Since Gulf Paving Company, Inc. was founded in 1964, it has experienced steady growth, now with more than 80 employees working primarily in site development, underground utilities, and concrete and asphalt paving. This full-service contractor located in Lee County, Fla. owns a large, well-maintained fleet of equipment from backhoes to laser-sensored machines and also operates an asphalt plant with state-of-the art control upgrades for multiple mix designs.
As the company has grown, so too has its need to operate more efficiently and implement new technologies to improve its processes from the first takeoff to the completion of a project.
Challenges
Gulf Paving needed automated estimating and accounting solutions that would provide the speed and accuracy required to help the firm win more jobs and ensure profitability on its projects. Developing all of its estimates using a time-intensive manual process was slow and had a high probability for human error.
Solution
The company uses Maxwell Systems QuestMX Estimating and American Contractor to have a comprehensive, all-in-one solution for estimating and job cost accounting. With the automation and streamlining of processes, the Gulf Paving team reduces error and estimates jobs quickly, as well as sees all business activities much more clearly with drill down and convenient reports.
Results
Using a complete solution that manages the business from bid to cash, Gulf Paving now works with great speed and accuracy so it’s better able to compete. The Maxwell Systems solutions allow more flexibility and efficiency, as well as deliver significant cost savings on producing bids and operating with improved profitability.
“In today’s market, the right technologies are essential,” said Michael Lause, senior estimator at Gulf Paving. “We no longer bid five jobs and get five jobs. Today, we bid 10 and win one. Technology is helping us move faster and bid more in this down economy as well as monitor and control our profitability better.”
The Need for Speed and Accuracy
Gulf Paving needed automated estimating and accounting solutions that would provide the speed and accuracy required to help the firm win more jobs and ensure profitability on its projects. The company was developing all of its estimates using a time-intensive manual process, which was not only slow, but had a high probability for human error.
“We essentially did pad to paper to Excel and knew our processes needed to change,” said Lause. “Excel was close, but not exact. We need exact.”
“We also had always used historical pricing information to develop our estimates. However, with the economic downturn, these prices would no longer fly. Our estimates would be so far out of whack as prices continually fluctuated,” explained Lause.
For its accounting operations, Gulf Paving was using a software package that was becoming obsolete and would have been very expensive to maintain.
Ethylene Leitoff, Gulf Paving’s controller said, “Our previous accounting system was old and cumbersome and provided no flexibility. I couldn’t access information once I had posted it. We needed more flexibility and the ability to drill down on information once it is posted. This is a critical element for the owner of our company who wants to see the details.”
“We wanted an end-to-end solution that would allow our estimates to easily become a job in our accounting system without double or triple data entry. Lack of integration between systems can cause human error and in today’s market this is not a risk we are willing to take,” said Lause.
A Comprehensive, All-in-One Solution
After evaluating a number of solutions, Gulf Paving selected Maxwell Systems™ QuestMX Estimator™ and American Contractor™ to provide the needed integration between its estimating and accounting operations.
Lause explained how easy the estimation process had become using QuestMX Estimator. “When a potential project comes in, we evaluate the drawing, put it on the digitizer board and are easily able to start to draw in Estimator. We double check our quantities and then move right into the estimate. We easily build the estimate from the database of cost items and pricing information in Estimator; and then start critiquing the time, equipment, and manpower we expect to use on the job. Once the estimate is approved by the appropriate people, we then use American Contractor to write the proposal. If we win the job, it goes right into American Contractor for accounting purposes.”
“QuestMX Estimator is a very good product,” said Lause. “It provides us with ease in putting a project on the board and getting the estimate started. Basically, we point, point, scale and draw. It is very quick.”
Lause also appreciates the spot elevation feature in QuestMX Estimator: “It is really cool. Our drawings come out much more accurate and we have fewer headaches trying to figure out the contours and elevations of the land.”
Leitoff explained how with the previous solution, the accounting department only received written estimating information and all data had to be manually entered into the system again. Now, with the seamless flow of information between QuestMX Estimator and American Contractor, she sets up a job, pulls down the proposal and all the details are there. “There are less steps and more accuracy now that we don’t have to re-enter data into the system.”
Gulf Paving books all of its expenses, labor, and equipment to American Contractor and leverages the tool to manage its Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, and Payroll. Not only does the solution provide streamlined transaction entry, warnings for questionable entries, and automated bank reconciliation, but its reporting capabilities enable Gulf Paving to see where it is on a job at any point in time and to drill-down on the details.
Gaining More Clarity
The two key benefits of these Maxwell Systems solutions are speed and accuracy. In today’s competitive market, Gulf Paving needs to be able to produce estimates much quicker and to accurately crunch numbers.
“With the automation and streamlining of our processes, we have less human error and have more visibility into our business. We are able to fine-tune our operations, find where we are making mistakes, and see everything with much more clarity,” explained Lause.
“Accuracy is key,” added Leitoff. “The best thing about American Contractor is that you can’t be out of balance. Our previous system was never in balance. With American Contractor I never have to worry about it. It always confirms if I am not in balance. It is much easier and faster and provides more detailed information.”
Leitoff continued “My boss loves it too. He can drill down to the person who performed the specific labor hours that might be in question. We couldn’t do this before. We also had to run separate reports from each system, now the information is combined into one report and we can drill down to the details.”
“Solutions from Maxwell Systems provide us with more flexibility and make our lives easier,” said Lause.
Maximizing Solution through Training
After using the Maxwell Systems solutions for about one year, Gulf Paving decided to take advantage of the software company’s Private Training. “It was a really worthwhile exercise,” said Lause. “We had been using the system for a year and had mastered the basics. The trainer came on-site and watched how we did a job. At the end of the day, the trainer provided insight into our operations that showed a critical correction to make, which resulted in significant cost savings on our bids moving forward.”
“I learned more about the product and recommend that all customers do this private training within six to 12 months after the implementation,” added Lause. “You never know what you might be doing wrong or what could be done more efficiently. Just that one correction we learned about during our Private Training more than justified the price of the session.”
