CoConstruct

Commentaires: It’s like all software where you have to set it up to customize it for yourself but it’s not hard

Avantages: Everything is great but AWAs getting approved is the number one. Remodeling always has changed CC makes it so easy to give customers options with price and once they select the one they want the $$ go right onto to their balance

Inconvénients: It’s not that I don’t like the scheduling I just wish you could see all the project schedules could be seen on a master schedule

Commentaires: I can’t say enough about the customer service - specifically the “how do I do this...” type of support. They really don’t want you to fail just because you don’t understand HOW to use the app.

Avantages: Good/bad? Good is not an adequate description of the customer service I receive from CoConstruct. The team over there is amazing. It’s the best customer service I’ve ever had anywhere online. I honestly feel like they work for me in my IT department (I’m a one-man “wanna-be remodeler” handyman operation). Whenever I have a question I get a fully thought out, complete response that answers my question completely - most of the time with a video of rep solving the issue on his screen as if it were my own. I especially like that I seem to be assigned to one team member. Also, the training calls during the learning phase were invaluable. I don’t think I would have been able to learn the full process without them (thanks again rep) - and I would have cancelled shortly after signing up without the video training calls. Thanks so much CoConstruct. I started out as a handyman 2 years ago and found CoConstruct before I was ready for it. The sales guy listened to my situation and freely admitted that it was probably more than I needed and it wouldn’t be a great benefit to me at that point - so I waited with the website bookmarked in my favorites bar. Since then, I’ve expanded into some smaller remodel projects and small custom residential jobs (small, like demo a bathroom, replace Front Door, install a door inside where one didn’t exist). Even with my tiny scope of work CoConstruct has been the deciding factor for 3 of my last 5 clients. I asked them why they chose me over the others and they said specifically, “I like your app”. Paraphrasing them, they said something to the effect of, “it’s transparent and I like that you show me everything you’re committing to instead of a one or two line sentence fragment on an estimate explaining a $3,000 scope of work”. I literally charge more for everything I do because CoConstruct makes me look so good up front that the customers are happy to pay more. Maybe because it makes my business look more professional or competent, or maybe because using CoConstruct actuallly makes me feel more confident. Either way, using CoConstruct, I charge more for the same work and I’m winning clients that I wouldn’t have before. It’s literally paying for itself. Y’all are the best and I can’t wait to grow my business with your help.

Inconvénients: It can take a while to set up a project - specifically a list of generally unrelated items. I estimate a lot of home inspection reports so it’s hard to create a template that I can import for each job. The client view of some stuff is a little less transparent than I’d like (although i can type anything and everything I want into each item description). When I build out that cost lines for each item I’d like to be able to display the description of each cost line to the client (with or without the cost). It’s also tough (or maybe I just haven’t figured it out yet) to go through the list of items to be completed while you’re on site since they’re grouped into larger categories instead of a single list showing all the items. However, you can add whatever you want to the schedule and track progress through the schedule. It’d be great if I could import the specs & selections items into the schedule.

Commentaires: Here at Summit, we construct custom and build-to-suit homes that can start from an on-line Southern Living Plan or a gleam in the client's eye. With the variation and choice that falls within that range, it becomes a real chore to track all the information and communication required to deliver what the client expects and a product we can be proud of. At least, it was before Co-construct. Before Co-Co (I am copywriting that nickname so Donny can't take it), we used a combination of spreadsheets, Everynote, and accounting software to manage client and field communication. In addition to this, each member of the team for any project kept their own side documents. Then came Co-Construct. Before I dive in, let me first explain the Co-Construct does not end the need for paperwork and organization. It just makes it simple. The learning curve for this software is easy because of the extensive video tutorials provided. All told, it took us about a week to get the system up and running, and here is how it broke down: two days to populate our selection items in the master template, two days to enter the data from the current jobs, and one day to train the management team, review for accuracy, and drink coffee. That's right, all it took was one person, one week, and all of that without disrupting the course of business. Once everyone had their email linked in, we were off to the races. But what does Co-construct really do for us? Co-construct is a premier information and communication organizer. By keeping all the communication separated into the relevant Selections/Building Phases, everyone stays focused and can find the relevant information at the proper time. From the time the prospect is started up, we upload details, bids, pictures, emails, etc. to the appropriate phase. This way, the client can constantly see the progress of the project and the field manager always has access to the same information that we have in the office. No more side documents. No more lost information. What does Co-Construct NOT Do? Co-Construct does not do your work for you. We call those 'Employees'. Co-Construct does not fully integrate with accounting software easily. However, it is my understanding they are currently working on developing export formats for some of the more common systems. This creates a small double entry required to reconcile the state of the budget with our in house accounting. However, from an auditor's point of view, I don't mind this, as it provides an inherent data review point. And, in fact, once exporting things into Excel, it is an academic exercise to check it against accounting. What does Co-construct do for the client? In our case, we are an 'Open Book' company so we find the various sharing features of this software to be indispensable. Clients can see the impact of every choice/request that is made during the course of the project in real time. We find that giving the client the tools to go through and make selections - essentially letting them value engineer their own project - helps them to realize that they are in control of their project. Not only that, they never get that end of project 'Suprise!' when we reconcile the contract. Finally, Co-construct has been the core element for generating, tracking, and processing change orders. With all the specifications and communications on line and permanently displayed we have been able to vastly improve Client satisfaction while increasing revenues. In conclusion, Co-construct helps us:
Improve our bidding process
Organize Information
Communicate clearly with the Client
Track the project budget
Capture revenues due to project changes

Commentaires: I am a third generation home builder in the Kansas City, Missouri market. Our family has been building and developing for over 50 years through both good times and bad. We build homes that range from $250,000 to $5,000,00000. With the recent economic downturn, we had to naturally downsize our company in order to survive. We went from 50 homes per year to 2 per year, but are now starting to see signs of improvement in our market and wanted to implement a new cloud based software system that would improve communications between all players in the building of our custom homes. We wanted something that would handle communications, specifications, scheduling, budgeting, selection sheet management, change orders, file sharing, to-do lists/punch lists, job site logs as well as reporting, and we wanted something that would let us do this with less people. We have found that and much more with the Co-Construct platform. The set up was quick and easy. We were able to customize it to work with the way we do business which made the conversion simple for our staff. We were up and rolling on the first job in less than 1 week and using every function that the system has to offer. I can't name one bad function in the Co-Construct System. Four months into the system, and I can say nothing but positive comments about the Co-Construct software and Co-Construct team. We immediately started with a custom build job. Both my builder team, clients, and sub-contractors have nothing but positive things to say about the system (this goes all the way from the tech savvy to computer resistant partners). Our first clients on the system were in the mid 60's and have built 7 homes previously with other builders. They absolutely love using Co-Construct and seeing my daily communications and updates to the sub-contractors (the one's I want them to see). About two months into using the system, Co-Construct introduced an upgrade which included a budgeting feature which has become a valuable asset. They appear to continually upgrade the system at no additional cost to the user. Our next move will be to apply their custom branding option to personalize the website with our logo. At the writing of this review, they were releasing 20 new upgrades to the system. Can't wait to see what they are! Customer Support for this system is first rate. Most of the time that I have questions, I start a support ticket and have a response and resolution to my problem within 4 business hours. If I need to call, someone answers with professional, courteous and helpful answers to even the simple problems. With Co-construct, you can update, communicate and promote your business from any web connected device, allowing you to work from virtually anywhere. My clients really enjoy the "real-time" updates when we walk the jobs. Likewise, I enjoy my clients comments that they post while on site at the end of the day. It is nice to see the excitement in their posts.

Co-Construct has streamlined our business and communications and allowed us to do more, with less personnel in a more professional manner. Our company has seen the following benefits while using Co-Construct: Cost savings through staff reduction. We no longer have a person dedicated to Warranty administration or Selection Management. The system does this for us. Cost savings through reduced communication errors. Cost Savings over using multiple software platforms. Increased margins through better and more timely change order management and collection. Reduced phone calls to sub-contractors for scheduling, punch lists, and orders with a written "paper trail" of dates and times that contacts were made. Simply having every aspect of your job from budget, to plans, communications to selections right in the palm of your hand in an easy to use interface, is invaluable. We are additionally finding that our customers are talking about this system to their friends. We have had potential referral clients ask if they would also be able to use the system. Over the years, we have seen many business tools revolutionize the way we do business - the copy machine, the two way radio, the fax machine, the cell phone, the internet. I am confident to say that we will look back at Co-Construct as another business innovation that has a more than positive effect on our business and bottom line.

Commentaires: At Shihadeh Contracting, we specialize in semi-custom new residential construction. We do additions and larger projects such as townhouses, but single homes in the 2500-4000 sq. ft. range is our niche. Our slogan is "Quality by Choice." That's why most of our customers choose us as their builder: they feel confident that we will walk them through every step of the process, and that their house includes many of the little amenities or improvements that technically might not be required by code, but make for a higher quality finished product and a better value to them. We (and a few builders that we partner with in the area) have been looking for a system to combine the bookeeping aspect of the business with the building and contract phases. Most importantly, a central organization structure that the respective office personnel can plug into for the information they need instead of chasing each other around and wasting time. Also, in the case where a partner builder sells a lot and contracts us to build or visa-versa, we are able to access the same job and pick up where the other left off, share financials, etc. We have previously used extensive Job Binders, combined with spreadsheets and a running Job Log to manage projects. Using Co-construct has allowed us to cut back on redundant paperwork, gives as much central access as we choose, simplified our selection process, and most importantly - gives us the ability to really involve our customers. It gives them something concrete other than a Change Order Agreement to track the job, make selections at 10:30 at night, approve a Change Order the next morning from work at 11:15 and just generally feel more involved and aware of where the project is. It also has the additional benefit of giving them something to do online rather than surf the net for a cheaper ORB doorstop than we offer that ends up being backordered, cheaper quality and looks nothing like it did online, etc. We have gotten very positive feedback from our customers in regards to the experience from their perspective. We have been using the system this past year. I (as a project manager) have found it to be near invaluable with multiple jobs running at the same time. We plan to use the monthly pricing on additions or quick renovations, and the flat rate for our new construction homes. Nate Schoen did a great job on the presentation/training with so much information and specifics to try to communicate to us in a short period of time There is a little bit of a learning curve and adjustment period as with any system overhaul. However, after starting the system on our first project after it was all the way through the selling phase and into the building, we were still able to develop our Selections sheets, Schedule, etc. on the run. We have had a few occasions to use the customer service and suggest additions or changes to the system and have been pleased with our experience. On a situation where we were not immidiately satisfied with the response, the owner was in touch right away to clarify and resolve the question. Great job by the support team! Overall, a quality product, functional, adaptable, and a great experience with the company.