‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ However, so weren’t the skyscrapers or the offices or homes or metro or transport lines of today. It takes months of planning and preparations and innumerable people’s toil to conclude constructions.

Management thus becomes immensely crucial to complete construction projects in the shortest time and at affordable prices. Construction management software is at your rescue.

These are applications that can be installed in your systems and mobiles to facilitate construction processes. These include tracking on-site progress, overseeing designs and building plans, getting approvals, budgeting and deciding on timelines.

Construction management software is hence a whole package that solves all of your problems in one place, in one go. Their ease of access and usability have raked massive popularity at the international level to them. This is why several construction companies in developing ountries have also turned to construction management software. 

Construction Management Software can be deployed by individual contractors, companies with subcontractors, architects or home builders for their existing construction projects.

There are plenty of software available in the market making it difficult to choose the right one. This article lists down some of the indispensable features of construction management software to help you select the right one. 

Automated Scheduling

Work distribution should be facilitated by the organizational tools of the software. Scheduling is thus a necessity and striking feature that your construction management software must have.

Scheduling enables work automation controlled through a centralized admin. This way continuity in construction is assured. In addition to the scheduling or organizational tools, the system of warnings and reminders makes construction management software the best of all. 

Cloud Storage and Mobile utility for Collaboration

To update on the real-time progress of the ongoing construction project, the software must be compatible with mobile phones and deploy cloud technology.

Cloud computing facilitates regular updating of data and progress while mobile phones allow each member of the workforce to communicate back and forth about their targets to the central admin.

This way the contractors and the firms can be kept in the loop without having to travel to multiple sites now and then. The best software for contractors should thus promote collaboration within the team through its cloud computing and mobile-related tools among individual labourers and large contractors.

This feature is particularly essential for large companies running multiple construction projects at various sites such as those hired by governments for the construction of ministries or residences for ministers.

Financial Estimation and Reporting

Comprehensive construction management software assists in budgeting and estimation of costs incurred in the building processes at each stage. Their dashboards should highlight what possible losses a company or contractor can face upon an unsuccessful deadline completion.

As real-time updating is in-built for this software, immediate financial reporting is also made possible. This feature further facilitates the contractors in making better estimations for pricing. It can speed up sales as proposals can be drafted with a click of a button.

The financial section of the software must include a payroll management system as well. This should keep track of the amount of work completed by all of the workforce and their weekly, monthly or annual wages or salaries. Software that provides you with a one-stop solution to all of your financial requirements should be considered any day.

Designing; CRMs and Supply-chain management system

Construction software that comes equipped with design tools should be preferred. This also implies that each of the stakeholders of the project should be able to access all the updated information about the plans, photos or designs.

Contractors must be able to control who gets access to what information. This reduces the need to send emails and the possibility of miscommunication. Approval on changes in orders can also be received much more quickly than manual mailing.

The toolkit of your software must even include a Customer Relationship Management utility and the system for management of supply chains. It means that the construction management software should keep track of your sales and client responses. It implies maintaining continuous contact between the clients and the contractor company. Supply chain management connects the contractors with vendors such as those for cement or other factors of production. This prevents any arbitrary abruption to the supply chain and the construction process.

Pricing

The best software for contractors is one which is efficient and economical at the same time. Several of the construction management software have an audited free version with much lesser utility features. These can be opted by the smaller contractors who have started working recently.

A slew of paid plans nevertheless is available for the contractors whose projects are spread in much wider areas and regions. Plans need to be looked at in great detail before purchasing the best software for contractors. Some charge a minimum fee initially and later require monthly payments while others bill annually. 

This software is the need of the hour in the construction industry. This software has helped formalize and organize the industry immensely. It has promoted better budgeting, real-time tracking, scheduling and supply-demand management with an accurate price estimation.

Software with elaborated metrics in a usable form is preferred by all. This helps bring down construction costs hugely. Software is chosen based on its complexity, its features and ability to resolve the most number of problems faced by construction companies. Software that provides the overall utility to the enterprise and is under the right budget is the best software for contractors.