4 Reasons Why Property Developers Should Consider Investing in Construction Management Software

As a property developer, you might be wondering “Why would I invest in construction management software if the general contractors I hire are probably already using one?”
And we get it, why make the effort of looking for and implementing the software? Why invest money? Why worry about possible incompatibility with contractors ?

It seems like many real estate development companies come with this approach, and we cannot deny that it seems reasonable. But today, we want to show you this matter from a different perspective. Although there are some undeniable arguments not to trouble yourself with adopting a construction management software, there are plenty in favour of it.
And we want to show you why and how the pros can outweigh the cons - let’s go!

How Is The Industry Doing Today?

First, let’s have a quick look at the current state of the industry. The pandemic and sudden lockdowns that locked people in their homes and kept them away from their workplaces and common areas like shopping malls, cinemas or hotels, have substantially impacted the real estate industry. While it minimised the need for commercial buildings, the housing market in the UK boomed after the end of the first lockdown in 2020.

Although specialists proclaim that the property market as a whole has bounced back, there are still many disruptions and challenges, which developers have to face daily. Material shortages and high prices, lack of site workers from the EU after Brexit, ageing workforce and decarbonisation demand are just a few of them.
All of these factors can cause a significant reduction in the profit margin - and profit is the very reason why we started the business in the first place, right?

It may seem that this is not the best time for investing in entirely new solutions. But that’s only the case if you look at the surface of the matter, which is, in fact, much more complex.
Below I want to show you how investing in construction management software is a good idea, which you should at least consider if you want your company and projects to run more smoothly and be more profitable.

How Can Construction Management Software Help Property Developers?

• 01

  Gain full control over your projects

  As we’ve already said, it may seem easier to ditch the responsibility of handling all the issues connected to the project to the general contractor and not worry about it - I bet you have enough to worry about, right?
  
  But if you think about it - is it really an optimal solution that makes you worry-free? I mean, it is you who’s investing in this project and who will be managing this asset for the foreseeable future after the building is completed. I would argue that it is better to keep an eye on what is going on and check if everything is on schedule and within the budget and if there are any significant issues coming up that need to be addressed.
  
  This way, you can rest assured that there won’t be a situation where some big, unexpected problem pops up out of nowhere, as you and your subcontractors can act before the big crisis occurs. If you and your contractors all work within the same system, you will have access to all needed information without the need to ask anyone to give it to you.

• 02

  Access to all the data you will ever need

  As we are on the topic of information - getting access to the right data and documentation is crucial - whether you need to report something to the stakeholders, analyse your processes or plan ahead - for all that, you need up-to-date, reliable data.
  
  As we stated above - when you and all of your subcontractors work within one interconnected, digital workspace, getting hold of the data you need is no longer an issue. Moreover, you can be sure that it’s all stored securely in the cloud, and you can manage access rights to make sure that all the information about the project is safe and will not get lost in the process. Learn how we ensure data safety at Archdesk!
  
  Another aspect is that as a businessperson, you need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. In terms of data, think about the situation where you fell out with the general contractor, and they walked away from the project.
  
  Let’s presume you had left the management of everything up to them and didn’t have access to the same software. In that case, it can happen that the general contractor walks away with all the information, drawings, correspondence or warranty certifications. There is a high chance you would need to go through some trouble to get that information back, which would probably lead to delays in the project completion. I think we can agree that this doesn’t sound great - and it can be avoided if you are in control of the process and of all data from the beginning.

• 03

  Ensure accountability

  However hard we wish to believe that everyone is reliable and plays fair, we can’t ever be too sure. Again, when running a business, we need to have some sort of insurance in case someone is not delivering what was agreed upon.
  
  With multiple subcontractors and suppliers involved in the projects, it is sometimes tough to establish responsibility for something that went wrong. It may lead to disputes, lower morale and bad blood, but also delays. Sometimes, it may be long after a particular work is done when we discover that something needs to be reworked. Then the question arises: who should do it and pay for it.
  
  Working within the construction management software, you can set up automated workflows that will ensure that any decision made is signed off by someone. This way, the question of ownership over the decision is always clear and easy to prove, so that these kinds of problems can be reduced to a minimum and solved much more quickly.

• 04

  The holistic view of your company

  Managing your company is not only about the projects - you need to manage people, finances and often, have an outlook at multiple different projects to get the complete picture of how your company is doing and what plans and decisions can be made.
  
  With software like ours, you have all the information you need within one system, which means there is no question of importing information from one tool to another, which can often cause chaos and data loss.
  
  Having all data within one system also means that you get a clear outlook on every information you need - dashboard reporting is a great tool to ensure that all processes are optimised for maximum efficiency and profitability.
  
  Not to mention that having constant access to the up-to-date information that you can rely on gives you confidence to make the best possible business decisions.

What About Cons?

We feel that we have some strong arguments in favour of our hypothesis that construction management software can be a valuable tool for property developers. But we are not going to pretend that there are no cons - we’ve already established there are some at the very beginning. So let’s give them a closer look and focus on the biggest one - the cost.

Of course, introducing construction management software to your company is an investment. There is also no denying that it requires a lot of effort from almost everyone in the company to implement it successfully.

How Exactly Could Archdesk Help?

Archdesk is an interconnected construction management platform that offers you all of the benefits mentioned above and more.

Let us quickly introduce you to the solutions, which you might find the most interesting in these respects!

• The Programme of Works enables you to plan out the whole project and to make all necessary changes so that the entire process goes smoothly and efficiently, giving you a better understanding and control over your projects.

• Document Management helps you organise all your data and keep everything within one system. It is not only easy to access, but also assigned to its specific place and accessible for the right people and teams.

• Forms can enhance the communication and data gathered on the projects but also throughout your organisation. Moreover, by applying it to your workflows, you can always see who has signed off on which decision or part of work, giving you that accountability insurance we talked about earlier.

• Reporting is one of the most powerful tools in your system - whatever is in the system, we can report it. With the configurable dashboards, you can decide what information you want to see and in what form so that you always stay on top of what’s happening and are proactive to ensure that everything is going smoothly.

Archdesk is a powerful tool that is tailored to your company’s needs, which helps us make your company run easier, be less stressful and give you that extra efficiency boost to grow your business. Check out what kind of solution we can offer you or talk to our specialists to see how we can address your company’s needs!

Let’s chat!

Hopefully, we managed to show you the benefits that construction management software can offer to property development companies. In the times of rapid changes on the market there are some amazing opportunities, but also the challenges. You can see it as the worst time to experiment with some new tool, but it can also be seen as the best time to bring in a new solution that will help your company with its challenges and will support its growth. After all fortune favours the bold!