Nope, sorry.                                      

It's a question that pops up from time to time. And it sounds cool. But, do you really want what you think you'll be getting?

Two separate software companies, two separate design teams, two separate histories... and an often rickety bridge to connect the two!?

For construction software, here's the formula:

Integration = pain x frustration²

(Where "pain" is the effort you go through to figure it out, and "frustration" is that feeling you get when you slam your fist on the keyboard when it doesn't work) 

While it sounds good in theory, I'm reminded of an analogy: can your Porsche integrate with my Tractor? You're talking two different vehicles, or in the case of software, two different and distinct applications.

Keep the Tractor on the Farm, let the Porsche loose on the Super Highway (work with me on this !).

The fact is, you have one system that is primarily "back office" - your accounting system. And for most folks in the construction industry, that would be Quickbooks Contractor Edition. Accounting, payroll, some pretty sensitive information on your clients, your cashflow, etc. Do you really want that information floating through the Net !?

BuildIT recognized years ago there was a gap. Accounting software was nailed for the most part. And show me a contractor that doesn't use a spreadsheet to create estimates and manage budgets ~ most do. What about the part where tasks need to be managed, and information shared? What about the "slippery items" in your business, that if not dealt with, cost time, money and major aggravation? The gap was filled by a system to help schedule, manage information, (including spreadsheets) and augment backoffice systems already in place like your accounting software.

BuildIT fills that gap.

Your bookkeeper stays happy ~ he/she likes Quickbooks or Simple or Peachtree, what have you, and they aren't too keen on learning something new written by contractors taking a shot at the world of accounting.

You stay happy, because you spent a bunch of hours creating some nifty spreadsheets that work ~ you just need a better way to share them with your team, manage them, track changes, and store them on a job by job basis.

The gap is filled. Put away the whiteboard or legal pad, start scheduling the easy way.

And leave the "integration" thing for those with way more time on their hands.

Reminds me of a time when a friend attempted to "sync" his Salesforce.com contacts with his Outlook and then onto his Blackberry. He ended up deleting all his contacts by accident in the process. Thank heavens for Salesforce.com's "undelete" function. I was called in to save the day. After trying to follow the instructions, I realized why I had avoided making IT a profession, and appreciated BuildIT all the more.

We don't integrate, and life is easier for everyone involved. But we can import data for you (your schedules, contacts, job list) and you can export data from BuildIT into CSV (comma separated values) files. We don't hold your data hostage, you're free to come and go as you please.

Scott Hutchinson
scott@builditsystems.com
1 866 585 5050 ext 1