Plug It In - FOCUS: Computer Technology

A task like this can be overwhelming and time consuming, particularly when the software bought to help tally and track these numbers is crashing company computers every few hours, pointed out David Adams, job costing analyst, Hittle Landscaping, Westfield, Ind.

"We were working with a software program that was unstable," Adams said. "We couldn’t get it to operate properly and the customer service was terrible. So, we were still doing most of our proposals on Excel spreadsheets. Excel will do anything you want it to do, but you have to have the time and energy to put it together. To get actuals from crews, compare those against what was estimated and come up with profits and losses on Excel - it’s impractical."

Hittle Landscaping was searching for industry-specific software that could track financials, workforce effectiveness and job profitability, and was easy to use and integrate into the company. "And we didn’t want to have to incorporate and maintain an IS department to do it," Adams said.

Hittle Landscaping isn’t the only company in the green industry experiencing these problems. Many contractors don’t know how to properly choose and incorporate software into their companies. Paying for inexpensive software programs that go unused, purchasing the wrong software and suffering from improper integration of software can be avoided. To do so, contractors must know their business needs and properly match them to the right software.

SOFTWARE & YOUR BUSINESS. By tracking the right information the right way, contractors can pay attention to profit without taking time away from the business of running their operations, stressed David Tucker, president, CLIP - Sensible Software, Ijamsville, Md.

"We have seen companies go from minimum or no profit to huge profits based on the fact that they started learning where their money was coming from," Tucker said. "Since profit is the difference between income and expenses, it makes sense that controlling both of these is what will produce profit."

Company owners who track the back and forth flow of money can reap huge profit rewards. "For instance, if a contractor has 10 production employees and they work 45 hours per week and work 40 weeks per year, his total available labor hours are 10 times 45 times 40, or 18,000 man-hours," Tucker explained. "The average contractor will have some customers who will be above the average dollars per man-hour figure and some below the average dollars per man-hour. If that contractor increased his average man-hour rate by just $1, he would still see an increase in profit of $18,000 for that year. This is just because he paid attention to how much each customer was producing per hour."

While this is invaluable information, a landscape contractor would question whether the math was worth doing by hand, Tucker said.

The scenario is the same for job costing. "Knowing exactly how much money was spent on labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment and other miscellaneous costs and then balancing that against the price to the customer and properly assigning overhead costs to the various categories in a construction job is the name of the game," Tucker said.

Because many landscape contractors aren’t mathematical wizards or don’t have a lot of extra time to spend adding and subtracting these figures, integrating software may be the next logical step for a growing company.

SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP. After experiencing problems with one type of software, Hittle Landscaping wasn’t about to jump into another program without careful research. "We collected some test CD demos of programs to experiment with first," Adams said. "When we found a few we liked, we started calling some of the other users of the program to find out how they use it and like it."

As a result of the time spent carefully checking out the options, Adams said the company found a perfect program match and is currently at the beginning of the software integration process, which it also is taking slowly.

"We are going to generate invoices in the accounting package for one month to see how it goes and make sure the numbers come out right," Adams said. "We’re going to run it in dummy form right now and see how it works. Then we’ll integrate and link up the software to our system. It will probably take us a good four to six months to get things going."

Although once bitten, twice shy pushed the company into being extra cautious about its second major software purchase, the few short steps the company owners took before buying their new program and integrating it could provide many years of satisfaction instead of frustration.

"Much like any other smart investment, shopping around is extremely important," said Ryan Sutton, marketing manager, drafix.com, Kansas City, Mo. "A red flag for me is when a customer will call in to purchase our software and they don’t even know what it is they are buying. Many times this person is looking for the same benefits their competition is getting with our technology. While one type of software may work for some companies, it doesn’t work for all of them. It’s important to take the time to understand what it is that you expect from the software, then learn the software completely and let it work for you from there. If you expect time travel, it’s going to take more than just purchasing some software to satisfy your needs."

Contractors should figure out their needs first before grabbing their checkbooks and heading out to the store. "Once needs are identified, it is much easier for contractors to focus on products that will fulfill those needs," Sutton said.

Samuel Fava, management/landscape designer, TLC Landscaping, Staten Island, N.Y., whose company recently installed a new software program, suggested contractors first devise lists detailing their needs and expectations and then shop around and test out different programs along the way. "And always get a program that will leave room for growth and expansion," he said.

Since the goal when dealing with computers is to work smarter, not harder, Adams suggested contractors look for software that is easy to use. "Some software programs, even though they are robust programs, will be harder to use," he said. "All the complexity of the program should be behind the scenes so you can manage your crews in the field and not waste time figuring out what’s going on with your business. Decent software should take you from point A to point B in a logical and chronological progression."Since full-service landscape companies tend to use software for accounting purposes, landscape design and fleet or inventory tracking, looking for a package or company open to interface integration also is important, pointed out Amin Mufti, vice president, advanced customer solutions group, @Road, Fremont, Calif. "Look for open platforms," Mufti said. "Some software companies want to do everything themselves and sometimes that isn’t possible. Look for a company that is willing to work with a third party in the future to interface other software applications with theirs and to support your changing business needs."

The only way to find out if software programs are easy to learn and use is to try them out, which means doing research and shopping around. "Be flexible," Sutton suggested. "With an open-minded attitude, any proven technology can be learned."

And since business success, i.e. profits, can be the result of an effective software program, cost shouldn’t be contractors’ decision-making factor. "This is not a place to save money and get the cheapest program you can," Tucker said. "You will be committed to this software for the long haul and it is important that it fit your company. Software is like shoes. If they hurt, you will be miserable, but if they fit well, you will be happy."

LOOK AT THE COMPANY. Turned on to a new software program by a friend who had some software knowledge, Fava said so far he hasn’t had any problems with his new program. "It came with a sample company so we could practice, and it was a landscape company, which helped," he said. "Otherwise, it was rather simple after setting up all the details and customizing it to fit our company better. Plus, they have a great technical support group."

Researching the software company also isn’t a bad idea. "You need to choose a good supplier that will be with you for years to come," Tucker said. "Sometimes it’s better to do a lot more evaluation of the software company itself and then talk to its current users and compare features."

Tucker said the three basic functions of software companies and their programs contractors should consider are stability, depth and features. While depth and features can be reviewed by talking with other software users, stability is determined by interviewing the software supplier. Some questions that show stability include:

• How many people use the software? If it’s less than 500 users, contractors should be asking a lot of questions.



• How many years has the company been in business? A company that has been around for more than two years has a system that sustains them.



• Does the company do any marketing? If a company is spending money on marketing, it is a good sign that they are serious about sustainability.



• Is the company involved in your industry? A good software company will realize that being involved in the industry and contributing to it means greater success for that company.



• Is the company easy to access? Are there ways to communicate with the company and its other customers?



• Does the company share your business’ core values?

While no software program can eliminate labor problems or all the stresses of running a landscape company, it’s a start toward organizing some highly complicated business areas. "No software is bulletproof," Adams pointed out, "But you can find one that works."