Sometimes the use of technology to run our daily life is overrated. Much of what you do with this or that app could easily be done with a paper and pencil. Yet, as awesome as papers and pencils are, software often gives you more opportunities to set up centralized databases that everyone in the office can share. Rather than putting everything into a book that people must physically go to, to reference, set up software that people can access remotely. This is especially important for companies where workers are often offsite, such as roofing.
Harder to Lose, Easier to Back Up
Computer files are notoriously easy to mess up; that's why you have backups and that wonderful "undo" option. Yet with paper, if you lose a page, you've lost the page. And while you can copy paper notes and files, that takes time to copy each page -- and if you have a page with information that needs to be updated, you have to redo all your backup copies for that page as well. With computer files, you hit "save" and "duplicate."
Software for roofing contractors can cover everything from tracking bids to tracking who has which equipment at what job. That is valuable information that you need to keep updated and backed up daily. You can't afford to have this day-to-day information lost. Paper copies are still very helpful as those don't require electricity or a working laptop battery to see. But try to make your daily backups all software, with paper backups created on an occasional basis and for crucial information.
One Central Place for Everyone to Check In
Another advantage to software for tracking roofing contractor information is that the software can place the data in a shared database. Workers in the field can access the database through tablets and smartphones; workers in offices in other locations can have access to it as well, even if the main server is in your office.
This centralized access is perfect for jobs where updates might come in from several people. You wouldn't have to wait for everyone to head back to the main office to input information; instead, it would come in real time, allowing you to see how all the jobs were progressing.
All that said, software still needs to be customizable enough to fit your needs. Start checking out different roofing contractor software options to find one that will help you increase business and efficiency.
