Electrical contracting is a diverse and challenging occupation that comes with the responsibility of managing finances, work teams, advanced equipment, marketing, detailed schedules, and many other complex processes. Handling all of these duties independently and manually without the use of any specialised tools is asking for a career filled with a lot of unnecessary hassle.
It goes without saying that performing the duties of a commercial electrical contractor can be a complicated job, especially if you’re not equipped with a collection of tools and resources that can streamline your routine. Fortunately, all of the steps involved in a typical project can be drastically simplified through the use of specialised software. More specifically, here are 10 kinds of software tools that every commercial electrical contractor can benefit from using:
1. Electrical Estimating Software
Since providing a quote estimate is always going to be one of the initial steps involved in securing a new client or project, it makes sense that this should be the first kind of software to become familiar with. Electrical estimating software helps you calculate quotes more accurately and efficiently by providing a centralised interface where you can access a massive library of common components and items along with their associated average prices and other properties.
For example, Ensign’s electrical contracting estimation software has more than 150,000 electrical components pre-loaded in a conveniently organised database that helps you create realistic estimates for material costs at a pace that is 70% faster than it would take for someone to complete this step manually. As a result, Ensign has become one of the industry’s leading developers of electrical contracting software.
2. Project Management Platforms
Once you’re using an estimation software to save time and optimise your material costs, it’s time to actually start allocating and completing the tasks that will be necessary to facilitate the project’s completion. Project management platforms are cloud-hosted software services that give you a centralised and consolidated control panel where you can share files, conduct correspondence, delegate duties, and monitor progress.
Essentially, these tools help you handle most of the digital duties that you’ll encounter during a commercial contracting project within a single, user-friendly interface that your entire team can access over the web.
3. Accounting Tools
Electrical contractors purchase a lot of equipment and materials while also paying many different people for labour. Accounting tools help with the advanced expenditure tracking and budgeting tasks that are commonplace in this industry. Additionally, accounting software like QuickBooks can help you expedite the tax return and VAT process while also minimising the possibility of making accounting-related errors and oversights.
While it’s still advisable for busy contracting firms to have a dedicated accountant on standby, recording all financial details within a well-organised digital system will make it easier for you to provide your accountant with the details they need to do their job accurately and protect you from audits, missed deductions, and other tax-related problems.
4. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Software
Many commercial electrical projects will involve the use of advanced diagrams, blueprints, and other visual representations that need to be viewed and edited within computer-aided design software. Popular tools like AutoCAD and SmartDraw are examples of CAD tools that electrical contractors can use to become familiar with industry-standard planning & presentation techniques.
It’s strongly advisable for any electrical contractor to take a course on using CAD software, as not having a rudimentary understanding of this field of study could lead to some confusing situations. Specialising in CAD design will look great in your portfolio and will ensure that you’re always on the same page with industry innovators and collaborators.
5. Help Desk Software
Help desk software gives you a central dashboard for managing all of your customer support issues. Even if you’re a smaller electrical contractor who only manages a couple of clients at a time, having a way to quickly and conveniently address their concerns will always be helpful. However, it’s clear that this kind of tool can become a must-have as you scale up into dealing with numerous clients and projects simultaneously.
As your firm continues to expand, you’ll want an organised system for handling common complaints and queries in a time-efficient and satisfactory manner. Some help desk software will integrate with third-party support agents to give you the option of providing automated and human phone support, which is important for contractors who are often too busy in the field to take calls.
6. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Every electrical contractor wants to land more projects, manage more teams, and ultimately earn more income through ongoing diversification and corporate growth. However, actually making the transition from a small business contractor to a large-scale electrical contractor will require the introduction and implementation of various streamlined management systems.
A customer relationship management (CRM) tool keeps all of your contact information, contracts, email templates, and other client-related data in a convenient database. That way, you won’t be wasting time trying to find and manage a large and ever-growing collection of clients and potential leads.
7. Scheduling and Task Management
Every electrical contractor needs to operate with a high degree of accountability in terms of ensuring punctuality and accurate time management. Scheduling tools are ubiquitously used by most advanced entrepreneurs and business owners because it can be difficult to stay on top of many different projects simultaneously without an organised system.
Getting a stronger grip on task scheduling is particularly important when you’re trying to grow your contracting business as quickly as possible. Finding and landing new leads will always be a number’s game that is easier won when you’re maximising daily productivity. While your employees in the field should never rush through potentially hazardous electrical work, it’s always best to expedite and refine any managerial or clerical process related to finding new clients and projects.
8. Document Creation Suite
Every electrical contractor should be proficient in using a document creation suite like Microsoft Office to produce contracts, templates, spreadsheets, proposals, resumes, portfolios, and other essential business documents. If you only have a basic understanding of how to use Word and Excel, it would be beneficial for you to take an online course in business document creation and editing.
Likewise, a course in business writing and technical writing would also help you improve your skillset in this area. There are also free and open-source alternatives like LibreOffice if you’d rather save some money and take the freeware approach. Generally, the functionality of every document creation suite will be very similar, so learning how to use one will give you an intermediate level of skill in using any others that you switch to later on.
9. Cloud Storage App
As you can imagine, losing all of your electrical contracting data could be a disastrous event that you’ll always regret because it can be easily avoided by backing up your local hard drives in the cloud. If you don’t feel comfortable storing the data on a third-party server through popular cloud storage services like Google Drive or One Drive, you can use a file transfer protocol (FTP) server to securely sync the data with a remote server.
At a bare minimum, you should use a directory syncing software to keep your data backed up on an external hard drive at all times. Failing to create an updated copy of your data will leave you vulnerable to losing all of the files and databases that your business has been built around.
10. Email Management
If you’ve already looked at CRM and project management tools but you’ve decided to take a simpler, email-based approach to manage your business, you’d benefit from becoming familiar with tools like Microsoft Outlook and MailChimp.
Having an easy-to-use interface that lets you manage all of your email contacts, create auto-responses, and issue mass marketing emails might be all you need to take care of the communications aspect of running an electrical contracting business. This option is listed last because it’s certainly the most basic approach, but that also makes it an appealing method for traditional contractors who don’t want to become too involved in using multiple software programs on a regular basis.
Contracting With a Paper-based Process is Becoming Increasingly Absurd
Two decades ago, the idea of using paper to document any business process was widely accepted. A decade ago, it started to seem kind of silly with digital storage and communication being so widely accessible and more cost-effective. Today, the thought of printing, writing, and filling out every form or document by hand seems like an absurd proposition, especially for a busy and successful electrical contractor.
The proverbial predicament of a contractor having their hand on their forehead while staring begrudgingly down at a stack of papers is quickly becoming a thing of the past, as the vast majority of contractors have opted for paperless processes in many areas of business management. By gradually working each of the software types listed above into your overall workflow, you can make your electrical contracting business more productive and profitable.
