{"id":8689,"date":"2017-10-26T11:34:54","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T15:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundationsoft.com\/?p=8689"},"modified":"2024-05-15T12:07:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T16:07:37","slug":"electrical-contractor-finds-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundationsoft.com\/learn\/electrical-contractor-finds-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Bud’s Electric Finds a Friend in Foundation \u2014 Literally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

Foundation Software trainer Melissa Wood helped Bud\u2019s Electric get started on a strong construction accounting system that fit their business and worked well for their company. But the story isn\u2019t quite as simple as it might sound.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, \u201cWe didn\u2019t know about FOUNDATION\u00ae<\/a> at that point,\u201d remembers Michelle, office manager for the Arizona-based electrical contractor.<\/p>\n

You see, Melissa wasn\u2019t working at Foundation yet, and that new software vendor wasn\u2019t<\/em> Foundation.<\/p>\n\"UG<\/a>\n

<\/span>The Good Software That Left Them<\/span><\/h2>\n

At the time, Melissa was an independent consultant. Bud\u2019s Electric hired her for her proven expertise with construction back-office software. And sure enough, the program she started them on really was a solid system. \u201cSoftware A<\/em>\u201d did basically everything they needed, and it did it well. When Bud\u2019s Electric started encountering problems after a few years, it wasn\u2019t because of the product they were paired with, like one might expect. Instead, it was the company.<\/p>\n

What they felt most was a steep drop-off in support. That\u2019s also what Michelle remembers most acutely. \u201cWe would have issues,\u201d she says, \u201cand they always wanted more money for no support. We couldn\u2019t get any help.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Bud\u2019s Electric didn\u2019t know at that point was that Software A<\/em> was in the process of being acquired. The original vendor was preparing to make its exit, leaving Michelle\u2019s team to hold the bag. Meanwhile, the sacrifice in quality client care was already evident. \u201cI would call for support, and they started arguing with us,\u201d Michelle recalls, still incredulous. \u201cThat was the last straw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bud\u2019s Electric didn\u2019t stick around to see its software gradually phased out.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The Good Software That Wouldn’t Go With Them<\/span><\/h2>\n

After a disappointing experience with Software A<\/em>\u2019s vendor, Bud\u2019s Electric looked on their own for what it hoped would be a more stable company \u2014 a big name in small-business accounting software<\/a>. \u201cSoftware B<\/em>\u201d certainly came with benefits: affordable, easy-to-use and widely reputable. However, it just wasn\u2019t built for construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was even worse. It was a nightmare.\u201d Michelle remembers, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t working the way we thought it would work.\u201d The biggest problem was job costing. As a general-purpose accounting application, it simply wasn\u2019t designed to track different project costs and tie them out to the G\/L<\/a>. Going to a more basic, inexpensive system was actually costing them a lot in their ability to monitor job performance, progress and profitability. \u201cReports weren\u2019t coming out right. Nothing was working.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bud\u2019s Electric hadn\u2019t planned to switch from an application as technically good as Software A<\/em>. Now, having invested additional resources into Software B<\/em>, Michelle\u2019s company definitely wasn\u2019t eager to make another change any time soon. But after only a year, there was no denying Software B<\/em> just couldn\u2019t go forward with them.<\/p>\n

It was time to call on a friend who had given them good technical advice the first time.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The Good Software That Stays With Them<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe had lost contact with Melissa after she got us up and running on software A,\u201d Michelle continues. They were still friends on social media. \u201cWhen I got back in contact with her, I didn\u2019t know she was at a different company. I asked about where she worked.\u201d This time, Melissa was able to connect Michelle with a company that had been proving itself the whole time and the software it\u2019s been supporting for just as long: FOUNDATION.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, each of the three programs released around the same time. Each took a different path. Unlike Software A<\/em>, FOUNDATION stayed committed to its original ownership under its original programmer, CEO Fred Ode. Unlike Software B<\/em>, FOUNDATION’s always focused solely on the unique needs of contractors, with accounting<\/a>, project management<\/a> and mobile tools<\/a> that fit the industry.<\/p>\n

Those are the differences Bud\u2019s Electric experiences now \u2014 the everyday benefits of a company with one owner, one industry and one priority. Since becoming a Foundation Software client, Michelle and her team again enjoy job cost reporting<\/a>, construction billing features<\/a> and a payroll module<\/a> that can actually handle their complex labor. \u201cI like payroll,\u201d Michelle can say now. \u201cFor us, payroll is easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Watch<\/a>\n

From sales to support, Michelle\u2019s experience of the company has all been positive as well. \u201cI haven\u2019t ever had a problem with support. I like them when I have to use it.\u201d But, she admits, she doesn\u2019t have to call for help very often. \u201cEverything\u2019s worked for us. It\u2019s easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very worried about the transition,\u201d Michelle reflects, looking back on the last turn of a long journey to finding the right accounting software company to stay with them. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have any problems with any of it.\u201d It\u2019s a journey that, happily, has ended with a new partner and with an old friend. \u201cI didn\u2019t have an issue with anything. It was easy with Melissa\u2019s help \u2014 it\u2019s easier when someone\u2019s along with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more construction software case studies \u00bb<\/a><\/div>\n

Preview FOUNDATION accounting online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foundation Software trainer Melissa Wood helped Bud\u2019s Electric get started on a strong construction accounting system that fit their business and worked well for their company. But the story isn\u2019t quite as simple as it might sound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":21602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-8689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-case-study","tag-case-study"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBud's Electric Finds a Friend in Foundation \u2014 Literally | Case Study<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This electrical contractor went from construction accounting software to small-business software and back. 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