Do you still rely on intricate spreadsheets to track projects? Is your desk full of sticky notes and to-do lists? Are you ready to hire an administrative assistant just to help with those COI request emails you never seem to have time to send?
If so, it’s time to learn about automation in the construction industry. Many of the day-to-day, back-office processes can be automated thanks to machine learning and AI. Automation frees up your time and improves task accuracy, which in turn improves owner and subcontractor satisfaction, increases your own productivity, and affects your bottom line.
Discover 7 construction management processes you can automate with software like Constrafor.
1. Contract Management
Contract management in the construction industry isn’t just about staying organized, but also about protecting yourself and your subcontractors from potential liability.
For example, specific clauses in the owner contract must be repeated in the subcontractor contracts and purchase orders. Identifying the relevant clauses and preparing accurate contracts can take time.
Software that relies on AI and machine learning can speed up the process and maintain accuracy by helping you identify and transfer appropriate clauses from one contract to the next. This allows you to scale up the project with ease.
2. Integrated Invoice Management
If you manage invoices on a separate platform, maintain work orders on another, and use a third system for accounting, mistakes are bound to occur. Instead, automate invoice management with software that cross-references data for accuracy, alerts you of outstanding invoices, and generates spending reports.
You’ll have more time to focus on budgets and owner satisfaction when you’re not logging in and out of half a dozen finance platforms to manage invoices.
3. Payment Automation
Digitally sending and receiving payments lets you maintain uninterrupted cash flow for you and your subcontractors, but some platforms go a step further and offer payment automation. This doesn’t necessarily mean payments are automatically issued without approval, but that you don’t need to re-enter the same information over and over again. You can also protect your investments by automating payment holds if a compliance issue is detected.
4. COI Collection
Certificates of insurance (COIs) protect you, the project owner, and the subcontractors themselves. But collecting them from subcontractors can be tedious. With the right software, you can automatically request COIs and send collection reminders. Once you receive a COI, the platform stores it and keeps it within easy reach. Never waste time hunting through Google Drive folders again.
5. COI Renewal Tracking
An expired COI is just as bad as no COI at all, but it’s easy to overlook these expiration dates when you track them manually. Automate COI renewal with COI management software that sends you notifications about COIs that expire soon and lets you request a new one with a single click. The best construction management software will also automatically hold payments if a COI has expired.
6. Diversity Quota Management
If you have a contract with the federal government, you need to track diversity data. Collecting this information with handmade surveys can feel clunky. Tracking diversity data with spreadsheets is also inefficient and vulnerable to errors if someone hits the wrong key or doesn’t understand how to properly sort columns, etc.
Software that automatically collects, stores, and sorts diversity data improves accuracy and saves you time during the subcontractor procurement process.
7. Subcontractor Management
One of the tricky aspects of general contracting is coordinating with all the subcontractors, making sure all parties have the necessary documents, and communicating in a timely fashion. The best construction management software should feature a login portal for each subcontractor so that true collaboration can take place.
Subcontractors can send and manage their own invoices and payments, upload COIs, view contracts, and more from their own account, which prevents information from being lost in an email inbox.
Improving Back-Office Efficiency with Constrafor
With Constrafor, all of the above — and more — is possible. Constrafor emphasizes an integrated and automated approach to streamline processes and simplify back-office tasks. Create document templates, automate signatures, pre-fill forms, track document changes, connect with subcontractors, improve subcontractor diversity, and much more from any device.
Thanks to Constrafor’s portals for subcontractors and project owners, you’ll create a professional and competitive image for your brand.
Automated construction management is the way forward. Are you being left behind? Demo Constrafor today.
