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Turn Equipment Management into a Profit Center

Effectively managing equipment can determine if the business makes a profit or takes a financial loss. It comes down to decisions (rent vs. own), reliability, and controlling costs.

Valuable tools to help make informed decisions, reduce expenses, operate more efficiently, and increase profits can be found in business management software with equipment management capabilities.
 
Getting the most from your equipment
Nothing impacts the cost of equipment more than utilization. With the right software solution, contractors can be confident that equipment is utilized to its fullest extent and that the highest possible return is obtained. 
 
Project/equipment managers gain the ability to track idle time, down time, and productive time (hours, miles, etc.), which are key factors in utilization analysis. Idle time and down time, businesses can develop strategies to control and correct it.
 
Furthermore, contractors can be sure that the right machine is being used for the right task and that the equipment on the job is being utilized and not sitting idle. Having the ability to assess performance and reliability of the equipment helps project managers keep jobs on schedule and on budget.
 
Improving reliability
Equipment downtime due to breakdowns causes significant costs and frustration on a project. With a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan, construction companies can extend the lifespan of equipment and thus improve the bottom line. 
 
Hudson Paving is a company that leverages a business management solution with comprehensive equipment management capabilities to improve its productivity and increase profitability. With a fleet of dump trucks and other equipment, the team at Hudson Paving is able to monitor the usage of its equipment, including tracking maintenance needs and money spent on repairs. With more information on each piece of equipment, the contractor can make more reliable decisions on whether to repair or replace a piece of equipment. 
 
Being able to easily drill down to the lowest level of detail allows contractors to easily set requirements for equipment acquisition and disposal and make informed decisions about when to return rental pieces, when to dispose of unused equipment, or when to acquire additional pieces of equipment.  With accurate record keeping of equipment location, usage, and maintenance costs found in business management software, owners and project managers have the information needed to make intelligent and timely decisions and maximize the lifecycle of equipment. And by attaining stated levels of reliability and uptime and minimizing total owning and operating costs, businesses can gain that needed competitive advantage in today’s tough marketplace.
 
Recovering Costs
Business management software solutions also help contractors track profit and loss by equipment or group of equipment in order to effectively monitor the return on investment for an equipment fleet. Businesses can easily know the size, age, and composition of an equipment fleet with just a click of the mouse and can recover expenses associated with equipment fleets by appropriately costing as costs to projects.
 
Ferrell Concrete, LLC is streamlining their equipment management processes and reaping the benefits. The owner had always considered equipment as an overhead expense because the company had no way to track equipment usage. By implementing construction business software with equipment management features, Ferrell Concrete has automated job cost accounting and project management processes and are able to capture equipment usage costs and bill them directly to appropriate projects, creating a new profit center for the company. 
 

Owners and equipment/project managers will reap significant benefits by using business management software for better equipment management. Having immediate access to real-time information in a central location shared by all in the company allows contractors to know the operational, financial, and mechanical history of each piece of equipment. With this information, businesses can capture operating costs and gain more control of equipment operations, and thus manage more efficiently and profitably. 

By effectively managing heavy equipment construction companies can maximize production rates for each piece of equipment and obtain the highest sales value at the end of life. This helps contractors increase profits, reduce maintenance and operating expenses, optimize utilization, and minimize downtime – providing a critical competitive edge and improving return on investment for this capital intensive aspect of the business.

Maxwell Systems is a leading provider of complete business managment solutions that can help construction companies improve equipment management and increase profitability. www.maxwellsystems.com

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Sigfusson Northern LTD

Sigfusson Northern LTD uses Maxwell Systems StreetSmarts as its job cost accounting and project management software solution. With StreetSmarts, SNL manages all of the accounting practices and job costs for their seven entities across the U.S. and Canada; maintain information in one place, in one format; manage payroll in-house; track and bill equipment expenses; and streamline workflow between the office and job sites.

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Our Story of Complete Construction Software

Maxwell Systems provides construction software solutions that help contractors to streamline workflow, increase productivity, and improve profitability. Furthermore, we understand that today's contractors must optimize processes across all business areas to gain or maintain an increasingly important competitive edge and ensure a successful business. Critical, to that end, is timely and efficient communication and information access among estimating, job cost accounting, and project management teams.

By using a Maxwell Systems complete construction software solution, you'll be able to better operate your business with increased efficiency and streamlined operations, and confidently increase profitability on every project. You will have the tools you need to accomplish more in less time; taking the guesswork out of reaching true profit potential; and improving financial stability for long-term benefit.

Why Maxwell Systems?

Maxwell Systems is truly unique with its ability to offer contractors a complete, seamless software solution that allows:

  • A new level of continuity and productivity among estimating, job cost accounting, and project management
  • Better insight, analysis, and financial oversight for owners to make informed and timely decisions
  • Improved operational efficiencies, cost reductions, and increased profits

Contractors value having an end-to-end solution from one company:

  • All applications work together seamlessly
  • Efficient access to comprehensive support and services
  • A stable technology partner committed to customer success

How Your Business Benefits

A complete construction software solution from Maxwell Systems provides end-to-end control of your business so you can see a day's profit potential at a glance, identify and prevent potential financial losses, spot discrepancies and errors, and manage projects with accurate information in real-time.

With tailored features designed to fit each member on your team, construction company management software ultimately allows your business to:

  • Attain end-to-end control and increased visibility
  • Achieve easy and accurate reporting with real-time data
  • Optimize project execution for maximum profitability
  • Streamline operations with seamless workflow

The Bid-to-Cash Cycle Explained

Managing each of the key process areas of a construction business – Estimating, Construction Accounting, and Project Management – requires vastly different talents and areas of expertise. The reality is that each of these functional groups is related and dependent on one another.

For your organization to run in an optimal fashion, the groups much work together in an optimal fashion. Together, these functional areas compromise what we describe as the Bid-to-Cash Cycle. And our goal at Maxwell Systems is to provide software for construction so you can bridge the needs of the functional groups, better manage this cycle, and so maximize profitability.

When construction estimating software, construction accounting software, and construction project management software are working together in a seamless system as a complete construction business management software solution, then a contractor is truly poised for optimal profit and productivity.

How does a complete solution fit your part of the cycle? Here are a few examples:

  • Owner: It's all about reducing waste, uncovering lost opportunity, exposing shortcomings, and maximizing resources – all which impact profit and the bottom line. With end-to-end visibility of every project, executives can hone business strategy, improve control of cash flow, and keep financials in the black with accurate ROI.
  • Estimator: Beyond estimating projects, the estimator can access more accurate information in regards to how the project actually performs. This will allow the estimator to improve accuracy on future estimates with actual labor and production rates, updated material prices, and other resource related items.
  • Accounting: Not only a company's construction accounting system, a complete solution helps to streamline the procurement processes for optimal efficiencies and produces more accurate purchasing processes. Additionally, billing processes, inventory issuances, and many other processes are streamlined. Less data entry, better accuracy, and reliable audit trail allow convenience and peace of mind.
  • Project Manager: The seamless workflow from Estimating to Project Tracking allows for a streamlined method of creating the job and then tracking performance against the estimate. Within the complete solution, the construction project management programs also provide the detail required for the Project Manager to understand what the Estimator was thinking when the bid was put together. Plus, by accessing real-time information whether in the office or in the field, the project manager can track progress, be more agile, and better handle all aspects of jobs from beginning to end.

Bottom Line

To succeed in today's competitive marketplace, construction business owners must improve productivity and have end-to-end visibility to see how jobs perform (and turn profit) from start to finish. Maxwell Systems knows construction company software and can be your partner by offering truly unique products (as well as support and services) that address the entire construction project lifecycle – from digital takeoff through final cash payment. Our seamless system provides your company with all the capabilities you need for estimating, job cost accounting, and project management, and ultimately for superior insight and analysis of your business.

Imagine the flexibility and insight by having one solution for estimating projects, for construction accounting programs, and for construction project software! All that and more in one system will help your business be more competitive and profitable.

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Complete Construction Software Solutions
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