Every one of the ’push’ technologies has a weakness, Faxes run out of paper, there is no one there to pick up the fax, e-mails get deleted or never delivered with e-mail filters and software issues, phone calls and voicemails aren’t heard and calls aren’t returned… the mail takes days to deliver and time to prepare or copy documents… those aren’t cheap or efficient technologies. We needed a tool that would always be there, always available in a secure environment that we control… not the US Postal Service or my drywall contractor’s cell phone or e-mail service. That’s why I’m an early adopter and big believer in the ‘pull’ technology of BuilderMT’s Trade Portal.

Now, with the power of those models, and the data they contain, coupled with BIM Pipeline’s estimating capabilities, we will be able to process 680 starts with just three people in estimating and purchasing and two in drafting.

I use Builder MT and Timberline estimating for 575 housing starts per year. From cost entry to VPO’s and Purchase Orders, this system has integrated all of our processes into one streamlined process. With 3 divisions in 3 separate states, we have been able to use the same software with all accounting processes being handled at our corporate office. The ROI has been very impressive and I would recommend this software to anyone who wants to streamline processes and reduce overhead costs.

We just wrapped up our training with Mike and we are now officially live. We have a ton more work to do, but we have come a long way in the past 90 days and are excited about the system. I wanted to let you know that Mike has been great. He is well organized and really knows his stuff. His calm demeanor is very helpful when dealing with stressed out students, breaking things down so we can understand it. Mike is a big asset to your organization. Have a great weekend.

BuilderMT Bid Management along with Trade Portal has shortened our bid time by a week on our Production Homes and two weeks on our Semi-Custom Homes. I can literally bid out and entire home in three days, release for construction and have all my costs stored or updated in cost database during the bid process. I no longer have to track down trades to clarify bid items, everything comes to me apples for apples. I accept the trades costs and my budgets are built. And because we are short staffed due to the economy this has really helped us keep our Purchasing Dept. ahead of the game.

At any time, using the integration between Sales Simplicity, BuilderMT, and Sage, we can run a real-time gross profit number for any start and really get an idea of where we are on the job’s progress.

With over 25 years in the building industry and over half of that devoted to streamlining purchasing departments processes and procedures, BuilderMT is the best system in our industry. So much so, that when I started Builder Purchasing Services, it was the system I chose along with Timberline accounting. Its integration with Timberline has been a blessing for our builder clients that have Timberline accounting. We are able to integrate our information out of BuilderMT directly with their accounting system. It’s like they have a full service purchasing department in house without the cost of personnel or systems to do so. If they don’t have Timberline accounting, we are able to provide real time job cost management for them through our integrated systems. BuilderMT has an online VPO process that my clients can access from the field and directly integrate into BuilderMT. By utilizing this process, our builders never have their trades working without a purchase order and since it integrates into BuilderMT, the VPO’s are reflected into their budget upon submittal. This process eliminates surprises from Trades turning in invoices at a later date.I have used and/or looked into all of the systems mentioned in this discussion, but ultimately went with BuilderMT to run my company.

We can now generate reports specific to customers and properties without having to sift through countless reports manually. We can handle requests in a more streamlined fashion – and our customers are happier.

I am fast to let folks know when I am less than pleased. Let me be just as fast to says a special thanks to Donna for answering her cell phone on Saturday and getting me connected with BMT support after our server hard drive went out and we completed the replacement. Top notch customer service.

Thank you so much for the rapid response. Your product continues to provide us an operational advantge over our competitors in this difficult market.

Our variance purchase orders have dropped dramatically. Last month they were below 2%. Thing is, our goal was 3%.

There were features and functions in BuilderMT’sWMS that we simply weren’t aware of, and once we got them activated-which didn’t take more than a week of work- we have dramatically more efficient operations. In fact, we are in a position to grow the company without adding any back-office staff.

I wanted to drop you a note and let you know how much I like the Phase Release and Supplier Contract parts of the BuilderMT WMS Purchasing Module. In this time of short staff, this has been a godsend. I am currently the only person in the Metropolitan Homes, purchasing department and must handle all responsibilities from bidding, negotiating, contracting, issuing and approving PO’s. We are in the process of actually starting a new community, and I was a little afraid of not having the time to bid the project, contract the Vendors, create the price data base, and issue PO’s quickly enough to fit our start schedule. The Phase Release and Supplier Contract has allowed me to enter my accepted bids, print a custom created Pricing Addendum form for my Vendor Contract, which automatically creates my cost data base, and allows me to send PO’s the same day! I’m no longer retyping bid numbers for contract documents, which has saved me so much time and aggravation. I don’t have to go through the creation of all of the estimates to pull and shove prices in and out. The process is clean and simple and I love it.

At our end we have been experiencing a severe drop in customer service as support teams were slashed, and attitudes got dark. I wanted to make sure that I let you know that Kimbra Slusser remains an exceptional and pleasant to deal with person on all levels. She responds and acts quickly, consistently maintaining a helpful and positive attitude. Sharon just sent me an email that Kimbra gets an A++ for quickly resolving something she encountered this morning. It made me pretty darn happy to know we suffered little down time.

Previous manual method is that we would print plans and submit to trade. We would give them 3 days to get pricing back to us. Then about 1-2 day time frame to get pricing into the system. With the Bid Management program, it takes me only 20 minutes initially to set up a bid, attach documents to them publish to the bid. Our trades are required to get the bid back within 48 hours. If we accept their bid then it only take seconds to upload pricing. Factoring in all resources used, I would say about $2400 per bid in savings! And, it only took about 20 minutes to teach ourselves how to use the software. Because of our extensive use of the Trade Portal we require that all our trade partners have internet access. The people that have received bid requests have all responded positively. This saves them time and money also. We attach our plan documents in a dwf file and this way they don’t have to print plans either.

I wanted to take a minute to tell you what a great support staff you have. Too many times all we hear is criticism; not enough people take the time to praise. Over the past couple of days I have worked with Rita and Kim in support. Their knowledge and patience is truly unparalleled. They took the time to answer my questions and solve my problems. I just thought you should know (I’m sure you do already) what terrific women you have on your team.