Automation - Is It For You?

As we all worked to stay afloat during the recession, you may have found yourself trying different strategies to keep costs low while still making a profit. Maybe you shifted from new construction to remodeling. Perhaps you had to let some employees ago. You may have even found ways to streamline your operations.

Now that the economy seems to be stabilizing, it's important to your business' success that you keep some of those strategies in place. While nothing is "recession proof," making small changes now could mean big success later.

One such change is automation. We're not talking about having robots take over your next project here (though that would be pretty cool). We're talking about using systems and software that can take the daily mundane, repetitive tasks of operating a business and putting them on autopilot, so to speak. Automation can help you increase your bottom line by making things in the office more efficient, which frees up employees (and yourself) to focus on what's really important: your customers.

According to a recent NAHB report, "Estimating, purchase order, and scheduling systems are often overlooked when streamlining operations, but taking them into consideration can have a profound effect on business success. Builders often fail to recognize that the best part of an estimating system is its job-cost function. How can an automated estimating system be beneficial if it’s not routinely checked against actual costs? Failing to check variances on each project results in the same mistakes becoming part of every new job moving forward. Estimates should always mirror the job-cost system and vice-versa."

Setting up automations can and will incur some cost up front, but over time, you will come out ahead, save and even make money in the long run, and have happier employees and clients alike.