Subscriber Discussion

What Do You Recommend For Project And Task Management

TM
Tom McVey
Jul 25, 2016
IPVMU Certified

I am new to the industry and the company that I work for needs a project management solution. We do a lot of bid work. I use a spreadsheet presently. Would like to track from initial review all the way to completion. How does everyone else do it. We do CCTV, access control, fire alarm, security, intercom, nurse call, and other low voltage projects.

Thanks in advance to everyone,

Tom

GN
Greg Nuckles
Jul 25, 2016
IPVMU Certified

Hi Thomas,

When we started looking for a software solution, we looked at mainly managed service provider software because we couldn't find anything specific to our industry. (Some examples are AutoTask, Connectwise, and TigerPaw) We selected AutoTask and have been reasonably happy. It isn't necessarily designed for our industry, but we struggled finding something that would have project management, inventory, customer management, quotation, and invoicing.

There is another software program call D-tools that seems more targeted to our industry and I would have evaluated it if I'd known. I would recommend looking at them for comparison.

Good luck and great job finding IPVM as a resource!

Greg

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Mark Jones
Jul 25, 2016

D-Tools does look interesting. When I drill down, a lot of the catalog data is out of date. I have not had a chance to talk with them yet. I wonder if you get more up-to-date data if you subscribe?

Hefty price tag if you are a startup, particularly the catalog support.

One concern I have that you and your staff can become a slave to these types of systems, spending more time keeping them current than actually producing any work.

They lack integration into anything other than Quickbooks accounting, and as far as I can see, no inventory module.

Still, it has a sound approach and I am a fan of the way that it builds systems on paper.

It is worth talking to them about how they do business and if they have the funding to survive the long haul.

MM
Michael Miller
Jul 25, 2016

We just switched to Connectwise and on the long road of implementation and configuring for our needs. Connectwise handles project management, inventory, customer management, quotation, assist management, support ticketing and interfaces with our accounting solution for invoicing. Connectwise is very deep and wide with lots of customization and add-ons. So far we are very happy but have a lot more to implement.

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Jul 29, 2016

Michael, What accounting platform are you using that Connectwise interfaces to?

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Brian Rhodes
Jul 25, 2016
IPVMU Certified

D-Tools SI indeed tout security integrators as a core focus. Contrast the modern appearance and functionality against a security stalwart like Dove Net.

I have known several integrators to use electric take-off/estimation/project management software like Conest and TurboBid, but substantial customization of pricebooks and forms are generally needed for security work.

U
Undisclosed #1
Jul 27, 2016

It sounds to me like all you need is a project management / scheduling / tracking software for projects, not really an entire inventory management system, etc.

If that's the case, check out SmartSheet. Cloud-based, easy to use.

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Luis Carmona
Jul 28, 2016
Geutebruck USA • IPVMU Certified

I looked at this in the past and found YouTube a good resource for reviews of project management software.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=reviews+project+management+software

I tried a couple based on the reviews but the only one I remember off the top of my head is BaseCamp. They all had a shortcoming of some kind or another. For BaseCamp they did not design the Gantt chart to be printable, so it did not look right when trying to print. Same for the calendar. Many calendars lacked a way to see what technicians were free what days instead of which were scheduled, or were limited to say just a daily view. Or they would show technicians scheduled but you didn't see if they were working in the morning but free in the afternoon. Little quirks like that.

They all were willing to do web conferences with you to demo the interface. I'd suggest writing down your minimum must-haves and like-to-haves before you getting knee deep in evaluating products.

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Armando Perez
Jul 29, 2016
Hoosier Security and Security Owners Group • IPVMU Certified

We use TigerPaw. It does have project management which we havent begun fully utilizing and is a hybrid CRM/dispatching system as well. And it can handle our RMR billing and has some basic marketing automations built in which are nice.

MM
Michael Miller
Jul 29, 2016

Undisclosed 2 Integrator - We use Xero for our accounting software. Really happy we switched from Quickbooks.

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