Increasing capacity for growth

Since its launch, Australian builder Emerath has channeled its paper-based records and decisions through its founder, Jay Ivanoff. This single bottleneck meant Jay faced a high level of stress and had to singlehandedly manage people, decisions and building requirements across multiple residential building and commercial fit-out projects.

Emerath had previously selected another construction tool but without the time to ‘further build out the solution’ had not implemented it across the business. Realising Emerath needed a more open and flexible solution that could be used from day one, Jay turned to Procore’s centralised platform for tender management, project financials and project management.

The ability to integrate Procore with Xero small business accounting software was also compelling. This would help improve how Emerath could view and track the company’s financials.

Relying on manual files and email communications created an information and knowledge silo for each project for Emerath. Paper-based records needed double handling and more time to scrutinise, resulting in longer claim times and processing of subcontractor variations and claims, creating a bottleneck for all concerned.

Facing a new world of financial volatility means collecting and analysing data within Procore is more critical than ever for Emerath.

“A great example of this is our new visibility into timecards. We have moved from paper to digital timecards, and they are now transparent. We can drill down into data and track where we are at times versus forecasts. This is going to help us take that captured data and review the way we cost a job,“ he outlined.

Emerath is squarely focused on being competitive through greater efficiency and having more significant insights for time and cost data.

“We want to become more comfortable with our use of Procore across the team and to rely on the platform to manage larger projects and better manage our subcontractors,” he said.

The document control and management with Procore mean the team is better able to track RFIs and variations.

“We see great value in building a reputation as an organised and highly effective team for clients––and one that can focus on multiple project challenges at once. In this economic climate, it will be more imperative than ever to know your builder has a true understanding of the financial position of any project they are undertaking. You want them to be able to finish the job they start. Procore delivers good document control and management to achieve this,“ Jay outlined.

Jay took direct responsibility for making sure the Procore platform was implemented properly while another team member managed the rollout of online training. This ensured Emerath, their subcontractors and even the bookkeeping and accounting team understood how to maximise the results from the platform.

“Getting started was the hardest part for us as we all wear many hats. With the professional and energetic support of the Procore team, we are all using the platform and find it easy to collaborate with them. With the team at Procore being so friendly it means, we don’t hesitate to pick up that phone,” he concluded.

“The goal with Procore is to give us better workflow and approval processes, financial tracking and the collection of data. Our vision is to look at how we do things and, standardise any processes––, ultimately freeing us up to work more on the business, rather than in it,” Jay said.