Must-Have Features for Construction Management Software

When you are managing a construction site — battling subcontractors, overseeing laborers, managing materials and more — the last thing you need is disorganization. Construction management teams rely on all sorts of software to keep their businesses and projects in line, but selecting the best software isn’t always easy given the large number of options on the market.

To reduce the headaches associated with building your construction business, here are a few key ingredients to the best construction management software for you:

Reporting Tools

A reporting tool takes data inputs from various sources and organizes them in a single, convenient location. In your construction management software, you need a reporting tool that allows your contractors and subcontractors to share information about project progress. Even better, your chosen tool should provide real-time updates, so you and your employees know immediately when something happens to affect the timeline or budget of a project. Productivity increases when communication is fast, easy and reliable, so a reporting tool built into your management software is essential for keeping everyone on task and on time.

Accessibility and File-sharing

If your employees are meant to use the reporting tool to communicate with one another and post updates about certain projects, they need to be able to access the software. You and your workers should have unlimited access to the tool you choose, which means you should have enough licenses to cover every worker and your tool should offer appropriate mobile support.

What’s more, your software should have some file sharing capacity. Sharing files via your construction management tool will help keep your documents organized and accessible, and it should help you track who is accessing which documents when.

Data Security

There should be no compromising on this software feature. Whenever you have connected data solutions, you need to be certain that your data is completely and totally secure. After all, the last thing you want is to notify your clients that their personal and payment information has been leaked. You should be certain that any software you use on any business device fully complies with security protocols and regulations. Ideally, you should impose banking-level security for all company data.

Responsive Support

You work in the construction business, not the tech business. Though you should have some computer competency, you don’t want to waste hours trying to understand how to use your new construction management software or address issues that arise with your tool. The software provider should be able to offer 24/7 support for any problem with their product, and their customer service team should be able to communicate with you proficiently and without frustration.

Questions When Considering a Construction Management Tool

The above features are the bare minimum you need for a functional construction management software, but in truth, every construction company has different needs, wants and likes. To help guide you toward a software solution that benefits your unique situation, you might ask the following questions of any tool you evaluate:

• Is this tool going to make my job easier?

• Does this platform work in real time?

• Can this software be integrated into the other digital tools we use?

• Does this tool have a good reputation for accuracy?

• Will the software modernize my services?

• Can I run this tool on multiple devices? What about mobile devices?

• Is there training for this tool offered by the developer?

• Is there technical support for this tool offered by the developer?

• Do I have any reason to doubt the reliability of this tool?

To answer some of these questions, you might need to get into contact with the customer service team of the software providers. However, with the right research, you should be able to answer all these questions to your satisfaction, which in turn should point you toward the software solution perfect for your business.

Choosing construction management software is a journey, and not one that always ends in success. The good news is that if you aren’t ultimately satisfied by the solution you use, you can always cancel service and move onto another option that might work better for you, your clients and your company.