BuildIT started just over 10 years ago. Not only have we survived a brutal economic downturn in the construction industry, but we've grown through it. And we've been around long enough to see other software companies come and go.

Anybody can get started in software development, and have a shot at success. But many of those "flash in the pan" companies fold, for reasons we'll outline later, and their customers are left stranded, having to change vendors in mid stream, disrupting their business, and understandably souring their opinion of similar software products and companies.

If you're in "research mode", here are the top 10 red flags to watch out for:

1. Who really is behind the company? Is there adequate and verifiable information on their "contact us" page? Check their domain (www[dot]companyname[dot]com) - if they have an anonymous domain registration, they probably don't want you to know too much about them. They could be an overseas business - without proper support. Think: who are you going to deal with when their servers go offline?

2. Restricted access to an online demo. They probably want to have someone run you through the demo, and follow a script designed to close you, even if the product is not the best fit with your needs. Have you ever sat through a "time share" sales presentation? There's a reason they do it that way, and they do sell !

3. Hidden or no posted pricing on their corporate website. The company wants to get you hooked on the system before they ease you into their pricing scheme. And it could also mean different pricing for different customers.

4. Guarantees - do they offer refunds and a cooling off period?

5. Per job pricing - most consumers understand that this is a bad deal. This model essentally dips into your pocket should you be more successful and get more jobs... the company is charging you more for the same software! Look for pricing models that are more commensurate with usage.

6. Charging for client access or "sub contractor portals" - find systems that have this included in the subscription rate.

7. Does their website smack of platitudes like "#1 construction software", or "best in breed", or "over x thousand customers" - these claims are baseless and cannot be proven.

8. Does their website contain stock photos you see on other websites, pretty girls with headsets, or gentlemen wearing suits and the occasional hard hat, smiling away? That's a dead giveaway to overseas developers trying to make inroads into the North American Market. Are you subscribing to a proven system, or some beta type software being developed offshore on your dollar?

9. Agressive salesmen - they are paid to sell. Not that that's bad, but the old addage remains true - "nobody likes to be sold, but everyone likes to buy". Are you speaking with one of the owners of the company who is ensuring there is a fit with your needs, and their solution? Do you feel pressure to buy even though their solution is not directly in the center of the bulls-eye.  If the system is not a perfect fit with what you're looking for, is the software representative willing to recommend alternative (and competitive) options?

10. Do a quick Google search - does the company show up near or at the top of the organic listings? This is a good indicator that the company is a serious player in the market. If you can't find them, how are they finding you... and will they be around long enough to service you?

For a software company to be successful, you need a few things to survive... and thrive. A real product that provides real value to real people. A system that has been refined, that is coherent, that has simple navigation so new people can get on board quickly and become productive in short order. You need to be found... online, period! And you need to have an organization structure that is supported by solely by sales of your product, not by rounds of investment.

Few software companies make it this far.

When you vote with your dollars, ask the tough questions before signing on the line.

We batched up a number of improvements and released them this past weekend: 

:: All dates and times in your BuildIT account can be customized on the Preferences>Personal>General page.  Over 300 locations were updated to make this improvement.

:: New Calendar popups are more compatible with newer browsers, look better and work better. They support custom all your date formats.

:: Improved Gantt "Power Bar" allows setting a new start date with the calendar popup, setting task duration by number of working days.

:: Sharper graphics on the Gantt bars.

:: Updated Rich Text Editor for emails.

:: Improved speed when closing the send-email window.

:: Improved validation and error messages on a number of dialogs.

:: Fixed an issue where failed faxes were not being set as "read".

:: New features on the Custom Job Info pages.

Too much info to track on your jobs, or want to fill in documents with job info -- talk to BuildIT support today.

If it's important for your business to "get it in writing," then using pre-formatted construction document templates will help you prior to starting the job, during construction, and after the work is done.

With BuildIT's easy-to-use document generator, you'll be able to create and edit a wide range of construction documents from any internet connected computer. These documents will be branded with your letterhead and company logo to build your reputation and professionalism. You'll be in good company as this system has been used on 1000's of project to create 1000's of documents similar to these samples.

click the images above to see editable samples

Here's how it works:

It helps if your jobs are entered into BuildIT, and that your contact database is uploaded. We can help you with this as you're getting started. Job and contact information is entered into BuildIT only once. From there, the system re-uses it again and again where it's needed.

Next, start the BuildIT document generator.

Select a current project, and a contact to whom you want this document addressed to.

The system then auto-completes the construction document; these "forms" are designed such that the right information that already exists in BuildIT goes into the right field.

Finally, save the document to BuildIT, then either print it, fax it, or email it.

There are many advantages to this document system:

• Saves a ton of data entry time.
• Documents can be auto-filled with virtually any information from your company or project.
• Send documents via email and fax with just a few clicks. Track versions of the same document.
• Proprietary construction document templates (and custom letterhead) for your exclusive use can be created by our specialists.
• Make multiple documents in one operation: avoid redundancy and mistakes.
• Ideal for field staff submitting daily job reports.

You can access your construction documents now by starting your free test drive of the BuildIT system. No credit card. No risk. And you get full access to all parts of the system.

By doing so, you'll get 60+ professional construction documents included free of charge. You can use them in BuildIT, or download them to your hard drive. They are yours free whether you subscribe or not.

So start creating professional construction documents today... the easy way.

By popular request, you can now set the sorting of jobs on the Gantt chart.  Go to "Personal Preferences » Schedules/Tasks" and set the dropdown next to: "Gantt View: When showing all jobs, order jobs by:"

There are also a number of performance improvements and minor tweaks to the code.

A new feature for New Years!

• On the Files tab, there is a new option: "Create Zip Archive of Checked".  This creates a ZIP of the checked files.  Useful for downloading or emailing a group of files in one convenient package.
• We've developed and launched some new custom features for specific users - contact us today to find out some of the 'hidden' capabilities of BuildIT or how our development team can streamline your business.

Another light maintenance build:

• On Setup > Personal Preferences > Job List... you can set the 'Default Sort Order'. 
• A number of security enhancements.

A light maintenance build:

• On the "Job List" you can now add one or more contacts to one or more jobs (previously, you could only add contacts to one job at a time). 
• Improved the operation of the Gantt "Power Bar" to adjust tasks -- more features coming!
• A bunch of "under the hood" changes to improve browser compatibility, resolve issues in older browsers.
• Improved refreshes of screens when some dialogs closed.