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.

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.

We've added a few new features today from user feedback:

• On Setup > Personal Preferences > Job List, you can now display the Job Address on the Job List.
• You can now choose to ignore holidays when scheduling tasks.  This change can be made on Setup > Company Preferences > Job Scheduling. If you change this preference, the working days on all your tasks will be automatically recalculated.
• If you change the working days on a job, on the Dashboard > Job Info page, the working days on all tasks for the selected job will be automatically recalculated.
• Tax rates on the Job Costs page are now set on the Setup > Company Preferences > General page.
• The Setup > Company Preferences pages has been reorganized to match the tab order.
• Under Contacts > Company Specific, we've made available some new categories: employees, sub-contractors, and vendors.

(Article reprinted with permission by Jim Beadman)

A construction project could turn into a giant headache without the proper organization. The project could run late, the work could be unsatisfactory, and money could potentially be lost. Computers have proven to be great tools for organizing work and the right software can have a striking effect on any business. Organization can make or break a construction business, and it often does. Therefore, it really pays to invest in project management software.

In order to see how such software can help a construction business thrive, it helps to start at the beginning. A business that uses a good software application will be able to keep track of previous estimates and have them handy at all times. No more fumbling through a messy cabinet full of old documents. At the same time, a potential customer is much more likely to trust the services of a construction business that is organized and has the appearance of being so. This is exactly what project management software can offer even before a project commences. When a potential customer is handed a fully computer-generated estimate, construction schedule or rich text construction document (well worded contract, for instance) in a timely fashion, they will be impressed, especially if other companies they're considering didn't go through the trouble of doing that.

Once a customer decides on a business that appears to be organized, it will be up to the business to actually be organized. Project management software is just the tool to meet that goal. Once all projects are entered into the system, there will be no more surprises. The business will know exactly which project are coming up and which need to be given priority. Knowing, in this case, is more than half the battle. It greatly benefits construction to be able to see the bigger picture at a glance.

Such software also connects the individual contractors involved in the job, most of the time through email, fax, or both. When a project is large enough, there may be a great many people to keep in touch with. It can be expensive to have staff whose sole purpose is to keep people notified of their duties. Not only that, it can be prone to human error. The appropriate project management software on the other hand can inform the individuals of their upcoming jobs automatically and reliably via email and fax. The contractors involved in the project may even be able to use the software themselves to contact  management and to see what jobs they have coming up.

As touched on earlier, such management software can also act as a central repository of important documents. It could be especially useful if it can be accessed through the internet. A contractor or client may need to peruse an important document to refresh their memory about certain important details. They could go through the trouble of heading over to the management's office or they can try asking the construction company to take time out of their busy schedule to fax it over. Time and money can be saved by letting the client have access to these important documents through the project management software and the internet.

Ultimately, a construction business is actually at a disadvantage if they don't use all of the available resources at their disposal. If a construction business wants to succeed, they'll make scheduling and project management software a part of their daily operations.

About the Author:

Jim Beadman is the Managing Director of Construction Chemicals UK Ltd, who are experts in their field – from basement conversions for the serious renovator to DIY timber treatment products for protecting your home from insects and mold. With depots around the UK and an in-house chemistry specialist, they are the ideal partners for anyone wishing to undertake a renovation project, amateur or professional. When Jim isn’t working full-time helping people to transform their homes, he uses his experience to create articles which can be found around the Internet and organizes charity events from his home in Leicestershire, UK.