The comment we hear the most often from Master Builder customers is “my company is only using 10% of Sage Master Builder”. The customer bought MB because they wanted to get great job reports, or subcontract management, or estimating/scheduling, but the end result is the customer is only using MB’s accounting features. The implementation of the accounting portion took long enough and was hard enough that no one had the time or will to go further. So basically, MB is being used as a glorified version of QuickBooks, and the company personnel know that even the accounting functions are not being used to their full extent.

There is a solution. In a short period of time, for a reasonable price, Mission Development can help your company customize and learn to use a much larger amount of the program. There are 1,200 reports included in MB. But over half of them require using a few simple setup options. If your company can consistently use these setup options, another 30-40% of the program is available to you. Mission Development will also help your staff learn to customize the program, including reports and data entry screens. Why hire consultants to do this when at least one person on your staff is totally capable of learning a dozen features which will double or triple the usefulness of MB?

Please contact us for more information.

It’s no secret that you have to know your trade (or if you’re a general contractor, all of the trades) to be successful.  No need to state the obvious or dwell on it.
But these days, there are essential ingredients for success in construction:

Communication

You have to communicate with:
-    Your customers
-    Your vendors
-    Your employees
-    Other contractors

If you’re not constantly communicating the right information to all of the above, your business will slow down when it needs to keep growing.  It sounds like a lot, and it is, but if you choose the right time of day to call, e-mail, IM, etc., to the right person, the chances you will be successful at asking the right question or getting the right answer increase.
Obviously, other contractors and most of your vendors (including subcontractors) are available earlier in the day.  Your employees are available at known times.  And the customers can be called a little later unless you know otherwise.
It’s easy to overlook the necessary communication with your employees.  But you can learn a lot about your customers and vendors from them if you ask.

Organization

Maybe the hardest thing for contractors to learn is good organization.  It’s not necessary when you’re coming up as someone else’s employee.  Make the time to get organized and stay organized.  It will improve all parts of your business if you know where everything is and how to reach it.  Appointments and finances are key to this area.

Consistency

One of the things you value most in an employee is consistency.  And it works in every direction.  Between you and your customers, between you and your vendors and between you and your employees.  It may seem like a burden or a chore to “be predictable”, but the hidden rewards are there.  When people know they can reasonably count on you to pick up the phone, answer an e-mail, show up on time to an appointment, be in the office for a period of time every weekday, they are more tuned in to your needs. Read more »