Archdesk & Small Businesses:

Being a small or medium business in construction and in bespoke manufacturing comes with risk. For instance, did you know that one in three contractors faces bankruptcy and business failure?

Yet, having said that, we are all familiar with the saying “with great risk comes great reward”. It suggests that sooner or later, the risk-takers will reap the fruits of their labour and enjoy the gains achieved as a result of hard work. Very nicely put!

However, what we’re missing here is the crucial time in between the risks taken and the reward that awaits us. How do we get from point A (risks) to point B (profits)? What actions do we need to take in order to be on the right path towards prosperity and success? How can we overcome some initial problems and where to look for solutions to face them? Let’s find out!

Problems Faced by Small and Medium Businesses

The first step to success is understanding the troubles and difficulties that both small and medium businesses either encounter or are prone to. They stretch from bad planning and poor estimation, through process management and inefficient data management, all the way to time-consuming processes and lack of oversight. Let’s have a closer look at each of these:

• Bad Planning
  The inefficient coordination among clients, suppliers, specialist contractors, architects can cause substandard completion of the problem resulting in project failure;

• Poor Estimation
  Failure to estimate accurately can lead to either not getting the tender or financial losses to fulfil their contractual obligations;

• Process Management
  Processes such as assigning tasks, subcontracting and monitoring work progress across multiple projects and departments are always demanding and require real-time data to track these processes, make adjustments and use this information to then bill customers appropriately and timeously;

• Inefficient Data Management
  Managing large amounts of information within multiple projects and departments is time-consuming and failure of management can result not only in the poor handover of projects but also in the loss of change payments and even disputes;

• Time-consuming processes slow down the expected revenues
  Time-consuming, tedious and manual processes prevent development, while ROI (Return on Investment) can cause many risks to the business;

• Lack of Oversight
  Construction companies run projects concurrently and need a comprehensive view of the allocation of company resources at any given time. Failure to do so results in waste, unbudgeted costs and delays;

Solutions Crafted for Needs

After listing out loud the problems faced by the market, the second significant move to make is identifying the needs of small businesses. This procedure will help you realise where your company stands and what steps need to be taken in order to provide prosperity and growth for your business.

We cannot stress enough how important digitisation is for the future of your business. Covid accelerated the need for digital communication: according to the new HS regulations, companies are no longer allowed to rely on a paper trail between the site and the office as a form of communication. From now on, they must rely solely on real-time digital updates and changes.

On top of that, following the New Regulations in building standards (Hackitt report), contractors shall have in place an audit trail of all material and processes, which means moving away from paper and towards online, real-time sharing of information.

There are also other solutions to take into consideration, such as:

• More productivity - you need to be more productive in order to win jobs and then make money on them;

• Control of the data and resources - the key is to keep control over people and materials so that they are in line with the offer;

• Timely payments - try to pay your suppliers and subcontractors on time, as late payments often lead to financial distress and a drop in both relationship and overall quality;

How Archdesk Supports Your Needs

At Archdesk, we are completely aware of the challenges you need to face and the problems you might encounter when running a small business and we are very committed to helping you out. This is why your next (and last) step to take is joining us!

The Small Business Edition has been created for businesses seeking to start quickly with an “out the box” solution that can scale with their business and enable a smooth digital transformation of their business as well as employees. Our solution will streamline your work and help exchange essential information across different departments.

Not only does our cloud-based software provide a comprehensive business management solution, but it also delivers a project management system, which is tailored to your business-specific needs, allowing you to both integrate and optimise your workflow, automate your processes and improve communication across different projects.

If you are wondering who Archdesk SBE is for, here is your cheat sheet:

• Smaller General Contractors

• Subcontractors

• Specialist Contractors

• Builders and Developers

• Architects and Engineers

• Bespoke Manufacturing

Archdesk SBE connects your team to real-time project information across any device, at any time, anywhere. Managing tasks becomes faster and automated, minimising chances for human error, delays or the loss of money and resources. Join us today and enjoy a thriving business tomorrow!

I want to discover the benefits for my company!