The Building Code

Episode 184: On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with Brian Pavlick, president of CBUSA. Before he was president, Brian held several roles during his nearly 17 years with the company. He helped to manage markets and traveled during the economic downturn of 2008 to help keep the business alive. He would eventually become chief operating officer, running CBUSA’s day-to-day operations, before transitioning to president in 2022. Additionally, he also serves as the general manager of materials management at Buildertrend. Listen to the full episode to hear more about the launch of Buildertrend Purchasing, what brands we’ve already partnered with and how this new offering is a game changer for customers. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 183: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Meghan Billings, owner and general contractor at MEG Construction & Design in Twin Falls, Idaho. She graduated at the top of her class from Weber State University as one of only two women in the Manufacturing Engineering program. After some time spent in engineering, Meghan realized her love of the details and possibilities during the process of building her family’s dream home. She was able to experience the responsibilities of a general contractor, and the rest is history. Listen to the full episode to hear more about Meghan’s story and how her woman-owned business has benefited by transitioning from CoConstruct’s construction software to Buildertrend’s. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 182: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with Gregg Cantor, president and CEO of Murray Lampert in San Diego, California, and his daughter Rachel Cantor Walker, their vice president of operations. Gregg started his career at Murray Lampert doing job site cleanup and eventually bought the company when his grandfather retired. Rachel followed in her dad's footsteps by receiving an architecture degree, and she's now the fourth generation to join the family business. Listen to the full episode to hear more about how they’ve sustained success through innovation and prioritizing relationships for almost 50 years. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 181: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Tim Coughran, owner of Alderview Construction in Denver, Colorado. Tim has been working in construction for more than 20 years. After spending several years working on commercial projects, he was drawn back to the residential side because of the connections he developed with clients during the home building process. Listen to the full episode to hear more about how to prioritize vendor relationships to ensure successful projects and build trust with clients. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 180: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with returning guest Alex Barthet, managing partner at The Barthet Firm and founder of The Lien Zone. Alex heads up the firm's construction practice and serves as litigation counsel to several statewide and local contractors and material suppliers. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about the essentials of construction contracts and how to be legally proactive to protect your business from unforeseen challenges. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 178: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Chris Fox, director of design and sales at Fox Home Innovations, LLC, in Manhattan, Kansas. Chris is a Kansas native and started the company in 2009. He’s passionate about construction work and began learning at a very young age, working for his father’s tile business. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about Chris’ experience at Buildertrend University and why he sees the value of attending our two-day educational conference more than once. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 179: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Jimmy Reed and David Socia, co-founders of Sidar Builders in Tyler, Texas. Jimmy and David have found their niche building efficient, cost-effective houses in their community. They also pay close attention to the needs of their team and their trade partners by keeping their culture and mission at the forefront of everything they do. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about how they’ve established the right culture and ensured a close-knit team. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 177 Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with Dave Carpentier, CEO of Assurely, an all-in-one marketplace for affordable business insurance tailored to construction teams. Assurely provides rapidly growing companies the insurance protection they need to innovate and continue scaling. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about our new partnership with Assurely and how our combined options bring builders the best insurance in the industry. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 176: On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with Ashley Kuhn and Maranda Adams, co-founders of Blair Freeman, the only 100% Black woman-owned and woman-led Class A contractor in Omaha, Nebraska. Ashley and Maranda started Blair Freeman in 2018 with a mission to remove barriers and empower clients through a boldly transparent construction and real estate process. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about how they’re changing the status quo and leading the way for other outliers in the industry. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 175: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach is chatting with Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders, to talk about key insights from their 2023 State of Residential Construction Industry report released last month. Russ has over 25 years of business experience and owned his own a building company, which eventually led him to providing services and resources for residential home builders. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about what you can expect from the industry in 2023 and get helpful tips for marketing your construction business. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 174: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are discussing how to find and hire top talent with Paul Sanneman, founder and president, and Ed Earl, chief operating officer, of Contractor Staffing Source. Paul and Ed are passionate about helping residential contractors find talented staff to grow their construction company. Their extensive knowledge and expertise have contributed to their company’s success as a leading recruiting service in the residential construction industry. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about what to look for when hiring team members and how to build a company culture that people want to be a part of. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 173: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with Vengan Anandan, the director of financial services here at Buildertrend, to talk about the importance of lending options for construction businesses. Vengan has spent his entire career in the fintech space where he helped launch new fintech products at companies like American Express and Anheuser-Busch. Today, he’s working with our team to ensure a superior customer experience with enhanced financial tools and services. Tune in to the full episode to hear about lending options for both your business and your clients and why taking advantage of loans can actually be beneficial. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 172: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Josh Schaffer, owner of Rog & Wilco in Denver, Colorado. After growing up and working for his dad’s framing company, he swore he would never come back to it after he graduated college. He spent ten years in the United States Airforce as a pilot before eventually making his way back to construction. Josh and his wife flipped houses for three years before starting to design and build their own homes. Listen to the full episode to hear about how Buildertrend’s educational opportunities and training helped their team find success using construction management software. When did you make the decision to expedite implementing Buildertrend into your processes? “We have 10, 12 projects going on. So, it got to a point over the summer where my project managers were just like, ‘We need a better process. There's got to be a better process.’ We had done a year of just trying to work our way through it until my senior project manager and I went to Buildertrend on the Road, hosted here in Denver. We learned about Onsite Consulting, and we were like, ‘Oh, this is exactly what we need.’ And it was so refreshing to really hear from her that, ‘Hey, this is what other builders do, and you guys aren't alone.’" What did the Onsite Consulting process look like for you? “I want to say we did about six weeks of pre-work, and then it was the two days of Onsite Consulting. Then it extended past that for another three, four weeks. As we implemented the things we set in place during the onsite period, we had follow-up to say ‘Hey, how's this working? Do we need to pivot at all?’ So, I would say the whole thing was two months long. I was really impressed with the pre-work that was done and that we got all the hard work done. And when I say hard work, I mean really digging into how we do things. So, when Chloe was here in person, we had specific questions, and we weren't wasting anyone's time.” LINKS AND MORE As home builders and residential remodelers begin to wonder what an impending economic downtown means for their business, one thing's for certain: the more prepared you are, the more resilient you'll be. Consider this your guide. We surveyed hundreds of home builders and spoke with economic experts for insights on where the industry stands now – and how you can be ready for whatever comes next. Read our recently published 2023 construction outlook to learn more. Related content: Tune in to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear about how Piper Stromatt started her career in construction, how other women paved the way and how she’s currently helping women break into the industry. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how you run your construction business? On the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend,” we’re exploring how our software calms complex processes and allows you to work simpler. Subscribe and stream today wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are joined by returning guest, Piper Stromatt, director of interior design and partner at Boutique Living by Curate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Piper grew up in the construction world and recalls being on job sites before she could even walk. The passion for the industry came to her at a young age and has remained with her over the years. Tune in to the full episode to the hear about her career in construction, how other women paved the way and how she’s currently helping women break into the industry. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are live from IBS with Steven Sanders-Myers, general contractor at Brightwater Homes in Sandy Springs, Georgia. While waiting tables, Steven was offered a construction job after a simple handshake – and hasn't looked back. He then got his degree in construction management and joined the team at Brightwater Homes where he shares their passion for economical building. Listen to the full episode to hear more about Brightwater Homes’ sustainable building practices and how they’re implementing technology and group purchasing to ensure continued success. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 169 Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are sitting down with Dan Houghton, CEO and co-founder of Buildertrend, to chat about the company rebrand and expectations for 2023. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about the reason for Buildertend’s recent rebrand and how our customer-first mindset is driving all company initiatives. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 167: On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are talking to Mark Boud, a real estate economist. Mark’s modeled forecasts and analytics are trusted by major builders, land developers and capital groups and financial institutions. He and his team conduct master planned residential market research throughout the nation. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about the economic outlook for construction in 2023 and how to prepare your business. How will the small to mid-sized builders benefit in the forecasted economic climate? “What I've seen most recently is the advantage kind of shifting to smaller builders, and I like that. I love working with small- to medium-sized private builders. They tend to be a little bit more nimble and a little bit more sensitive to market trends. And I think that can translate to them having the ability to change more quickly during an inflection point where most public builders take some time to right that ship. A smaller builder can change pretty quickly. They still need research to do that. And the weakness that I see some of those smaller builders having is that they don't necessarily invest in research the way the big builders do. That's changing. I do a lot of presentations for CBUSA and of course Buildertrend. I've seen that change mainly because of entities like yourselves (Buildertrend) have enabled them to group together for educational purposes, for supply line purposes, for all kinds of advantages that those larger entities have had in the past. You kind of translate that to the smaller builder, which I think is really encouraging.” What economic advantages are you seeing for smaller builders in terms of material supply? “There might be a little bit of an advantage for those smaller, more nimble builders because a lot of those larger builders during the past 24 months in fear of losing supply entered into long-range, long-term contracts at the very peak of the market in order to control that supply. So, the smaller builders were left out of that and had a real hard time with all kinds of supply issues. However, that pendulum is now shifting with those larger builders stuck with those very high costly contracts and the smaller builders being able to move in and take advantage of what I think is going to be a correction in supply. I mean, we're already beginning to see that a little bit, but I think during the next six months, the smaller builders will be able to take advantage of that while the larger builders are still trying to calm down the supply pipeline that they currently have. To me, there's a potential advantage in there for the smaller builders, now that we're in the midst of this inflection point.” LINKS AND MORE Check out Harvard University’s Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report. Learn more about Boxabl’s accessory dwelling units. Related content: Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear more about the importance of managing your construction team with grace and how to prioritize giving back to your community. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

The Building Code Ep 168 Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Heather Tankersley, co-owner and vice president of operations at Tankersley Construction in Sacramento, California. Before taking on a full-time role at the company, Heather managed complex electrical projects for some of the largest electrical contractors in the United States. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about how making connections in the construction industry promotes success and what to expect at the upcoming International Builders’ Show panel that Heather will be a part of. Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 166 Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are talking to Joe Christensen, founder and owner of Cardinal Crest Homes in Kansas City, Missouri. Joe got an early start in construction by working on his family farm. He then earned a degree in construction management and a minor in business management from Brigham Young University. Today, Joe works closely with clients to make their dream homes a reality. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about the importance of managing your construction team with grace and how to prioritize giving back to your community. How do you promote positivity with your construction team? “If you can't find satisfaction in your job, you're going to quit. You're going to move on. And I've seen that happen in our industry right now. Jobs are delayed, they're over budget and they're really difficult to get done. And if your boss is also yelling at you, why would you stay? I know we're passionate about construction, but you've got to find the silver lining. So, we try really hard to celebrate the small wins and try to not sweat the small stuff and move on. Correct it, but be like, ‘Okay, it's time to move on.’ We try to have a lot of fun. And during closing days or the day after closings, we like to have lunches together. We take the team to lunch. I think it's important.” What community work does your team do to bring them together? “We just did a charity event called Rebuilding Together. And they have a day where we're assigned a couple homes. They have a day or a couple weekends where you go, and you might be adding ADA ramps, doing new flooring, fixing up these people's homes because they can't do it themselves or can't afford to do it. And we want to make it something we do every year. Because it's something we do already. We know how to build. And it’s nice to be able to rub shoulders with each other while we're helping out. It's such a big team building exercise.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Read their case study to see how Cardinal Crest Homes uses Buildertrend’s construction management software to promote efficiency and build more than a dozen Kansas City custom homes per year, totaling upwards of $20 million. Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear more about what it takes to be a successful project manager and how building relationships is a key component. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 165: On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are talking to Tom Henning, director of construction management at Westminster Canterbury Richmond. Tom has an extensive career in the industry that started when he was in college. After graduating with in field engineering, he worked for several companies managing projects and even owned his own construction company for over five years. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about what it takes to be a successful project manager and how building relationships is a key component. What is one thing you’ve learned after so many years in project management? “What I've learned with all my wisdom is that you should be humble enough to say, ‘Look, I'm not the smartest guy in the room.’ And that's what you find as you get older. You don't want to be the smartest guy in the room. I want the smart guys doing the work. You know what I'm trying to say? What I want people to look at me as being smart for is I get the right guys doing the work. That's where you're smart. I think that only comes with experience, and it also comes with just good people skills and working well with folks.” How has Buildertrend helped manage so many renovations at the same time? “I have a schedule on Buildertrend, so I actually use Buildertrend. I actually have a Westminster Canterbury renovation tab job that everybody has access to, and you pop that open and it has a schedule in there of all my bids, when they're due, and what apartments they are, and what time the pre bids are. Going to Buildertrend University though I learned, not only can I do that, but I can actually have them put the bids in. I truly believe it's the Buildertrend organization pieces that I'm using, that helps my guys just stay dialed in. The schedule feature alone is phenomenal. You just pop guys, when you update stuff and they're tied into the schedule. The plumber gets an update that, hey, we didn't pass an inspection, so you're going to have to come back tomorrow. It's not going to get done today, or whatever it might be. It's phenomenal.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear more about what it’s like starting a remodeling business in a booming construction industry and how tech is making it possible to achieve a work-life balance. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 164: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Courtney Baxter-Marsh, co-owner of DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen in northwest Arkansas. Courtney is the marketing manager as well as the office manager who handles all the business financials. She works alongside her mom, Mary, who does project design and her dad, Scott, their general manager. Listen to the full episode to hear more about what it’s like starting a remodeling business in a booming construction industry and how tech is making growth possible. What was it like starting a business in 2020? “We've had to figure out some processes with COVID being a real thing, but luckily not as bad as in 2020. When we entered in 2021, it was actually an incredible year to enter the remodeling industry because it was so lit. Honestly, there's no other way to put it. Remodeling was lit in 2021. Everyone was spending extended amounts of times in their homes, unable to get out. They then realized, ‘I am so sick and tired of looking at my cabinets. I hate my bathroom.’ Or ‘There is no place for my kids to do homeschool or homework.’ So, then they were turning to us, which was so crazy because no market analysis could ever project what happened in 2021. And then throw in the supply chain and labor shortage. It was a good thing, but also there were some headaches.” What has been one of the biggest benefits of using Buildertrend? “The coolest part about Buildertrend is that we do our own estimating. We do our own change orders. We do our own purchase orders within. But I think the really cool part about Buildertrend is the unlimited storage space that it has for holding our photos – not only for the home site visits, but also the finished photos. Then you also have your legal documents, everything you need. I can access it on my laptop, on my cell phone. If I'm on vacation and didn't take my laptop, I can log into my husband's and all I need is my username and password. Immediately I can see the same exact thing I see when I'm at home.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Listen to the last episode (link last episode when live) of “The Building Code” to hear more about Color Homes’ decade-long journey of renovating historic homes and how Buildertrend Takeoff helps them simplify their processes and scale their business. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Eric Pierce, co-owner of Color Houses in Houston, Texas. The Color Houses team has been renovating historic homes for the past ten years and share their passion for restoring a home’s original beauty and character. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about their decade-long journey of renovating historic homes and how Buildertrend Takeoff helps them simplify their processes and scale their business. Read the shownotes for this episode here: (add page link here) Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 162: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Matt Hoots, owner of SawHorse design-build in Atlanta, Georgia. Matt has over 20 years of experience in green building and dedicates a lot of his time to educating fellow builders and clients on the importance of using sustainable methods. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about what it means to be a green builder and how to implement these building standards into your business. What is something that’s becoming more popular in the realm of green technology? “Because of COVID-19, I think people realize we do need filtration, we do need fresh air. And finally, that's come to the forefront again, and we can do this not only in commercial spaces but in your own home. You can go into a house, and I tell you the indoor air quality is much worse than it is outside even if you're in a city, ironically. So, that's the challenge because we spend most of our time inside. I think the health aspect is something I've always been aware of because I have allergies, but a lot of people just don't realize that you don't have to have allergies, especially if you're inside all the time, and you're sneezing. Well, there's something that's triggering and creating those reactions. So, what can we do to that environment to keep that from happening?” Where should builders start if they’re looking to get started in green building? “Green building is just one of those tools that allow you to offer better services or just better understand how things are installed. I would start by just looking at what certifications are offered for you. Take a class on that. Maybe even take a class on something that's not even offered in your area and see how different building programs are put together. The building science physics and principles are pretty much the same across all different areas. Just come up with what you’re going to make standard in your business. I think once builders see some of these things, and they see how their risk can go down when they build a certain way, more people will want to do this.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Follow along with the SawHorse team’s #1920sMakeoverATL showcase project where learning, green building and luxury design come together. Follow SawHorse on their YouTube channel and their blog for more educational content. Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear more about Buildertrend’s new, simplified process for paying subs and vendors digitally. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 161: On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with returning guest Emma Dickinson, a senior product manager here at Buildertrend. Emma and her team work on improving the financial features we offer on our platform. Tune in to the full episode to hear more about Buildertrend’s new, simplified process for paying subs and vendors digitally. What are the biggest differences with the new process for sending payments? “The big difference is now builders can pay any of their subs and vendors through the system. Subs don't need to be active in Buildertrend, which is huge. Then the other big difference is it's a lot easier for the subs to receive their money. Before there was a pretty extensive signup process on the subcontractor side, and now they can decide if they want to print a check. It takes two clicks, and they can have a physical check in front of them. So, a lot easier for both sides of the equation.” What is the initial feedback from subcontractors using the new process? “I’ve actually talked to a few subs. Just by luck, some of the early adopters’ subs had questions, and I was like, ‘Oh, let me just talk to them directly.’ They literally were bragging about how easy it was. They were like, ‘I just have to open my email, that's it. That's all I have to do. I don't have to drive somewhere to pick up a check. I don't have to do anything.’ That's what we were hoping for. We want to meet you where you're at and have it be a five-second process to get your payment. And now it is.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Register now to join over 200 other builders at Buildertrend on the Road in Denver, Colorado on Tues., Oct. 4. Use promo code pod100 for $100 off. Registrations close Fri., Sept. 30. Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear more about building homes that withstand hurricanes and how project management software helps make it possible. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 160: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Paul Ledet, owner of CLH Build in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Paul took over the now 40-year-old company from his father and works hard to maintain their exceptional reputation. Replacing their paper processes with Buildertrend has really helped streamline processes during difficult times. Listen to the full episode to hear more about how to build homes that withstand hurricanes and how project management software helps make it possible. What are some of the materials you use to mitigate the impacts of hurricanes? “Basically, you think of it as a system from the slab. Most of our slabs are slabs-on-grade, and everything's anchor bolted, but there's continuous either, plywood around the entire perimeter or half inch oriented strand board. It's going to be certain nail patterns, and the criteria is pretty much the same across the board as a nation. But we just have these extra straps that'll help tie in the bottom plate to the top plate, to the rafters and all the way through and through. Down in Grand Aisle, which is on the coast, we use a lot of all threaded rods that go from the slab through the bottom plate, through the top plate and it all connects to the roof system. It's just one continuous founded entity.” What is one of your favorite Buildertrend features? “We use the selection process. We got that pretty much down pat, especially for these custom jobs. I mean, there's so much that goes into just window selections, and they can get so convoluted just from emails and texts. Having a clear and visible ‘This is approved, this is a purchase order for the approved one.’ Even though we gave you 10 different quotes, the window company knows that this is final. Just not having those kinds of little mistakes, it's nice.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: CLH Build needed a way to modernize and revolutionize the client experience. Buildertrend’s Customer Portal was just what they needed. Read their case study to learn more about their success. Register now to join Paul and over 200 other builders at Buildertrend on the Road in Denver, Colorado. Use promo code pod100 for $100 off. Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear more about what it means to build net-zero homes and how to educate homeowners on the benefits. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are talking to Casey Grey, founder and CEO of The Conscious Builder, a custom home and renovation company in Ontario, Canada. Casey took an early interest in the construction industry starting his career in renovations at the age of 17 before starting his own company at 24. His focus then became building net-zero homes and educating others on the importance of creating healthy living environments. Listen to the full episode to hear more about what it means to build net-zero homes and how to educate homeowners on the benefits. The idea of net-zero homes is still fairly new. How does your process work with educating clients on the benefits and choosing the options that work best for them? “We put out so much content to help educate people. It's up to us to give the clients the options so that they can make a decision that's best for them because there are so many factors. There are all sorts of products out there that are better for the environment. But usually, those products are a lot more expensive, too. So, what's most important to that individual, to the person that we're building for? Based on what's important to them, we'll make recommendations for the wall assembly or what products to use and so forth. But at the end of the day, it's not up to us. And we're not building for everybody, but we're using the experience and the knowledge that we have to help teach other people so that they can ask better questions when they go to buy their house. They can go to their builder and ask for specific things. A lot of people who reach out to us have watched a lot of our videos.” What is your focus when building a net-zero home? “Where we really focus on is really for the house itself and the health, the comfort, the benefits to the homeowner. Because at the end of the day, you still want to build a healthy indoor air quality, like a healthy environment for people living in the house because we spend like 90% of our time inside. Depending on where you live, could be more, could be less. But most of our time is spent indoors. Obviously, we live at home, and now most of us are working at home. So, we really focus on, "Okay, what do we have to do?" By default, when you build a healthy and comfortable home, you build a more efficient home, which in turn helps everything else that people say it's affecting the climate. That’s where we’re at.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: The Conscious Builder resources: Visit The Conscious Builder Academy and use code BT15 to get 15% off any course. Blog Podcast YouTube Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear Bill Smithers’s insights on inflation and how it will continue to affect the construction industry. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram Facebook Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 158: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Bill Smithers, president of CBUSA and returning guest on the podcast. As a veteran in the construction industry, Bill had years of experience in both production and custom home building before starting CBUSA, a group purchasing network for professional builders. Tune in to the full episode to hear his insights on inflation and how it will continue to affect the construction industry. Read the show notes for this episode here: (add page link here) Join “The Building Code” Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebuildingcodecrew/ Follow us on social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildertrend/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buildertrend/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildertrend LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildertrend/

Episode 157: On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Ernie Goss, Ph.D., principal investigator, professor of economics and holder of the Jack MacAllister Chair at Creighton University. Ernie is world-renowned for his economic expertise and has published more than 100 research studies focusing primarily on economic forecasting. Listen to the full episode to hear his insight on when the economy will turn around and where it’s heading next. Will the pricing of the homes need to adjust to keep the demand of the construction market a bit higher? Will that make building more affordable, too, as a result? “Well, I'll just tell you what I told my niece. She lives in Atlanta. She said she's been having a difficult time buying a house. And I just told her availability's going to be higher. There will be more choices. Supply will increase. Now, as far as the price, we're going to see it moving sideways, but a significant downturn like we saw in 2008 and 2009, we’re not going to see it this time. And this is my experience from the construction industry. As long as there's lending, contractors will keep building." What signals are you watching to predict possible changes in the economy? “The signals that I see, and I'm not always right in looking at signals, but watch what the federal governors or the Federal Reserves say. The governors of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, watch them, listen to them, what they're saying, because they're telling you where they're going. And one thing that really affects building that we haven't heard any noise about is the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the Goss & Associates website to subscribe to the “Economic Trends Newsletter.” Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear about the top five areas you should be focusing on for continued success in project management and business growth. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 156: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are joined by Paul Atherton, a business coach at Breakthrough Academy a company that provides smart and innovative solutions for contractors. Paul focuses on helping business owners develop the skills, systems and community necessary to set their companies up for success. Tune in to the full episode to hear about the top five areas you should be focusing on for continued success in project management and business growth. Why would a contractor come to Breakthrough Academy? “Well, generally I think businesses fall into basically two main categories. There's category one, where there's low net profit and some chaos happening in the company. They come and they're like, ‘I have no idea how to get myself out of this. Can you guys show me?’ Or they think, ‘Wow, this is going to take me 10 years to figure this out myself. Can you guys show me how to get there quicker?’ So, we're really good at helping those people, but then there are also the businesses that are already pretty good. Like they have strong systems in place. They're making good money. They have strong networks, and strong visibility in the marketplace. We also work on helping those organizations really polish everything that they do in the core areas businesses need to be strong in order to see success.” What are some warning signs that would indicate that a business owner or company needs some additional coaching? “Well, the obvious ones are company owners working 12, 14 hours a day, and there's just a lot of chaos and a lot of fires that are coming up. And they're like, ‘My business is controlling me. I'm not controlling it.’ So, that's a warning sign. Another warning sign is, that they're just not making as much money as they thought. Their net profit will be anywhere from zero to 5%. Generally, we can do something quickly to help in those areas. For the businesses that are already doing pretty good, usually those people, they just want to learn, and it's quite easy to gap them to say, ‘Okay, well, you're good in lots of areas, but here's how we can get you better.’” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the blog series recap of our roundtable discussion for even more insights on how to grow a construction business. Listen to the last episode of “The Building Code” (link episode 155) to hear about what it takes to start a career in the construction industry, some of the latest evolving design trends and how Buildertrend helps curate the design process for clients. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 155: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are joined by Piper Stromatt, director of interior design and partner at Boutique Living by Curate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Piper was born into the construction industry and decided to take the route of design working for a residential construction company right out of school. Listen to the full episode to hear about what it takes to start a career in the construction industry, some of the latest evolving design trends and how Buildertrend helps curate the design process for clients. How has Buildertrend helped with your design process? “We can go as deep as somebody wants to or as minimal as somebody wants to. And that's also something that Buildertrend has allowed us to do – build our template to be able to do that. We've put almost nine years into our template. We're very strategic of what goes in there, all of our vendors can't live without it now, and our subs can't live without it. We can't live without it either. Even though we have a catalog that anybody can bring in, we're able to streamline that process for our homeowners to not get so overwhelmed when they do start getting down to the nitty-gritty.” What are some of the design trends you’re seeing right now? “I think you're going to start seeing a lot of the Scandinavian, which is like very simple, very eclectic, just very easy, very natural. Then you're going to start seeing a lot of the natural designs really start to trump the farmhouse. But what you'll start seeing, shiplap was always horizontal, now it's pulling vertical. You're starting to see a lot more sleek lines, colors, and a lot of light and brightness. You're not seeing the grays anymore or the gray tones, or anything like that. You're starting to see the simple whites, a lot of Ben Moore and Sherwin-Williams' light and bright, but also with the natural color tone.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out Piper’s podcast, “The Building Blonde” on Spotify. Tune in to the last episode of “The Building Code” (link episode 154) to hear about how our Financial Services team is working to change the way the construction industry gets paid. Learn more about why the future of getting paid is digital. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 154 Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How is Buildertrend impacting the future of payments in the construction industry? On today’s episode of “Inside Buildertrend,” Trevor Pillen, payment operations specialist, is chatting with Zach and Charley about the significance of online payments. Tune in to hear more about how our Financial Services team is working to change the way the construction industry gets paid. Learn more about why the future of getting paid is digital. What are the key takeaways? How is Buildertrend changing the way the industry gets paid?: In the construction industry, checks have historically been the preferred method of payment. So, our goal as a tech company is to show business owners the value of using ACH and credit cards. There are many advantages to accepting these methods of payment – and one of them is timeliness. Time is money in construction, and getting paid via check takes a lot longer. What are some key benefits of online payments?: One of the biggest benefits of online payments is time. The average turnaround time for a check is 20 to 25 days. Whereas with digital payments like ACH and credit card, it’s closer to 10 to 12 days, if not less. Another benefit is the ability to streamline getting paid by accepting online payments quicker, which will help solve cash flow issues. Why is accepting online payments better for business?: Today, many construction professionals are limiting the way homeowners pay for their projects. By widening the funnel, clients can pay the way they want, and contractors get a wider range of jobs to choose from. Offering flexible payment options is a good business practice, and there really are no downfalls. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Buildertrend Payment Processing is integrated with the Customer Portal feature, which allows homeowners to make digital payments directly through the platform. Builders have the option to accept ACH and/or credit card payments within their Buildertrend account. LINKS AND MORE How to get started with Buildertrend Online Payments: https://helpcenter.buildertrend.net/en/?q=payment+processing Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to hear about how our Customer Experience team is connecting the dots between the voice of the customer and Buildertrend’s internal departments by answering questions like: What support do our customers need from us? What are they expecting from us from marketing? What do they need our product to do to support their business needs? Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top residential construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 153: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are live from Buildertrend University with Austin McKnight, co-owner of Southern Creek Homes in College Station, Texas. Austin and his brother founded the company in 2015, and it wasn’t long before they realized they needed to implement construction software if they were going to be successful. Listen to the full episode to hear about their experience at Buildertrend University and how Buildertrend is helping them scale their home-building business in a manageable way. How has your experience at Buildertrend University been so far? “So, we've only had a few classes thus far, but it's great. Especially seeing how it seems like some of the trainers are just specialty in those areas. Looking forward to the one-on-one session this evening to drill down and get a little deeper in some things. But no, it's great. We used 10% of Buildertrend for three years, and I'd still say we're only like 60% now. There are warranties, surveys, there's the sales side of it that we don't use, there's a lot of things that we're excited to keep growing in and keep utilizing.” How has Buildertrend helped you in the current state of the construction market? “The market is totally changed, and it's hot right now. But to me, that's another reason to get organized now. I think some of the smaller builders that may not have a system like Buildertrend or whatever system, this market's really changed the last two years. I see projects all the time sitting waiting on windows. Well, that’s easy if you have it set up, and you know upfront, ‘My windows are 16 weeks out, I need to order them at this point.’ Our timeline really hasn't drastically increased because we've moved our process up. So, we're in appliances right away because it's eight months out right now. So, little things like that, we've just changed our process versus letting it change our process for us.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last episode (link to ep. 152) of “The Building Code” to hear more about our Customer Experience team and how they’re connecting the dots between the voice of the customer and Buildertrend’s internal departments. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the top construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 152: Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How does Buildertrend define and prioritize the customer experience? Today on “Inside Buildertrend,” Scott Hale, customer experience manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the exciting new initiatives happening in our Customer Experience team. Tune in to hear more about how the Customer Experience team is connecting the dots between the voice of the customer and Buildertrend’s internal departments by answering questions like: What support do our customers need from us? What are they expecting from us from marketing? What do they need our product to do to support their business needs? What are the key takeaways? What does the Customer Experience team do?: The Customer Experience team at Buildertrend focuses on initiatives that define our implied promises and how we deliver on those promises for our customers in the most effective ways. How are we measuring customer experience?: Customer experience is measured through feedback. Many of our users already see emails with surveys in their inboxes. Now, they’ll get questions in Buildertrend’s software as well. We're implementing in-platform questions because the best feedback happens when customers are in the middle of using a feature. How are current initiatives helping users?: One of the biggest initiatives currently being worked on is organizing customer feedback that impacts feature updates. The Customer Experience team collects every piece of feedback related to certain features and organizes it by feature. This makes it easier for the Product team to prioritize and deliver new tools and improvements that align with customer needs. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? The Customer Experience team was formed to ensure our customers have a wholistic, valuable experience with Buildertrend – whether it’s the usage of our software or interactions with our team. Customer feedback collected by this team plays a huge role in the prioritization and decisions regarding which feature updates are made. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to hear about the new invoicing workflow and how it will help streamline financial processes and create a better experience for homeowners. Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 151: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Adam Copenhaver, co-founder of CopeGrand Homes in Charleston, South Carolina. Adam and his twin brother Ben founded the company in 2015, expanding to their second location in the Greenville, South Carolina, area in 2020. Tune in to the full episode to hear about the formation of their superhero team and why project management software has been so instrumental in sustaining their company’s continued growth and success. What is one of the most important aspects to consider when starting a construction business? “That is the biggest item that a builder could focus – just building as strong of a team of superheroes that you could possibly build. And what we've learned, too, is those people are worth their weight and some of them more expensive and that sort of thing. And as long as it makes sense for your client and your product and what level of fit and finish you're going to do. You’ve got to go after those folks, and you’ve got to create an environment where they can grow and evolve and build along with you. And so, that's also been one of those things that we've learned.” Why should other builders choose Buildertrend to support their business? “It's actually added a ton of value to what we do. It's been a huge resource for our clients and our sub base. And I'll tell you, props to you guys. I'll say this for most of the people that listen to the podcast probably are Buildertrend users. But those folks that aren’t, if you're not using Buildertrend yet, you’re stuck way behind the times because I truly believe that Buildertrend is going to be the dominant software forever in our building industry. The rate at which you guys evolve and the rate at which you make changes to help benefit us, the rate at which you receive and make those changes from our feedback, has just been phenomenal.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last episode of “The Building Code” to learn more about some upcoming enhancements being made to Buildertrend’s invoicing process. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 150: Inside Buildertrend – invoicing Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. What do users need to know about the upcoming invoicing feature update? Today on “Inside Buildertrend,” Emma Dickinson, product manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the upcoming updates to the Invoicing feature and how it’ll bring the best of both CoConstruct and Buildertrend together. Tune in to hear more about how the new invoicing workflow will help streamline financial processes and create a better experience for homeowners. What are the key takeaways? What’s new with invoicing?: The update to the Invoice feature will introduce a new workflow for adding costs that are elsewhere in Buildertrend. When creating an invoice, users can pull in costs from estimates, selections and change orders into a single invoice. How does it benefit homeowners?: Needing to invoice costs from multiple features and sending three separate invoices creates confusion for clients. The update will eliminate the confusion by allowing costs to be collected and sent to homeowners in a single invoice document. How does it save users time and money?: The biggest benefit is that users can easily check a single invoice to make sure they haven't missed any costs. This means it'll be less likely that they miss costs that should’ve been invoiced to their clients. The other big benefit is the amount of time saved. Instead of invoicing from three features, it’ll all be done from one. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Creating construction invoices is an essential piece of running a successful business. And keeping numbers accurate requires simple workflows and organization. That’s why our Product team has worked hard to create a new invoicing experience that will streamline the process and make it easier for homeowners. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to hear about the many learning and training opportunities we offer our customers. Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 149: One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to construction contracts. Can you guarantee that your business is protected from all angles? In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley discuss the importance of construction law and safeguarding contracts with Scott Green, the managing partner at The Green Law Group. Scott shares his top three ways to be the best contractor from a legal perspective. Listen to the full episode to hear more about creating construction contracts and how to legally protect your business from unforeseen challenges. HOW HAVE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS CHANGED WITH THE LACK OF SUPPLY AND INCREASED DEMAND OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS? “If we're drafting a contract today, we're putting in an escalation clause that essentially says, ‘Look, I've included X amount for, let's say, electrical fixtures. But if that number goes up by 10%, I'm going to provide an affidavit showing my clause, and then we're going to submit a change order, so we get some more money.’ But just a few years ago, nobody was thinking about that. So, we're getting calls from property owners and from contractors on the property owner side. It's, ‘Hey, my contractor wants another 10 grand, and we had a fixed price contract. What's up with that?’ And from the contractor's point of view, it's, ‘Well, we had a pandemic. And that's disrupted everything, and my costs are going through the roof.’ So, there's a lot of brewing disputes on that particular issue.” WHAT IS YOUR FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR CONTRACTORS LOOKING TO LEGALLY PROTECT THEIR BUSINESS? “I start with contracts. Contractors get into the business typically because they're mechanics, they want to build things. They don't like paperwork. The unfortunate, sad truth is the paper side of the business is at least as important as your ability to build things. You can't ignore the paper side and that generally starts with the bidding process and then the contract. And then you're going to draft a contract, or you're going to get a contract. You’ve got to read the darn thing. And it might be a small telephone book, but what contracts are about is they’re about shifting risks between the contracting parties. So, if you get a contract, when you're reading it, every provision you should look at it and think, ‘Okay, what just got pushed over to my plate? What am I responsible for? What's it going to cost me? Did I include that in my bid or not?’ And if you read a provision, you don't understand it, circle it, send it back to the party that sent it to you, and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I'm reading this thing and I can't make heads or tails out of it. What did you have in mind?’ Start a conversation. Don't be afraid to negotiate.” LINKS AND MORE For legal resources and to learn more about The Green Law Group, check out their website. Related content: Check out the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear about the many different training opportunities (link to ep. 148) Buildertrend has to offer. Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 148: Inside Buildertrend – making learning fun Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How do our many educational opportunities help our customers? On this episode of “Inside Buildertrend,” Taylor Henne, customer education coordinator, joins Zach and Charley to talk about how our Customer Success team works to make Buildertrend education exciting. Listen in to learn more about all the different training opportunities offered virtually, online and in-person to make every contractor’s experience enjoyable and convenient. What are the key takeaways? What is Buildertrend University?: Buildertrend University is a two-day conference held at Buildertrend’s headquarters. It’s targeted at construction pros who are already using our software and want to get the most from their investment. Customers will learn how to use features and develop operations and processes within their business through classes and one-on-one training. What is Buildertrend on the Road?: Buildertrend on the Road is a one-day regional conference full of education and inspiration. It offers hands-on training to advance tech skills – but that’s just the beginning. There will be networking opportunities, insights from leaders in the industry, and an exciting expo of Buildertrend experts and additional services. What other kinds of learning opportunities are offered?: Buildertrend offers numerous training opportunities that include: recorded and live webinars, convenient on-demand content through Buildertrend Learning Academy, Onsite Consulting services, and unlimited one-on-one training with our account executives. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? We know that our customers are super busy, so we created training options that can be conveniently accessed at any time. Offering different types of educational resources gives users the opportunity to learn however and whenever works best for them. LINKS AND MORE Register today and join us in Atlanta on Tues., May 3 for Buildertrend on the Road. Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to hear how our award-winning Customer Success team uses customer feedback to improve support strategies and enhance our quality assurance processes. Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 147: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley discuss “The State of Residential Construction Industry 2022” report with Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders. Russ shares his thoughts on the benefits of making future business decisions backed by data. Listen to the full episode to hear more about the APB’s report, the data predicting new market challenges for the industry and how to prepare for a potential slowdown in building. HOW CAN DATA HELP BUILDERS RAISE THEIR MARGINS? “Well, what are these guys on the higher margins doing that the guys on the lower margins aren't? And it's overlaying that data and being able to prove. I think, we always say margins are linked to marketing, and we are able to prove that the guys who spent more than 1% on advertising their building company were the guys that were achieving much higher margins. And it's facts like that. As a coach, you can talk about best practice, but to have hard data that no one can really refute or argue with and show, well, this is what the guys are doing. These are the successful guys. This is what they're doing. And these are the results they're getting. That's a fantastic takeaway for us because it really does help with, yeah, showing builders the way forward.” WHAT IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING FINDINGS YOU TOOK FROM THIS YEAR’S REPORT? “I think one of the key findings really came about in terms of the use of project management software, like Buildertrend, because what we found is that 65% of residential building companies are now using dedicated project management software. Now, to put that into context, that figure stood at 34%, just 12 months prior – that is a staggering swing. So, it's a massive trend in our industry. And I think it clearly demonstrates that builders, residential builders are becoming more professional year on year - which is fantastic to see.” LINKS AND MORE To learn more about The Association of Professional Builders, visit their website. Download the “The State of the Residential Construction Industry 2022” now for comprehensive data that can help you make better business decisions. Get these exclusive offers from the APB: Industry Benchmarks KPI’s Action Plan (Free – $500 value) Professional Builders Secrets book (Free + Shipping) Listen to the Professional Builders Secrets Podcast Related content: Check out the last episode of “The Building Code” (insert link) to hear about how our award-winning Customer Success team uses customer feedback to improve support strategies and assure a quality experience every time. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 146: Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new Global Search feature help our customers? Today on “Inside Buildertrend,” Tayler Ross, director of Customer Success, joins Zach and Charley to discuss the huge impact customer feedback has on the way we run our business. Hear about how our award-winning Customer Success team here at Buildertrend uses customer feedback to improve support strategies and enhancement of our quality assurance processes. What are the key takeaways? Who is our Customer Success team?: Customer support is a top priority for us here at Buildertrend, and our Customer Success team is one of the best in the business with a record-breaking customer satisfaction score of 99%. They’re focused on reactively supporting our customers through incoming phone calls, chats and emails. How many customers are helped each day?: On average, our Customer Success team takes around 450 calls a day. Outside of calls, they answer anywhere from 500 to 600 chats and emails in the same day. But a constant influx of traffic never slows them down. Their average answer rate is around 10 seconds, so customers don’t have to wait long for answers. Documenting feedback for the future: In addition to phone calls and chats with questions, the Customer Success team also gets feedback about the software. This could be anything from a new feature that was released or something that isn’t in the program yet that customers would like to see. Regardless of what the feedback is, everything is documented for use in future software updates. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Our Customer Success team members are the ones our customers rely on for unlimited support. The problem-solvers. The teachers. The ones who understand Buildertrend like the back of their hand and are ready to answer questions in merely minutes. They play a huge role in our customers’ accomplishments. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to get the hear all about the addition of the highly requested Global Search feature. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 145: Paul Robinson Construction’s in a labor shortage, and the industry’s only growing older. Construction consultant group ConstructReach found over half of the construction workforce is over 46 years old. Racial minorities have traditionally been underrepresented in construction, according to ConstructReach. But ConstructReach founder and CEO Paul Robinson says the opportunity to reverse that trend and address this labor shortage is here: 44% of millennials and 49% of Generation Z are non-white. Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn Paul’s story and why he thinks construction companies can connect the industry’s abounding opportunity to a younger, more diverse workforce. HOW CAN LACK OF DIVERSITY BE A BARRIER TO YOUNG PEOPLE LOOKING TO ENTER CONSTRUCTION? “One of the things that we try to do is to allow others to see themselves in this industry. Because if you can't see yourself, then you can't see yourself actually being in it. And so understanding the importance of being able to identify with others, not just those entry-level positions, but seeing how far you can go -seeing yourself represented in the very highest positions that this industry has to offer.” HOW CAN A BUILDING COMPANY START APPEALING TO A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE? “It's making sure that you do the proper assessment internally first. There's nothing like putting forth a lot of effort and going through all of the steps to get in front of young talent that you're not ready for. And so that's one of the things that we like to stress. It's not a cookie-cutter approach, it's not a cookie-cutter model, so you're not going to do these 10 things and then magically see this pipeline and this diverse pipeline grow overnight. It is really looking at how you do business, understanding that DEI is something that should be interwoven into the fabric of the company - making sure that you are healthy to receive them. You're not going to be perfect. If there's a person there, it's not perfect. But we can be healthy.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Learn more about ConstructReach’s success here. Check out Paul’s podcast here. We’re wrapping up Women’s History Month. Here are four tips for celebrating your female construction team members. Miss our last minisode? Listen now to hear about how searching Buildertrend just got easier. Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe now, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 144: Inside Buildertrend – global search Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new Global Search feature help our customers? On the fourth episode of “Inside Buildertrend,” Josh Swenson, senior product manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the release of the highly anticipated Global Search feature. Hear how the addition of Global Search within Buildertrend will simplify the way contractors and their teams find project information. What are the key takeaways? What is Global Search?: Global Search is a new search feature within Buildertrend that allows our users to search a variety of things. It'll let them search almost anything from almost anywhere in the platform. It gives users that direct connection to the job information they're looking for quickly. How is it beneficial for users?: The search feature is available across almost every section in the platform that makes sense to users. The search extends beyond just the job title to cover as much of the platform as possible, reaching several different features. A user can also comb through notes and other fields with the new search to find what they're looking for. What’s coming next?: There are a number of different phases for this project. Several have been completed, but there are more coming down the pike in terms of adding additional functionality and validating some functionality based on customer feedback. There’s also work being done to extend Global Search to additional features that reach further into the platform. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Time. This feature saves our users precious time. Time is money, and by making it easier to find important information within Buildertrend, we’re removing several steps throughout their day – allowing them to get back to work faster. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to get the inside scoop on the newly refreshed Summary page. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 143: Next insurance Insurance: It’s not often front of mind when the daily demands from your jobs keep piling on. But when something bad happens, it’s the safety net every builder needs. Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley showcase Buildertrend’s newest partner, Next Insurance, an online insurer of over 300,000 small businesses. Product manager Susan Tieh joins the podcast to highlight how Next quickly delivers a range of coverages protecting builders against construction and everyday liabilities. WHAT INSURANCE TRENDS HAS NEXT INSURANCE SEEN THE LAST TWO YEARS? “With the more severe weather that we've seen in the last couple years, we actually have seen more claims for property damage due to weather. That could be wind, hail, freezing temperatures. That's been something we've just been noticing more of. The other trend I'll mention is people talked about this during the pandemic, especially, but a lot of homeowners were doing more home renovations. It's this big demand for construction. Insurance is really important as you take on more projects because really the more work you do, the more risks there are.” WHAT’S A COMMON MISPERCEPTION ABOUT INSURANCE IN CONSTRUCTION? “There's this perception that you buy insurance and you're covered, no matter what kind of work you do, ‘I bought insurance, I should be good for anything.’ But it's actually really important to accurately say what you do when you're doing that insurance application. For example, our general contractors, they do a range of things, and I kind of ask them what are the activities that you do? But for us, for example, and for most insurance companies, something like roofing, that's considered pretty high risk, because if something goes wrong, it's usually a big claim. If you don't tell us that you do roofing, we're not going to cover you for roofing because roofing's expensive in terms of the risk for the insurance company.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Head to Next Insurance’s blog for insightful articles on construction, business and more. Next has a new mobile app – download it and learn more here. Want to learn more about the Buildertrend-Next Insurance partnership? Visit our site here. Miss our last minisode? Listen now to hear about the new way to prioritize your day with Buildertrend. Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Podcast Episode 142: Inside Buildertrend – summary page Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new Summary page help our customers? On Episode No. 3 of “Inside Buildertrend,” Brad Dinan, product manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the newly refreshed Summary page. Hear how the updated design of Buildertrend’s landing screen makes it easier and faster than ever for builders to prioritize their day. What are the key takeaways? About the new Summary page: The usage of the original landing screen was very low. Most users would begin there but quickly navigate to another page. With the redesign, the goal was to personalize the experience for each individual user. It gives them the information that’s most important up front, so they can prioritize their day. Prioritizing your information: The Summary page is the first thing users see when they log in to Buildertrend. With the update, users can now see the overall landscape, a snapshot of what's going on with their projects. The most important information will appear based on set deadlines, so users can decide where they want to start. Easier account navigation: In addition to quicker navigation from the Summary page to another area of the software, there’s now an activity feed. The activity feed, a feature users love in the mobile app, is now available on the desktop version. This makes it easy to review the most recent and critical notifications first. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Our customers rely on us to equip them with a Summary page that assists with running their business. Being the first screen that our customers interact with, there was very little interaction. With the new redesign, there’s less friction, and critical information that moves jobs forward is front and center. The new experience gives users easy access to tools for communicating quickly on urgent items that may require more attention. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to learn about the offline Daily Log capabilities. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Episode 141: Happy Birthday to “The Building Code!” Hosts Zach and Charley spend this episode celebrating memorable guests who’ve shared their construction insights the past year as the podcast turns 3. Now 141 episodes in, “The Building Code” has featured a variety of hosts and guest hosts and spotlighted guests from the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Episode 1 launched in March 2019 with Buildertrend co-founders Dan Houghton, Jeff Dugger and Steve Dugger reflecting on how they turned an idea into the leading residential construction software platform. Listen back to that episode here. Today, special guest and podcast director/editor John Beck joins Zach and Charley as they each highlight their favorite guest of the last year. Three Big Takeaways: Builders who engage employees retain their most talented Benji Carlson of Breakthrough Academy discusses why construction employees need to see how they grow in their organization to remain engaged. Challenging status quo profit margins can unlock new success Russ Stephens of the Association of Professional Builders shares why builders only hold their businesses back when they settle for the margins they’ve always had. Homebuilding in extremes: Save lives first, then structures Bill Gray of LMC Building and Construction in New Zealand explains how a devastating earthquake there in 2011 forced builders to rethink codes. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Want to hear Zach and Charley’s first podcast together? Listen here. Check out Benji’s insights in a new three-part series on growing your construction company. Miss our last minisode? Listen now to hear using Buildertrend in the field just got easier. Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Podcast Episode 140: Inside Buildertrend – offline capabilities Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new offline Daily Logs help our customers? On this second episode of “Inside Buildertrend,” Austin Eilers, a product manager, joins Zach and Charley to chat about the exciting new offline capabilities – specifically offline Daily Logs. Hear about how these new functionalities will positively impact the user experience when working and documenting information from the field. What are the key takeaways? The value of customer critiques: We take our customers’ feedback very seriously. When we receive criticism from our users, we take notes, create lists and prioritize updates that will make their experience a better one. Offline Daily Logs: Now live for select users. This new offline capability will allow information to be added within Buildertrend’s Daily Logs feature without the need for cell service or internet connection. Offline Time Clock capabilities are next: As we roll out the offline Daily Logs to our users, we're also working on offline Time Clock capabilities that will further improve the way our customers work from the job site. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Gone are the days of remembering to add important information when cell service is restored. With our new offline Daily Logs, you can document project details right away, and they’ll automatically sync when your cellular or internet connection returns. Offline Daily Logs are currently live for some users but will be available for everyone in the near future. And be sure to keep an eye out. There are more offline capabilities coming soon! LINKS AND MORE Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to get a recap of the biggest product updates that happened in 2021. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Podcast Episode 139 Greg Wamhoff’s not worried about his next sale because his residential construction business in Tomball, Texas, has a self-sustaining sales engine: their finished work. Nine of every ten clients come referred to his company, Wamhoff Design|Build. In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn how Greg turned a telephone and the leads on a dry erase board into an outfit finishing 50 custom homes a year. Referrals power Greg’s business, and he’s sharing his keys to setting up tomorrow’s deal on today’s job site. WHAT HAS BEING A REFERRAL-BASED BUSINESS LOOKED LIKE AT YOUR COMPANY? “Until a year or two ago, we didn't put any effort on social marketing or social media. And to that point, we have never done paid marketing. We never did it. And I think if you're doing business right, especially in a growing market like Texas, you shouldn't have to. Right? But I would say our referral hovers right around 90% plus or minus. Really rare we get a project that comes from another source like social media or some other avenue where somebody sees us. I joked forever in our company, we didn't even put signs out when we were doing projects. If somebody wants me, they're going to go knock on that guy’s door and say, ‘Hey, you're doing a project. Who's doing it?’ Right? So, brand awareness is, I guess, for some companies it's important. Ours is more relational capital. Relationships are what's important for us.” WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU RECEIVED ON BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS? “An early mentor of mine one time said to me that if you just hired great people, your business will take care of itself. And I truly believe that today still. It's really about the people. Over time, as we kind of started putting a few people together to build the company, it centered around that same feeling I had the first time, which is I love our customers. I care about our customers, and we want to do a great job for them. And I think that was evident through some of the first relationships and employees we had, just shared that common thread. And that's what really motivated us and drove us into this business LINKS AND MORE Related content: Read more about Wamhoff Design|Build’s success here, and don’t forget to check out the tree farmer Greg mentioned. Curious about Buildertrend Onsite Consulting? Learn more about our premier training tool here. Miss our last minisode? Listen here to hear how user feedback drives the Buildertrend’s product and the team powering it. Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

This special episode drop kicks off our new “Inside Buildertrend” series for “The Building Code.” Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business. What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. What happened inside Buildertrend in 2021? In this premiere episode of the “Inside Buildertrend” series, Russ Lane, our director of product, joins Zach and Charley to recap some of the company highlights of 2021. Hear about user feedback, the React conversion and quick preview on some highly anticipated upcoming feature updates and releases. What are the key takeaways? User feedback: All our product updates start with our customers. They tell us what they need or how we can make their jobs easier, and we prioritize based on the complexity. From there, updates or new features are built and gradually rolled out. The React conversion: By modernizing an older framework, this conversion laid the groundwork for current and future product updates and allows our team to deliver the best experience for our customers. Feature highlights: We’re touching briefly on new and upcoming product releases such as the redesigned Summary page, offline Daily Logs and global search. Listen to upcoming episodes in the “Inside Buildertrend” series for an in-depth overview. Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Making building, remodeling and contracting more efficient is what we do. We see, we hear and we understand what our customers need to succeed in the highly competitive construction industry. With updates and innovations like these, our construction management software continues to provide our customers with the best tools to run their business. Giving our users the best, most efficient experience possible is what we strive for. Our customers are seeing huge benefits and you can, too. Check out their success stories here. LINKS AND MORE Related content: Attending IBS 2022? Catch our panel, “Beyond Building: Mastering the Demands of a Modern-Day Builder,” on Feb. 8 at 1:45 p.m. ET at W307-C in the convention center. Then swing by the Buildertrend booth – W6370. Demo our software, enter prize giveaways or network during our daily happy hours beginning at 2 p.m. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Construction’s never been easy. But in 2022, the job duties have expanded well-beyond building. On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley preview an insightful panel at next week’s International Builders’ Show with industry pros Joe Christensen of Cardinal Crest Homes and Katie Kath of Jkath Design Build + Reinvent. Joe and Katie each share how they define the modern-day builder, the subject of an IBS 2022 panel they’re leading along with Buildertrend CEO Dan Houghton and Nick Schiffer of NS Builders Feb. 8 in Orlando, Florida. Plus, listen in to hear about Katie’s first IBS experience and about a surprise Joe found during a client walkthrough that tested his resolve. WHAT DEFINES THE MODERN-DAY BUILDER? Katie: “In terms of what is a modern-day builder for me, that goes back to our brand. So for me, I feel like I am my client. Nine out of 10 clients are me in the sense of sort of demographic, where we are in our life. We have kids, we like to cook. We want an open floor plan. How many people have the ability and the want to take down these major projects, which is such a huge disruption in life? But it’s really no different than when you go to get a cup of coffee. They want the same thing from their build team. They want convenience. They want communication. They want a brand, period. So how are we creating a brand?” WHAT MAKES THE MODERN-DAY BUILDER DIFFERENT FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDER? Joe: “I always think is like it's our jobs in this industry to be the professionals. It's our job to, to, to steady the waters because people don't know like it's a messy process…It's a messy business. And I think the modern-day builder, the mountain that we have to climb is how do we make it a customer service-orientated business —not get railroaded by the clients, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, ‘How do we calm the waters, be process systemized so it can be a fun experience at the end?’” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Attending IBS 2022? Catch the panel, “Beyond Building: Mastering the Demands of a Modern-Day Builder” Feb. 8 at 1:45 p.m. ET at W307-C in the convention center. Then swing by the Buildertrend booth – W6370. Demo our software, network, enter prize giveaways or network during our daily happy hours beginning at 2 p.m. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. New “Building Code” minisode drops Feb. 8. Listen as we dive into what’s next at Buildertrend. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Hectic building conditions in 2021 forced builders to rewrite their plans on the fly as they adapted to historic materials scarcity and labor shortages. So how should they prepare for profit and growth in 2022 and beyond? In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn the best construction goal-setting strategies from Doug Howard of Remodelers Advantage. Doug shares how remodelers and home builders can approach scaling and the ways construction software like Buildertrend can bring goals into reach. HOW WILL THE TURBULENT MARKET AFFECT MY ABILITY TO REACH MY GOALS? “What I really try to do is get folks to think about growth in terms of a five-year plan. I always want to know where people want to be five years out. Even though people say, ‘Well, how can you do that in the crazy world we live in,’ I will tell you the people that had five-year plans as they were going through COVID, they at least knew how far off track they were. It was a really good rudder to bring them back in line.” HOW CAN FOCUSING ON QUARTERLY METRICS HELP BUILDERS REACH THEIR FIVE-YEAR GOALS? “We can look at what's going to drive production capacity. ‘Hey, we need another small job,’ or ‘we're going to be finishing a big job – we need another one to start in May.’ It really translates all these numbers into something actionable, but the really cool thing about it is when someone grows at that pace, and each of those quarters has an escalation, when they get to the fourth quarter, all they really need to do is maintain that level for the next year and they're going to go up in revenue again. They're doing it in a very controlled and a very profitable way, as opposed to, ‘We've sold a bunch, let's go build a bunch. Let's go sell a bunch more – let's try to fit it in.’" LINKS AND MORE Related content: Want to book time with Doug to discuss your company’s goals? Schedule time here. Catch the latest tips on how to retain the best employees here. Explore Remodelers Advantage’s free resources covering entrepreneurship, talent development, and more here. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. “The Better Way” a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

Construction software has helped thousands of builders optimize their operations, and it’s also powering life-changing charity right in Buildertrend’s backyard. On 2022’s first episode of “The Building Code,” Lynette Farhart of Project Houseworks tells Zach and Charley all about the Omaha nonprofit’s mission to help seniors with free home repairs. Lynette describes how the Buildertrend helped them better serve seniors and the benefits of the Estimate and Time Clock features for her team’s fundraising. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOUR TEAM NEEDED PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE? “We were serving more, and the projects were getting really big. We're trying to manage all of this on Word documents and spreadsheets. And I think it was pivotal when someone accidentally messed up one of our spreadsheets and saved it. And all of our data was completely messed up. And it was like, "Okay, we can't do that anymore." Because I think what's important to know is that our funding comes a lot from grants, and we have deliverables on those grants. And so, if we told a donor through the grant process that we're going to serve X amount of people, we've got to report that we did that work. So trying to manage our data with spreadsheets just didn't make sense for us anymore” HOW ELSE DOES BUILDERTREND HELP YOU WIN OVER DONORS? “Some of our grants are reimbursable, which means we have to do all of the work, and then we ask for funding. So we have really accurate reports to submit. And that just earns the trust of our donors knowing that we're keeping such good records on everything that we do.” LINKS AND MORE Related content: Read more about their Buildertrend story here. To help Project Houseworks serve more seniors, visit their website here. Want to get your finances in shape for the new year? Listen here for accounting pro-tips. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at [email protected]. “The Better Way” a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bing-eable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.