Darrell Smith: gear that helps 21st-century custom builders get ahead

Custom Home, July-August, 2005 by Jennifer R. Goodman

Shelly Home Company, San Antonio, Texas

Darrell Smith says he would have to hire an accountant to do everything that QuickBooks Contractor does for his company. Features such as job costing and specialized reports help him see exactly which jobs are making money and which are not. Critical job details--estimates, change orders, invoices, purchase orders, payroll, and job-cost information--are all in one place. He can even track mileage and expenses with the software's vehicle mileage tracker. "We would either have to hire a fulltime clerical staff person to handle the bookkeeping or pay an accountant to track it all for us," he says. "This is one of those tools that I am amazed builders ever did without."

When he's out in the field, Smith says he cannot live without his Motorola Razr and Motorola V551 phones to communicate with clients, subs, suppliers, and other employees. "The built-in PDA features of calendar, contacts, Bluetooth wireless connectivity, e-mail, and digital camera are invaluable," he says. "We send digital photos back and forth between supers, subs, and even clients."

QuickBooks Contractor and Motorola phones have helped make Shelly Home Company more efficient and profitable, Smith says. "Both of these tools allow us to do our job better as well as take on more jobs."

QuickBooks Contractor 888.729.1996. www.quickbooks.com. Circle 176. Motorola. 866.289.6686. www.motorola.com. Circle 177.