Construction Scheduling Just Got Easier!
This release is all about better scheduling: giving you better visibility into your projects.
Most folks come to BuildIT looking for a scheduling solution and we strive to deliver powerful (yet easy) tools for managing your projects. A good old fashioned calendar is still a common, understandable tool for seeing what happens when, and how tasks relate to each other - and now you can work with your schedule in a calendar view!
Here's how to view your schedule in a calendar format:
1. Click the "schedule" tab.
2. On the left menu, choose between "calendar:start date" or "calendar:due date" of "calendar:all dates".
3. Presto: you have all the controls you had with the Gantt and List views, but in a familiar Calendar format.
:: You can go to a specific month or go ahead or back in 1 or 4 week jumps.
:: You can set the default to the number of weeks you would like to see at a time in the task preferences.
:: Create a task for a specific date by click on the respective "new" button.
See your tasks in a familiar calendar view, along with the status of each task indicated by the appropriate color. This color status is now a new option in the "list" and "list and details" view of your tasks (you'll need to go to your task preferences to turn it on).
You can still view your tasks by clicking the "calendar" tab, and see how your tasks relate to your calendar appointments. More options. More power. Better visibility. All translates to better scheduling.
Since our last user update, here are some highlights of what we've added:
:: Favorites/Shortcuts: on the Files tab, you can create favorites that can appear as job files, task files, send as "sharing links", and more. Want your installer to see video on how to do the job "right"? - just add the favorite as a task file!
:: PDF letterhead, automatically generated from your company information in SETUP - to view, click the "docs" tab, then click "letterhead settings" in the lower left - then click the buttons to the right of "view generated letterhead". If you want a more customized letterhead, let us know.
:: On the Job List you now have the option to default your job list to Current And Future jobs - no point in seeing all your PAST and LOST jobs all the time - just display what's hot.
:: Easily send email to one contact who may have 2 or more email addresses - just edit their contact info and add additional email addresses separated by a semi-colon ";" This same method can be used to create "group contacts", allowing you to send one email to many, just by clicking one contact.
:: Recurring appointments: simply create a calendar appointment, and then click the appropriate "SAVE AND CLONE" button as many times as you need duplicate appointments.
A huge range of professional PDF documents are coming up: The existing text-based BuildIT document generator has served many of our customers well over the years, generating nearly 100,000 documents to date! These new "super docs" will merge contact, user and project information to customized PDF documents, along with your letterhead and logo, giving you a huge step-up in presentation.
We'll be releasing a host of standard PDF construction docs (change orders, contracts, invoices and far more). Plus, as a BuildIT customer, you can have your own construction documents converted over to "super doc" format. Save time, be more consistent and professional.
Need a schedule in PDF format? More and more first time BuildIT users are asking for PDF schedules - for their clients, design professionals, bankers, and so on. Just a reminder, BuildIT is here to help with this, and we can quickly convert your schedule in BuildIT to a PDF, in the smallest size paper that will suit that particular schedule. And, if need be, we can "tile" the schedule, and have it print to a number of standard sized sheets, that you can piece together like a puzzle.
Check it out a small sample PDF schedule at this link:
https://www.builditsystems.com/Features/SampleSchedule.pdf
Scott Hutchinson
scott@builditsystems.com
1 866 585 5050 ext 1