Many people say a company is only as good as the people or the integrity behind it. This can not be truer in any other field than the swimming pool industry. The country is littered with damaged or destroyed customers due to broken promises of swimming pool contractors. Contractors that can not forecast accurately on bids for price or timelines will quickly gain a poor reputation. Contractors that provide quality work, and materials within a reasonable time-frame gain more customers through good old fashioned word of mouth and positive reviews on the internet.
Successful forecasting of costs and time lines comes from accurate data collected over years of experience. Quality in forecasting costs and timelines are direct results of the quality of data collected. The more accurate information a contractor has on hand, the more accurate commitments to customers will be.
Job costing is usually under the radar of most customers and not even considered. A company that does accurate job costing may be one of the customer’s greatest assets. Company’s that job cost time and products can promise accurate bids and timelines.
Customers often forget minutes spent on a job is a labor cost. Every minute saved on a job equates to savings. In closing, missed or broken promises on deadlines are directly related to labor costs. More labor means higher costs. Accurate forecasting allows companies to provide maximum labor and complete projects on budget and before promised timelines.