How Can Archdesk Support Your HVAC Company?

What is your biggest struggle in project management?

• Late payments

• The complexity of a project

• Team management

• Lack of smooth communication between employees on site and the ones in the office

If you feel like these aspects are the inherent characteristics of your projects, we want to say loud and clear: they do not have to be!

We have already listed the general solutions for HVAC companies regarding the current industry's challenges, reinforced by the coronavirus outbreak. However, now it is time to focus on the topic we know best - proper Project Management.

Discover why Archdesk is the best HVAC project management software!

#1 Problem: Issue with Late Payments and Cash Flow Management

Did you know that only 1 in 10 construction companies gets fully paid? The usual waiting time to get paid varies between 40 and 60 days, but one in five subcontractors has to wait even more than 60 days! The global pandemic has deepened the problem: in 2019 up to 61% of companies received full payment, and now it is only around 11%!

The numbers are alarming, especially as getting paid for completed work is a foundation of financial stability and a key point in considering any investment. Without a stable financial situation and a clear view of expenses, you cannot really control your projects. Luckily, we are here to help!

How can we support your Financial Management?

• 01

  First of all, to assure constant control over a project's financial situation, you can use our Financial Dashboard. It offers live insights into financial information to check and monitor your project's financial health anytime you need it! Also, thanks to the view on cost split in different categories, you can quickly verify which part of the project you "lose" too much money on.

• 02

  If you struggle with late payments, Archdesk can support you! With Valuation Reports in the system, preparation of needed documentation takes you much less time than the traditional method when you have to fill out all the data and calculate independently. Then, when the report is ready, you can send the document straight to the client, and once it is approved, issue the sales invoice based on all the data precalculated from the valuation report. The procedure is the same, but thanks to the software's support, the preparation process is much faster and easier!

• 03

  With the help of dedicated reporting dashboards that automatically generate a real-time overview of your cash flow, you can see the history of sales and purchase invoices during a given period. In addition, you can create reports for both specific projects and the whole company, and the latter can be beneficial for decision-making processes for future investments.

The Benefits of Financial Management with Archdesk:

• Updated financial situation visible with costs split into detailed categories

• Streamlined process of Valuations Reports preparation

• Clear information about cash flow in the company, assuring a more straightforward decision-making process

#2 Problem: Complexity and Diversity of Project Types Inside One Company

Do you have to deal with various types of projects that have entirely different processes in your company? Most businesses offer multiple services from electrical, mechanical to maintenance and repairs in the HVAC sector.

There are many differences between these types of services, so let's just name a few:

• complexity (one vs many installations)

• customers' preferences (traditional HVAC appliances vs new trends like smart homes technology with the use of AI and IoT)

• duration (one time vs annual maintenance processes)

• difficulty (typical processes vs complicated ones requiring specialist equipment or technical expertise)

Managing all of it inside one company can be quite challenging. If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of different processes going on, we might have some solutions for that!

How can we support your Workflow Management?

• 01

  During the implementation process, we can create an automated build-up with steps for each project type. Whenever you start a new work, you can choose the project's type suitable for your work in the system. After that, you will automatically see specific steps to follow, standard templates (e.g. quotation) and adequate reports.

• 02

  If you have contracts that guarantee an installation check-up every year, you can add this information to the software as well. Our system can notify you about the upcoming maintenance work 30 days in advance so that you will never forget about it.

• 03

  Particular projects require different employees. To manage appropriately and optimise the time of your employees, you can use the Archdesk Scheduler. Inside the tool, you can filter your employees by qualifications and check when they will be free for a new project.

The Benefits of Workflow Management with Archdesk:

• A systemised approach to different types of projects, thanks to which the Project Manager does not have to each time break down project separately and train team members

• No risk of losing track of upcoming maintenance work thanks to notifications from the system

• Clear and organised management of employees' work thanks to an up-to-date view of their occupancy with upcoming scheduled tasks

#3 Problem: Time Consumed on Repeatable and Simple Actions

Imagine you need to calculate how much your project will cost to send the estimation to your client. You open a new Excel Sheet or take a calculator and manually add each cost. The whole process takes a lot of time since you need to check how much each part will cost. Finally, you get the final sum. However, after some time, you find a mistake, and you must start the whole process from the very beginning. You wasted crucial time, energy and still, the estimation is not ready.

Have you ever experienced such a situation? We hope not since, in project management, every minute is crucial. However, we live surrounded by technology, so why not take advantage of it? Modern solutions, like our Archdesk software, can automate many of your processes!

How can we support you with automations?

• 01

  When you create a quotation and want to add needed appliances, the system can capture the quotation template used for particular types of the project. So, the estimator does not need to start every quote from scratch as sections, basic items, typical utilities costs are already there. Also, you can find a catalogue of products in the system that can allow inputting predefined items (products/services) into the quote.

• 02

  Also, while managing your supply chain, you can run the whole process much faster. Once the quotation is ready and fully approved, you can create your purchase order straight away. There is no need to enter the data into the system twice! You just need to create a purchase order, choose a supplier from your database and send it directly to them.

• 03

  When it comes to maintenance processes, they often require reports once the work is done. You can create documents through the custom forms (internal and external) and then send them directly from the system.

The Benefits of Automations with Archdesk:

• Saved time by capturing and automating the repeatable processes

• Decreased risk of mistakes as there is no need to enter any data twice to the software (for ex. the system can automatically compare quotes and POs on Financial Dashboard)

• More precise calculations supported by the system

#4 Problem: Lack of Smooth Communication between Employees on Site and Crew in the Office

The perfect project plan always differs from real life. You have probably experienced a situation when your team perfectly planned everything. Suddenly, one complication you had not considered occurred and made a significant impact on your project's budget and delivery date. Reacting fast to such changes is especially hard when there is a lack of communication between the employees on site and the project manager in the office.

To prove our point, let's quote specific numbers. According to the Project Management Institute, poor communication is the number one reason for project failure, causing almost 56% of all projects to fail. Well, the lack of smooth communication impacts every aspect of a project: cost transparency, clear responsibility or the project delivery date.

How can we support your team management?

• 01

  To ensure you have visibility over all crucial data for your project, you can use Reports. Thanks to automatisation, you can create them from the software's financial sections faster and without the risk of data loss. Reports can be customised depending on your needs, showing only dashboards and data needed for the specific project's stage.

• 02

  To arrange your work, To-Dos might become a handy tool. You can organise tasks according to their urgency, importance or delivery date. Also, you can store to-dos under specific projects, stages or even single tasks. To assure proper project completion, you can always delegate tasks to your colleagues and control the performance.

• 03

  The following tools to manage information faster inside your company are RFIs. Requests for information can be sent to your client directly from the software. Thanks to the saved data, you have a clear view of responsibilities as you can always check the sender, the customer's answer, time, cost and all attachments.

The Benefits of Team Management with Archdesk:

• Smooth information flow between teams and employees

• Possibility to react faster to any changes in the project

• Tasks organised inside the software with clear responsibilities, which assure successful project completion

HVAC Project Management Software- Other Solutions

That is not all! Our software has many other solutions that can support your construction project management. What is even more important, we can customise all tools according to your needs during the Implementation Process. If you want to learn more, schedule a demo with our consultants and discover our system's features!

Schedule a demo!

We are aware that managing an HVAC company with all the listed characteristics is a huge challenge. Especially when we add to it the emerging trends, such as AI or the Internet of Things, that might completely change the way we think about HVAC appliances. That is why we have conducted a Webinar dedicated specifically to HVAC companies, where we focused on all these aspects and showed you how our hvac project management software can help your company in many other ways!

-> Download the recording for free!