The Importance of Utilizing Multiple Software Solutions

By Centerpoint Connect. 

Roofing contractors and business owners can boost their productivity and accuracy by implementing a variety of software programs in their day-to-day work.  

Customer Relationship Management software, commonly referred to as CRM for short, is a vital tool for roofing contractors and businesses. Utilizing CRM software can make a major difference in managing data and reporting, but only using one standard management platform can limit the visibility of all vital details, making it difficult to effectively streamline helpful information. By implementing more than just one roofing CRM software program and instead utilizing a variety of project management programs, contractors can better organize and plan in order to reach their goals.   

The two types of roofing software 

There are two main software categories needed to run a roofing business, the first being back-end which would be accounting. The back-end system of choice is your most important because it is your reconciliation, your permanent records, it’s your financials! What doesn’t belong in these types of systems is open quotes, prospects, sales contacts, etc. What does belong in accounting are sold jobs, AR, AP, payroll, etc. Information should property flow from the front end of your company to the back end (accounting). The other type of software is the front end, which is what the rest of the company needs to be able to access information and contribute to information records. In a perfect world all employees in the company can access this system and contribute in a single place. For example, a job would only exist in one place and the sales, office, and production personnel would go to this same place to access information. 

Let’s take a look at a typical overall roofing contractor workflow. If you were to start at the beginning, through whichever channel you receive an opportunity to look at a building we have a sales opportunity to track. After looking at the building you figure out how you want to proceed. You build a quote of either repairs, restoration, or replacement and go try and sell it. You track these jobs and tasks somehow, then when it sells, you move it to your back-end system so you can build the job folder. If all these pieces could talk, we would gain a whole new level of efficiency as well as control. The challenge with many software is they all don't talk and if they do, it’s often pieced together through multiple roofing contractor software programs. 

Roofing contractor evolution 

Roofing contractors are evolving and so are their business at an unprecedented rate most likely due to social media and access to knowledge. There is great information in peer groups, national/regional groups, and outside training/consulting resources like Service Accelerator, Make Leads Work, Make Service Work, The Roof Academy, etc. As contractors work more on their businesses, they become more aware of what their processes are or what they should be which makes purchasing or implementing software more effective. It’s far more beneficial to look for a software program when you are well aware of your processes and where you want to take your roofing company. We often see roofing contractors looking to evolve their service and repair departments and need to find a solution that helps provide better customer service. 

Too many roofing software programs! 

Roofing contractors are moving in large numbers to Centerpoint Connect for a number of reasons; the biggest reason is that Centerpoint replaces multiple other systems. Centerpoint is a workflow driven front-end software specific to the roofing business and handles roofing CRM, photo management, service management, production management, estimating, timekeeping, and more. Centerpoint is customizable yet out of the box fits most roofing companies with the aim to be one system needed to run a roofing business. Centerpoint Connect comes with pre-defined roofing repair and material libraries which makes it much easier to use from the very beginning. Whether you already know your processes, or want to use our defaults, we are able to successfully onboard contractors of all sizes. Centerpoint also has a great workflow that can connect to your accounting system which connects your front-end software to your back-end software. 

What makes a successful Implementation? 

Implementation of Centerpoint Connect isn’t just about showing contractors how the tools work, it’s about installing the software inside their business at a very specific level. Our goals are to integrate your company with the software to provide you with efficiencies that help your employees, the business, and your customers. A successful implementation is a contractor that is using our roofing CRM, service, and production management all seamlessly and are able to process far greater volumes of work with less resources. As a byproduct we see increased close rates, better information on how to run the business, happier customers, and improvement to the quality of life for all around us. 

Where do we begin? 

The Centerpoint team has collectively 40+ years combined experience on onboarding roofing contractors with roofing software and what we have learned is baked into the implementation plan. We begin with a kickoff call which sets the training plan that specifically meets the needs of your roofing business. Next, we execute the training plan which really caters to the individuals that learn by hands on approach, watching, or reading how to do it. Centerpoint Connect has solved the challenge of implementation by working with you through real life scenarios, getting buy-in from your team, and getting real results. 

With the years of experience in this industry, we also have extensive experience specifically within a roofing company. Centerpoint was built within a roofing contractor’s company that went from 12M annually to 28M in under three years. We took all of those successes and best practices within the industry to put together a product to help hundreds of other roofing contractors. It all starts with an easy-to-use roofing CRM that helps you populate your entire company’s book of business. 

Learn more about Centerpoint Connect Roofing CRM at their website.

Original article source: Centerpoint Connect