Data can be immensely powerful for decision makers. Multi-layered, complex companies can struggle to collect data from their own operations – a problem that Housebuilder Pro and parent company Shoothill have been solving for hundreds of clients.

Centralised data streams help decision makers take essential steps in driving their business forward. This is no different for house builders; labour shortages and material shortages have made it all-the-more important for decision makers to have easy access to data. But how? How is this data collected, how is it displayed and what are the short and long-term benefits for house builders in being able to access this kind of data?

Let’s take Housebuilder Pro as an example. Housebuilder Pro software collects data that is entered into the system by your team members and displays it to you in a simplified, visual manner in the Reports section. Permitted users are then able to view this data over different time scales, to track performance over the short and long term.

Depending on the type of business you run, you may require access to data types that are unique to you. For Housebuilder Pro, we added the essentials for house builders. Here are the main ways these tools can help you grow your business.

Make sales forecasts

Businesses of all different shapes and sizes have one common goal – to make a profit, of course. To make accurate forecasts and compare them to your end-of-year actuals, you need accurate sales data. Housebuilder Pro’s Reservation & Sales Activity module is synced with the finance and sales finance reports. These reports are generated automatically and can be exported out as a CSV file. Tools like this allow sales staff and decision makers to forecast accurately and create annual reports, without the part where you get buried in paperwork.

Analyse sales progress

Sales teams that have access to their sales progress can see whether they are on track to hit their targets. Decision makers can set targets from this data. Sales is one of the most important functions of a business and being able to closely monitor related data is essential for the long-term financial health of any company, not just house builders. Tracking sales for house builders is made simple due to the normality of online listings; integrating Rightmove has been a major leap for Housebuilder Pro software, automating the centralisation of leads and the generation of financial reports. With all the heavy lifting done in the background by the system and all the data collected at a high degree of accuracy, house builders will be well equipped to make more informed decisions.

Set high quality standards

Companies that generate business through the sale of products are constantly challenged to maintain quality. House builders find it even harder, due to the sheer scale of resources and work that is involved in completing a development. The average new home has an average of 160 snags. This number is staggering, and due to the sheer expense of moving into a new home, quality control can put house builders under a lot of pressure. Visualised data can make it easy to identify patterns and anomalies; consistent snag types may be indicative of poor-quality materials, poorly trained staff, or other reasons – in any case, patterns can only be diagnosed easily with data visualisation tools.

Analyse marketing strategies

Long term marketing efforts are essential to the success of your business. Marketing can be expensive; small builders are going to be conscious about how much is being spent on marketing. Expenditure transparency is possible with real-time reports. Sources of enquiry reports can help analyse marketing efforts and identify which forms of marketing are generating the best results.

Monitor operational efficiency

Measuring operational efficiency is notoriously difficult without technology. There are many ways to measure efficiency, but tracking sales statuses give house builder decision makers oversight on progress from the initial enquiry right through to sales completion. Having access to this data helps you monitor sales that are in progress, how many have been completed and in what time frame. This data can be a useful instrument in the approach to continual improvement.

When new information arrives, decisions are made. The speed and accuracy in which this data is delivered to decision makers can have a large impact on the outcome. There is nothing out there that is faster than real-time reports.

Learn more about Housebuilder Pro Reports here.