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utility contractors in field

How Utility Contractors Achieve 100% Revenue

If you suspect there are a multitude of tasks on jobsites you aren’t getting paid for, here’s a solution to break that cycle and start billing for everything.

By Frank Baumgartner
frank baumgartner hcss

Frank Baumgartner

Product Manager, HeavyJob

frank.baumgartner@hcss.com

Frank Baumgartner is a Product Manager with 14 years of focus on software solutions for infrastructure construction and services companies. He is the Product Manager for HCSS HeavyJob, the industry standard for project management in heavy civil construction, and is laser focused on ensuring that field workers love using HeavyJob, project managers have decision support, people get paid on time, and customers achieve superior profits.

The construction industry is responsible for making communities safer and more modern. Powering this transformation are all of the contractors across the country. Like any business, successful operations are only possible when turning a profit. This is precisely why so many utility contractors from coast to coast rely on HCSS software to streamline their operations.

underground utilities
Contractors focused on the construction of underground utilities such as sewers, water lines, storm drainage, culverts, and tunnels are always searching for ways to make jobs more profitable.

Why is it so hard to get 100% revenue?

Utility contractors working under master service agreements (MSAs) tend to have a shorter project scope, classifying their jobs as short-cycle work. These self-performing contractors often specialize in building and maintaining electric power transmission and distribution systems and constructing and servicing renewable energy projects such as solar and wind farms. Additionally, they offer infrastructure development and maintenance for water, gas, and other utility services, aiming to support and enhance the critical service work that underpins everyday life.

One of the primary issues faced by self-performing contractors is underutilizing data. Capturing all of those analytics is ultimately pointless if not leveraged to improve operational efficiency. On top of this, poor field-to-office communication is far too common in construction. Nowadays, with every foreman in the field having access to tablets, there is no point in time where they shouldn’t be more than a few seconds away from being reached on a single fluid platform.

Ultimately, construction jobs are filled with workers for one consistent reason – getting paid. When HeavyJob was being custom-developed for utility contractors, it was more than apparent that a variety of tasks are never billed for due to the inability to record and document work completed. With the right software – HCSS – missing revenue billings can be a thing of the past.

How will HeavyJob get my business to 100% revenue?

Designed with operations at the forefront, incorporating decades of feedback from high-level foremen and project managers, HeavyJob is constantly evolving with the flexibility that utility contractors need.

material quantity tracking
The software enables you to track cost and budget details for even the most complex utility-related projects and capture accurate pay items and documentation on simple work orders.

To ensure that all work is billed accurately at the correct rates, HeavyJob is the most timely way to collect and organize data, then integrate with your current accounting system to easily send invoices. Never lacking supporting documents and field notes, your operational team can reduce billing disputes and delayed payments by providing clear documentation and justification for progress billing and change orders. Getting invoices processed in this seamless manner is a way to reconcile your books and improve cash flow.

The following features make HeavyJob the best, first-in-class software solution available, designed to meet the pace and revenue needs for field services in the utility market, including for unit-priced work.

Daily Field Reporting: Paper reports are slow to track and extract info from, and worse, duplicate entries are a regular problem. Using the HCSS Insights reporting tool as a solution, you can compile all of the information and documentation needed to report to owners on work progress.

Bulk Work Order Import: Quickly import all your work orders, enabling faster project and work order setup.

Improved Progress Tracking Against Pay Items: With these improvements, easily record multiple pay items for each cost code.

Track T&M Work: Another advantage is tracking your T&M work better with unique cost codes, as well as a toggle switch to identify all of the T&M work when filling out time cards.

Digital Signatures: Easily enable and send owner-representative or inspector approval via quick e-signatures.

With all of these adaptations to HeavyJob combined, utility contractors are better able to handle work orders and work packages, create daily field reports, and track progress against pay items to report out to owners.

underground utility construction
Underground utility construction is a common field for HCSS users year-round, even in the middle of winter.

Get rid of pain points & experience the gains

With a powerful program like HeavyJob able to serve as a single solution for managing daily profitability and field operations, HCSS has become an essential resource for maximizing efficiency on every utility project that makes our world a better place.

To start experiencing what HeavyJob can do for your company next, speak with a construction software expert today!