PRO: The best tech tools to help you manage your business

Hi Home Improvement pros! Glad to have you with us today. We know that running a business can be difficult. Especially when you’re dealing with customers, subs, vendors, and you’re always on the go. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of some great tech tools that can help you manage your business with more ease, while on the go. These applications are all cloud based, meaning that you can access them via apps on your phone or tablet, on your laptop or at your office.

Tech Tools To Support My Business:

PROJECT MANAGMENT:

Project management is a big deal for a contracting business and we have some great tech tools to help you get it under control. If you have multiple jobs going at once, you need to know where in the process the job is at any moment in time, who is associated with this project, and any issues or details that you need to be aware of. This can be difficult when doing everything via paper or text message. Using a good project managment system can help you keep everything organized, on schedule, and easy to manage. We reccommend ProsperWorks, which integrates seamlessly with Google Apps and doubles as a CRM. Another good choice is ActiveCollab which can help you track time and send invoices as well. The money you spend will be recouped in time, ease of jobs, and more referrals.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT:

A social media presence is crucial in today’s world. However, posting daily can be very time consuming, and I’m sure it’s not the first thing on your mind. That’s why these tech tools are so important. Some great social media management tools include Hootsuite (They have a free version), Buffer (has great analytics tools) or Sprout Social (The most pricey of the three). These are all great options, though and will help you build your online presence.

FINANCIAL:

Most business owners will tell you that keeping up with the books is not a fun task. Luckily, there are some great online tools that make it easy and quick to input expenses, income, and pay your employees or contractors. One of the top choices is Quickbooks. Quickbooks used to just be a software to install on one computer, but it’s not a cloud based system and an app, so you can easily manage on the go. Take pictures of your receipts to file and you’re good to go, after your initial setup is done. It’s pretty affordable and easy to use. Another easy, affordable option is freshbooks.

CONTRACTS:

You may do a lot of different project types in your business. You could do commercial, residential, or do work for companies. You could do small jobs and large jobs, one time jobs and recurring jobs. Becuase of this, you could have a lot of different types of contracts. You also need to make sure that you have all your contracts filed and stored somewhere for easy access for you and your customer, in the event that a dispute ever comes up. A great tool to handle this would be EchoSign, an adobe product. Keep all your contracts stored, and get digital signatures so that you or your client don’t have to make a special trip just to sign a few docs.

FILE SHARING:

Maybe you need to share blueprints, scope of work, design ideas, or product lists. A good file sharing application can help you do this easily, all while storing and organizing your files. File sharing programs eliminate the issue of files too big to go through email, or that take forever to load. You can create a folder for each job or for each person on your team, share it with them, and then anything you put in that folder they will have access to quickly and easily. Dropbox is one of the most popular tech tools that solves this probelm, but Google Drive from Google Apps (G Suite) is another great way to do this. Google is awesome because if you’re already using Gmail, it’s one less service to sign up for.

APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING:

Is it difficult to find a time for estimates, quotes, meetings, or on site reviews difficult? Working with not only your schedule, but your clients schedule, can be hard. Using an appointment scheduling system can be a great way to make this easier. A good system is called Calendly. It will give your client a link to your schedule (integrates with google calendar) and will let them select a time that works for them based on what is not blocked off on your schedule. Then you’ll be notified and reminded of the appointment. Simple as that!

We hope you’ll research these tools further to find out if they’ll be a good fit for your business, and to save you time and money throughout the year!

Builders Surplus is a full service renovation company with locations in Louisville, Kentucky, and Newport, Kentucky, which also serves Cincinnati, Ohio. We are the leading provider of Ledge Stone, wall tile and backsplash tile in Louisville, Newport, and Cincinnati. We specialize in interior design, kitchen design, bathroom remodel, building materials, and home improvement. Interior Design and measurements come as a free service to our clients. We sell building materials ranging in every price point, from unfinished kitchen cabinets to top of the line Wellborn cabinets. In addition to interior design, we also offer installation services. If you have any questions or would like to set up a free design consultation with one of our interior designers, we would encourage you to do so. We love sharing our knowledge with clients & potential home renovators. We write about interior design, home decor, decorating ideas, and home improvement. We hope you’ll check back in for our next article! Happy Renovation!