Product Overview

Section 6 - Sharing Data

35. Exporting Data to other programs

In addition to using our software to generate the quotations and other associated documentation, there may be a requirement to export certain data to another software program. It may be that you are using another software package for your accounts, or for your ordering system, or you may wish to export the data for inventory management or contractor payments.

To cater for this, we have built in the ability to either Export CSV (comma separated values file format) or Export GRIM (a csv file containing only certain parts of information).

At various processes used in our software, wherever a result is displayed, we provide the ability to Export CSV. For instance, you can export the data relating to the nett areas and lengths of the roof or the cutting list for the sheets or the complete listing for every component required for the job.

By Exporting GRIM you can create a "template" that contains only the information required. For instance, if you wanted to export only the Customers name, Quote Date, Total Material amount, Total Labour amount and Tax amount, you can create a template allowing you to filter only that information, to send it to your accounting software.


36. Printing the reports

When you are happy with the figures shown in the quote, you will then want to print out the various forms. This can be accessed by selecting Print on the Supply & Install page. Rather than printing out reams of paperwork that may not be needed, we give you the option of selecting the particular forms you need.

As you can see above, we have prepared a number of forms already, based on what our customers have told us, but each of the form templates is customizeable by the user. You may wish to present your quote with your company logo, or you may want to add more information to the quotation page, and using our software you can achieve this.

On the following page, I have shown some examples of the typical outputs. If you wish to receive more information on these outputs, please do not hesitate to contact our office.


37. New Integration of Warlock to Roofing Software

For many years we've had a separate program for the vertical cladding market called Warlock. This was in response to the Australian and the US markets, where there were separate companies specializing in the siding market from the roofing market. However, we noticed that in the commercial sector, the roofing and siding is all done by the same contractor, so we decided that it would make sense to combine the roofing and siding products together.

What this means to the user is that now you can draw up the roof using the usual functions of the Sorcerer or Wizard programs, and then, select Walls from the menu and the software will then utilize the wall outline you used to create the roof to project the walls to the correct height. This eliminates the need to re-enter the wall outline again, saving time and costly errors. Warlock is available as an add-on for existing users who wish to upgrade their capabilities, or as a stand-alone product. The end result is an extremely accurate and fast method for costing up the entire job.


38. What does all this mean to your business?

So far, this document has gone through a lot of technical aspects of the software, which we hope has shed some light on how you would go about using our software and what it can achieve for you.

Ultimately, we recognise that there will be an investment in your time and your money, in order to gain the most value out of our software, but when you consider the savings that can be achieved, both in time and money (by reducing waste), the return on investment will be highly achieveable.

By speeding up the time taken in the production of estimates, your estimator can spend more time on those parts of the job that cannot be helped by software, such as phoning to verify specifications, doing more field measurements, calling customers to monitor feedback and generating more business.

Consider this:

Take a single job that would typically take 35 mijutes using traditional methods. Our software has the technology that allows you to complete that same task in just 5 minutes - a saving of 30 minutes. Saving just 30 minutes each day adds up to an amazing 100 hours over a year - on just one job a day!

You will also be able to bid for more jobs (you may currently only bid for certain job types because it is too time consuming to bid for the complex ones), the estimates generated will be more accurate, therefore ensuring the likelihood of winning more bids and maintaining a healthy profit margin. If a customer calls up and changes his mind and wants the same roof re-quoted in another material, your estimator can provide this service in seconds, rather than hours. If the customer changes the design of the building, you can use our functions to make those changes quickly and accurately, without having to start all over again.

In this day and age of technology, roofing contractors are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd and make their quotations move to the top of the pile. By using our reports with integrated drawings, you can present a very professional looking quote. You will be able to present yourself and your company much higher than your competitors.

You can also customize the reports to suit your business, so you can use your existing logos, or tailor the quote to extract certain information as required.

All of these points will go a long way in making your business standout head and shoulders above the rest, and ensure that you business will maintain it's profitability in the years to come.

39. Customers Testimonials

Having told you how great we think our software is, we thought it might be useful to hear what other people think, and how it has helped their businesses. Go to our Testimonials page for some of the feedback from customers.

40. Our Value Proposition

To assist you in the justification of such an investment within your company, I have listed below, some of the features of our software, that you may or may not be aware of:

BETTER INVESTMENT
- cost is less than other solutions
- investment in our software includes unlimited support for 12 months
- easier to learn and use, therefore reduced cost of ownership
- annual Investment Protection program very comprehensive.
- multiple licences are available at discounted rates
- fully networkable
- effectively 24 hour support

MORE ADVANCED FUNCTIONS
- wide range of modelling functions
- insert bay windows, drop eaves and gable commands (overall, easier modelling functions)
- all accessories are automatically picked up for flashings and trim
- custom flashings and profiles plus export drawing of custom profile
- all fabrication and installation allowances for trim are automatically accounted for (lap and run etc.)
- automatically creates a flashing plan and purlin layout drawing
- stage manager for better job management and material delivery scheduling
- automatic order and invoice generation
- fall barriers and insulation quantities determined
- fall protection planning may be done and costed
- operator may modify roof in any 3D view, easier to use on complex roofs
- powerful heavy duty CAD system included
- customisable reports

GREATER FLEXIBILITY WITH OFFICE SYSTEMS
- export GRIM files and CSV file
- may be integrated with PocketPC (pocketROOFmedia) for external data capture

INNOVATIVE and EXPERIENCED COMPANY
- company longevity - we've been doing this for over 10 years
- CEO has over 33 years experience with CAD/CAM technology
- proof of concept for web based estimating completed
- sales and support offices in USA, UK and Australia

EASE OF USE and LEARNING FUNCTIONS
- fully illustrated and most comprehensive training and reference manuals in soft copy (on the CD and installed into the /Magician/Manuals folder) and hard copy
- web help - tips and tricks, latest tutorials available for download
- context sensitive on-screen help (middle button on the command)
- unlimited undo and redo in a session (undo redo on picture menu)
- automatic crash file ensures work can be recovered in the event of power interruption (CAD - file - recover)

ONGOING DEVELOPMENT
- everything in the software is there because a roofer has requested it
- we maintain a 'knowledge base' of all suggestions ever made and they are progressively incorporated based on priority of need


 

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