontractor coordination, change orders, selections, warranty management, and QuickBooks Online integration make it a powerful system for residential construction.
The biggest benefit is really having everything in one place. Your customers know what is happening. Your subcontractors know when they are needed. Your project managers can see the schedule. Your office staff can manage documents and budgets.
And your accounting system can receive the financial information it needs. If you’ve been looking at Buildertrend or trying to figure out which project management software is right for your construction company, this should give you a better idea of what Buildertrend offers. Every construction business is different, and the most expensive or most feature-packed software isn’t always the best software for your business. The goal is to find the system that fits the way you actually operate.
If you need help figuring out which software makes the most sense for your construction or trade business, Waterford Business Solutions is always here to help. We can help you understand the software options available and, just as importantly, the financial side of your business.
You can reach us at info@waterfordbusiness.com or call us at 864-351-0852.
We hope this helped you understand Buildertrend a little better!
