Excel was never meant to run a construction project. Yet so many construction businesses still rely on clunky spreadsheets to track budgets, schedules, and change orders—only to drown in version chaos, formula errors, and last-minute firefighting.
Excel has… well… excelled at keeping us all organised, in a multitude of industries since its release in 1985. It’s perfect for storing large sets of data, as well as eventually becoming the leading software for working with such data. But in the end, it is only good with relatively static data. It remains inflexible and for newbies, impenetrable.
Despite its illustrious legacy, Excel is stuck in that prosperous past while the needs of its users expand.
When we are discussing using Excel to manage teams, budgets, schedules and everything you need when running a construction business, it just doesn’t quite have the power and functionality needed. It will do the job, and many smaller softwares still base themselves on its format and function. It’s a great base, but it stunts your growth. Any construction business looking to take on more work and expand will soon grow out of what it can do.
Common complaints are:
- “Who sent the latest version?” – Miscommunication and outdated files lead to costly rework.
- “The formula broke… again.” – Manual entry errors cause budget leaks and compliance risks.
- “We’ll update it later.” – Lagging data means reactive decisions, not proactive fixes.
- “Just one more tab…” – Endless scrolling wastes hours better spent on actual construction.
Let’s Fix This.
So you’ve seen what Excell isn’t doing for your construction business. Let’s look at what a purpose-built construction management software will do for you.
Designed to manage every aspect of construction, it places all your tasks, data, budgets and schedules in one secure, easy-to-navigate space. Run a project solely from this dashboard, from customer to trades to payments all the way to completion. This helps to ensure data security, prevent delays and help you and everyone involved, track the project’s progress. The idea is to make it so easy to run a project, that you have more time to win more work and have more confidence in that work.
Everyone can see the information they need in one spot with real-time updates, alerts and task tracking. Everyone is in the loop using a centralised hub for each project. It’s easy to pick up so any new trades or employees can get started right away.
Don’t get stuck in the past, check out SmartStruct, we have worked hard to find all the positives a management software can offer and bring them all into one, easy-to-use, cost-effective app. Book a demo and in just half an hour we can show you how it will work for you.
