ONLINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
For those of you who are new to Acheson Builders, here is a further description of the various sections of the online project management system we’ve adopted. We hope you will enjoy it!
See also our blog post “Smoother Sailing“.
There is a job “Summary” page which will keep you updated on the running total for your project (with any authorized changes or upgrades/credits.) This page shows local weather, as well.
There is a section for “Documents” (such as proposal, specifications, and invoices) where we will upload all documents for your project as they are developed.
Through “Messages” we can send and receive email to each other, and have a record of correspondence regarding your project all in one place. Unless you find this unpleasant (please let us know if that is the case), we would like you to correspond with us through this program when sending email. (Phone calls are always fine, as well!) Besides keeping messages for your project all together, you will be able to see when your messages were received and read. (You will be notified through your regular email when a new message is available for you, and there will be a link to click on for you to easily reply through the program.)
“Photos” will include your before photos, and we may add some as the project goes along. You may feel free to upload your own “in process” or “after” photos in this section. It’s easy to share those photos with friends through the software, if you wish to.
In the section for “Changes” (if there should be any) we will upload a document describing the change and the cost or credit for the change, which you will then be able to authorize or reject. Once a change is authorized, the cost will automatically be added to (or subtracted from) your running total.
We use the section titled “Options” to confirm your selections for items that are not specified fully in the proposal and that still need to be selected, such as Allowance items. You will have to click on each room location to find the selection descriptions, and you can authorize them electronically.
There is a “Calendar” which will help keep you and our workers informed of dates when different stages of the job are expected to be done. One caveat: When we provide a schedule, as in this program, we want you to know that things can change rapidly and we cannot always follow the schedule precisely nor update it as often as we’d like. You can plan on us NOT following it in every detail, but generally getting to the same ending point at about the same time – barring additional work, weather, or other unforeseen glitches.
When you log out, you will be redirected to our website. Feel free to look around at new articles or information there (more posted regularly), or you can just close out of that.
We are happy to be able to serve you! We hope to exceed your expectations, and make the project happen as smoothly, efficiently, and beautifully as possible.
Please let us know how you like this program, or if you have any questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Marilyn Acheson
