Tablets are back – and this time, they’re not made of stone. Every so often I see an article listing devices that future generations will never know about, such as VCRs and record players. With the invention of the tablet computer, some tech experts are predicting the inevitable end of the personal computer. Whether or not you plan to do away with your PC and adopt a tablet-only way of life, one thing is certain: software must adapt to the new environment.

A Lesson from the Music Industry

It may not seem obvious as to why business software needs to change with the adoption of new hardware, but if we look at the music industry, the answer is clear. Not all that long ago, people used CD players to listen to their music. A selling point for cars was the number of discs the CD player in the car could hold. Then the iPod and other MP3 players came long, and with them, a whole new way to access music. No longer do you have to purchase a CD in order to listen to music; you can now purchase it and access it from multiple devices wherever you can connect to the Internet.

Simplifying the Complex

The software industry is currently going through a fundamental change like this, as developers try to adapt their software to the new hardware trends and the growing acceptance of web-based applications. Their success depends on whether their applications can be adapted for use via web-browser and how well their applications can be translated to non-PC devices.

I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that cloud computing isn’t really cloud computing if the software is just being accessed from a remote computer. This virtualization model just gives you the PC environment on a tablet computer, rather than optimizing the software for the tablet environment. In order to create tablet-ready software, developers must more than likely redesign their user interfaces to be simplistic without losing functionality, which is no easy feat!

No Waiting Around

Discussions about tablet computing often come up in the construction industry groups and forums that I belong to. Usually people are wondering if and how others are using tablet computers in the field, as well as the benefits of using tablets. I’ve even read of contractors creating their own applications to fit their business. While not every contractor has the resources to create their own “app,” the need for construction applications is present, and demand is growing. Current software providers can jump on the bandwagon, or risk losing out to new developers, or perhaps even these specialty apps created by contractors.

Do you use tablets in your office or on the jobsite? What are the pros/cons?

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Mid-January is a time of reflection for many contractors.  They’re starting a fresh new year, and wrapping up their year-end which is a task in itself:

• Preparing W2s & 1099s
• Creating year-end financial reports
• Closing your general ledger
• Rushing to get that last payroll out in December because you are unable to work between two fiscal years
• Looking at Over/Under Billing and posting the adjustment to the year-end financials
• Preparing Sales & Use tax reports for sales tax authorities
• Querying different type of jobs in job costing to look at profitability by type

If you have had trouble with any of these items in past year-ends, ask yourself, “Am I willing to go through that again next year?”

If the answer is no, then now may be the time to start looking into new tools and software programs that can make your job—and your life—easier.  There are plenty of construction-specific accounting packages that work the way construction does and can efficiently prepare W2s and 1099s and year-end financial reports.  Some systems are even date-sensitive and allow you process payroll over different periods, and even years, so you don’t have to rush to get that last payroll done.

What I’m getting at is this—year-end doesn’t have to be this painful.  Do some research and check out some of the resources, tools, and software programs available to you.  It can make your next year-end, your job, and your life easier.

Happy New Year!

As you know, I’ve been reading Steve Jobs’ biography.  I think there are some pretty good lessons in there, particularly for the start of a new year.  While I was reading, I came across Jobs’ explanation for why he wore a black mock turtleneck and a pair of blue jeans almost every single day:  because it was one less decision that he had to make.

Photo via Farhad Manjoo on www.fastcompany.com: Clay McLachlan/Reuters ('98); Getty Images ('99); Gabe Palacio/Getty Images ('01); Justin Sullivan/Getty Images ('04, '05); Peer Grimm/dpa/Landov ('07); Paul Sakuma/AP Images ('08); Robert Galbraith/Reuters/Corbis ('09); AFP/Getty Images ('10)

Now I’m not telling you that you should wear the exact same thing every day for the rest of your life, but why not make your life easier by minimizing the amount of decisions you have to make?  As a construction business owner, you put a lot of time and effort into making critical decisions.  Additionally you sometimes get drawn into trivial matters that should really be handled by others in the company.  To get to the point, you have to simplify by getting two things in place:  people and processes.

First, get the right people in place.  This is easier said than done, and comes in two parts.  Invest the time in finding people with the aptitude to do the job, and the right attitude to fit into your company.  The second part means getting rid of people who do not fit these requirements.  As hard as that may be, having the right people in place will increase simplification.

Second, get your processes in order.  Create a plan that makes sense.  In the mid 1990’s when my company was growing, I hired a president.  As fortune would have it, this person was an incredibly good manager and truly organized our daily processes.  This created new opportunities for the business and for our vision because I was able to focus on the big picture.

Getting people and processes in place is like Jobs’ wearing the same basic outfit—it eliminates minor decisions and troubleshooting so that you can focus on bigger decisions, ideas, and growing your business.

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Steve Jobs was no doubt a great businessman with many valuable lessons to teach.  In his commencement speech to Stanford University graduates in 2005, he references The Whole Earth Catalog from the mid-1970’s:

On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “‘Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.’  It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry.  Stay Foolish.  My take on this idea is very simple:

Stay Hungry. As a business owner, you can never be satisfied. Even if sales are booming and you’re doing better than you ever have before, you can never be satisfied.  You must maintain a hunger to be better, to keep moving forward, and to grow your business.  In order for your business to survive and thrive, you must maintain that hunger.  Because as soon as you’re satisfied, you become too comfortable and stop evolving.

Stay Foolish. This leads right into what it means to stay foolish.  In running a business, there must always be a certain amount of risk that you’re willing to take.  Risk is healthy; it keeps things fresh and gives you the opportunity to evolve.  Take marketing for example.  I  took a risk in 2005 and dressed up as Superman for a marketing campaign.  It could have been a horrible flop, but almost seven years later, people still remember it and bring it up at conferences and tradeshows.  Or you could take a risk in offering a new product.  In 2006, we started our sister company Payroll4Construction.com as one of the few, if not the only, national payroll services just for construction.  At the time, we weren’t sure what was going to happen, but it ended up being a great risk to take, and the company is growing every day.

Never settle and take some measured risks.  You’ll be surprised what it does for your business.  Stay Hungry.  Stay Foolish.

Last week, I talked about Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, and the common characteristics of great companies.  I’ve listed them below so you can have them in front of you again:

1. “Level 5” leadership at the top
2. First people, then processes
3. Confronting the brutal facts of your business and industry
4. Do only what you can be the best at doing
5. Maintain a culture of discipline
6. 6. Leverage technology to enhance what you already do well
7. Generate momentum that accelerates your growth over time

Last week, I focused on what it means to do only what you can be the best at doing.  Today, I want to talk about #6—“Leveraging technology to enhance what you already do well.”

We live in a technological world, so much so that if business owners don’t embrace technology, they may be doing themselves a disservice.  Many contractors go into business because they’re great at what they do.

I know a successful excavating contractor that took over his father’s grave digging business when he was younger.  This is a true story—his father refused to use anything but shovels and picks to dig the graves, but once the son took over, he purchased a backhoe.  Sure, there was a learning curve, but taking the time to learn how to use the backhoe (the current technology) made him substantially more productive.  In fact, he turned his father’s small grave-digging business into a large union excavation business.

This young man took the time to think about what would ensure the long-term success of his business.  Leveraging technology is not limited to heavy equipment, though.  There is wonderful technology available for the field and for back office operations.  Take some time and look at what you could be doing better, then see if there are any technologies that could help you enhance what you already do well.

When I moved into my new home, I made all the calls to ensure that my utilities were on prior to my move-in date.  When I tried to get my internet service working, it took me days and lots of phone calls, automated loops, etc. to get it running.  It was absolutely frustrating!

The point is that when dealing with a service or purchasing software, it’s important to have a Support department you can rely on.  Usually the first department you talk to when dealing with a new company is Sales.  Evaluate their competency and knowledge level. Do they know the software inside and out?  Have they ever worked in support? Do they understand your industry and how you will use the software?  You can also talk to existing customers about their experiences and trade groups or associations that the company is connected with.  Here are a few other things to consider:

• When calling, are you greeted by a live receptionist, or funneled into a voicemail loop?  (While not absolutely necessary, it sure is a nice touch to deal with a real person.)
• Where is the support department located?  Are they direct employees of the company?
• How are the company’s support reps trained?
• What is the average tenure of the group?  A longer time in a support position equals knowledge and indicates that the company knows how to treat its employees.
• Are there resources like eletters, tips, fax solutions, etc. that clients have access to?
• Does the company have an area dedicated exclusively for clients on their website?
• Are there multiple methods to contact Support, like phone, fax, email, and web?

The best Support offers multiple means of communication, timely responses, and thorough information.  You deserve a great support system, so make sure you do your research when looking into new construction accounting software, or any software for that matter!

Who is Running the Asylum at Foundation Software?

The answer is NONE and ALL.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. At Foundation Software, we try to avoid inmate takeovers by first assigning a lead analyst to oversee design for each project. We then provide a design methodology to follow. This methodology can be best described using an acronym I coined called ROPE. ROPE stands for Research, Organize, Plan, and Execute.

1. Research to gather information. This phase consists of consultation with Customers, Sales, Client Services, Quality Control, Programming and Management. Internet research, reading and analysis of our competition all come into play. Design considerations are not relevant at this stage.
2. Organize the research. Our lead analyst organizes information into logical components and processes. This may involve continued consultations with those people previously interviewed. Features are prioritized as well as added and eliminated based on the benefits they will provide to the end user.
3. Plan. The planning phase begins when our analyst designs the application from the user’s perspective. Usability and the correct application of features and benefits dominate the process. Depending on the nature of the application, there may be one or more review meetings for clarifications and revisions.
   
4. Execute. Finally, the programmers that do the actual coding will receive the final specifications document. They will study the document and then meet with the analyst to thoroughly review all aspects of the specifications. Concerns, questions, and suggestions will be made. There may be fine-tuning at this point, and then programming begins.

Although the entire design process is time consuming and intense, it has three major benefits. First, it results in an application that specifically addresses the users’ wants and needs and does it in an extremely efficient manner. Second, it reduces the overall time it takes to release the application to the market. Finally, it stands the test of time.

Well-designed software provides a more powerful solution. It also allows itself to be continually enhanced while remaining clean, efficient, and powerful. The inmates may not like this, but our construction clients sure do!

Using spreadsheets in construction is a lot like a gravedigger using a shovel. It gets the job done, and it’s a useful tool, but it takes a lot of time. Especially if your company grows, and there’s a lot more, well, digging to do. Chances are that a shovel is just not going to cut it, and you may need to invest in a backhoe.

I know a lot of construction business owners (especially contractors who have grown their small businesses into medium-sized companies) who were once “digging graves with a shovel.” Their reliance on spreadsheets for financial data and reporting morphed into a complex, inefficient mess.

Despite the wonder and awe that spreadsheet users feel about their worksheet creations, these applications (gasp) might not be (horror) the best tool for up-to-date, accurate information, or flexible reporting capabilities.

Sure. We all love how quickly spreadsheets perform calculations. And how great they are for ad hoc queries, and what-if scenarios. But should you rely on spreadsheets for accounting and jobs analysis?
“Dig out” that data with software alternatives.

Today, new software applications – in job cost accounting, project management, estimating, etc. – give you the horsepower needed to handle large amounts of data. They do it faster and with greater security than spreadsheets. And costs for construction-specific systems are relatively inexpensive (especially when you factor in improved productivity and efficiency).

Most importantly, construction-specific technologies provide what spreadsheets can’t. They offer unlimited reporting capabilities, better analysis and quick consolidation/integration of data.

In general, the larger the size of your data (i.e. your increasing payroll, jobs, inventory, equipment, etc.), the more likely it is that you have outgrown what spreadsheets can provide. More likely your needs will be better met by mid-level construction-specific software.

How do you spot spreadsheet trouble?

Here are a few signs of overdependence on spreadsheets:
· Staffers spend more time on the manual process of building and maintaining spreadsheets than they do analyzing the actual figures.
· It’s impossible to get specific real-time information on the fly.
· There is no centralized source of data.
· Accuracy of the data is always in question.

Once you’ve identified your spreading spreadsheets, it’s time to do what all smart gravediggers do: Rev up that backhoe! In construction, your construction-specific accounting software is often the most efficient tool you can use.

26 years old. Well on our way to 27! It seems like just yesterday that Foundation Software was newly incorporated. Since then, I have turned over the daily operations to a younger generation lead by Mike Ode, that can keep up with the demands of a burgeoning company. Which means that I’ve accomplished my one of my many goals: I am no longer needed on a day-to-day basis. Foundation gained its own identity, and we have the right people in place for the right jobs. It’s like finally being able to sit back and watch your child learn to navigate the world.

Once in awhile, I’ll close my office door, sit back with a cup of coffee and compare the Foundation Software of today with a snapshot of the company several years prior. Financial statements, marketing literature, people, management, processes, clients, partnership, and the software itself are all pictures of what my “child” looked like when it was younger.

I do this exercise because I am a proud “parent,” and because I can casually view our progress from a long-term perspective. It has always been a primary goal of mine to create a business that will continue to improve and stand the test of time when I am no longer here to guide it, and I’ve succeeded. Without exception, my periodic paging through the FSI scrapbook verifies that we are on track.

My favorite time period for comparison purposes is 3 years, but this is a “soft” number, and depending on the nature of your company, philosophy, and the economy, it may change. However long, it should allow you to look at long and short-term trends. The last two years have been very rough on the construction industry, so it helps to give yourself enough time to look at how you weathered the storm. Did you successfully set the stage for the future?

I encourage all construction business owners to do the same. Look back on where you were a few years prior, and really give yourself a chance to look at how far you’ve come and where you’re going.

Sure, mistakes have been made along the way. It’s naïve to think that growth can be achieved without hitting a few obstacles. But Foundation’s mission is clear: “When better is possible, good is not enough.” The challenge ahead is to make that leap from “Good-To-Great.”

Parents always dream of what their children will do, and I am no different. I dream about Foundation, and I make plans for its future. That’s not to say that they always turn out the way I plan. But based on our obsession for continuous improvement, I am optimistic that the snapshot in 2011 will show an even stronger, more powerful, and dominant force in our industry.

I can’t wait to see what a 30-year-old Foundation Software will do!