Why A Little Project Planning
Now Goes An Even Longer Way
Dustin Elliott
Products and Customer Insights Analyst, Buildxact
I recently spoke to a remodeler — for the sake of this conversation we’ll call Max. Max’s remodeling business, nestled in the vibrant heart of Miami, is a testament to the grit and evolution required to succeed in the world of residential remodels.
Over the past five years, Max’s business has become familiar with homeowners seeking to breathe new life into their kitchens, bathrooms and whole interiors.
His work, characterized by attention to detail and a hands-on approach, has largely grown through the oldest marketing tool in the industry: word of mouth. Referrals from satisfied clients have kept his calendar full and his reputation sterling.
Maintaining a consistently high reputation for quality work is important in a market like Miami where many high-end property owners insist on top-level service for their premium remodels.
But in Max’s case, as the flow of projects increased, so did the complexity of operations. Max found himself juggling multiple jobs simultaneously, each with its own demands, deadlines, and ever-shifting expectations.
Like many small business owners, he had started out managing quotes, orders and costs using the familiar tools of Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. For a while, this patchwork system worked. However, as business scaled, the cracks showed up. Keeping up with the paperwork became a daily struggle.
Growing Pains and the Search for Better Solutions
Today, Max keeps up with the growth using Buildxact construction management software. With Buildxact, Max has incorporated the traditional purchase order into his Buildxact preconstruction planning.
Buildxact is a construction management platform tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. Because Buildxact handles project quoting, cost tracking and purchase orders, it is the perfect construction management platform for builders like Max.
Buildxact Has You Up and Running
Max’s experience with Buildxact began with a training session on purchase orders. The training walked him through the platform’s features, showing how digital purchase orders could be generated, customized with materials and quantities, and sent directly to his favorite material suppliers. Unlike the old methods, every order was time-stamped, searchable and easily referenced. This wasn’t just a time-saver; it was a transparency tool that would soon become a safeguard for his business.
You see, Max had learned a valuable lesson from a high-stakes project: a comprehensive remodel of four bathrooms and a kitchen. The client, with a firm deadline and high expectations, had requested a very specific tile—one that was not only costly, but central to the entire design. Max placed the order with his supplier over the phone, as he had done many times before, trusting that the details would be handled as agreed.
What happened next was a perfect storm of miscommunication and oversight. The supplier claimed to have sent a confirmation email for the tile order, but Max, swamped with incoming messages, missed it entirely. The wrong tile arrived on site, and by the time the error was discovered, the clock was ticking down to the client’s deadline. Rectifying the situation required purchasing the correct tile batch—at a cost of over $25,000—which Max had to absorb, as the original order could not be returned or refunded in time. The delay pushed the project back by several weeks and essentially wiped out any profit he might have made.
This costly error drove home the limitations of verbal agreements and scattered documentation. The experience was both a financial blow and a wake-up call. Max realized that as his business grew, so too did the risks of relying on informal processes and manual record-keeping. A single missed email, in a sea of others, had been enough to derail months of careful work.
The Shift to Digital Purchase Orders
Armed with new knowledge from his Buildxact training, Max began to overhaul his workflow. Now, every purchase order is created within the platform, detailing exact product specifications, quantities and delivery notes. These orders are sent directly to suppliers, leaving a digital paper trail that can be referenced at any time. No more relying on memory or searching through old emails—everything is organized and easily accessible.
This change brought immediate benefits. Disputes over what was ordered and what was delivered became a thing of the past, as every step was documented and confirmed. Suppliers appreciated the clarity, and Max regained confidence that his projects could proceed without costly surprises. The digital system also allowed him to monitor which orders had been fulfilled and which were still outstanding, ensuring that nothing fell through the cracks.
Visibility and Control: Tracking Costs in Real Time
Purchase orders were just the beginning. Buildxact’s integrated cost tracking enabled Max to see, at a glance, the actual versus committed costs for each project. This granular visibility made it possible to spot budget overruns before they became critical. Instead of piecing together expenses from various spreadsheets, he had a live dashboard showing where every dollar was going. This allowed for better forecasting, more accurate quoting, and ultimately, tighter control over profitability.
For Max, the shift wasn’t just about avoiding errors—it was about reclaiming control over his time and finances. The hours he once spent reconciling receipts and cross-referencing documents were now freed up for client communication, on-site supervision, and growing his business even further.
The Ripple Effect: Client Trust and Business Growth
Clients soon noticed the difference. With clearer timelines, more accurate estimates, and fewer hiccups due to supply issues, Max’s remodels ran more smoothly and finished closer to schedule. The transparency provided by digital purchase orders reassured clients that every detail was documented and accounted for. Word of his refined process spread, and referrals continued to flow in—this time accompanied by glowing testimonials about professionalism and reliability.
Suppliers, too, benefited from the new system. The clarity of Buildxact’s purchase orders reduced back-and-forth communication and minimized the risk of misunderstandings. Deliveries became more reliable, and relationships with vendors strengthened as trust replaced uncertainty.
Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead
Max’s journey underscores a lesson familiar to many small business owners: what works in the early days of a business rarely scales without adaptation. The strategies and systems that carry a company through its infancy can become liabilities as complexity increases. For Max, the turning point came through a combination of painful experience and a willingness to embrace new technology.
Today, Max’s business stands as a model of how the right tools can empower even the smallest operations to thrive amid growing demands. By leveraging Buildxact’s capabilities, he has not only avoided repeating costly mistakes but has positioned himself for sustainable growth in an ever-competitive market.
The world of residential renovations will always be subject to surprises—delays, supply chain hiccups, client changes. But with robust systems in place, those surprises need not spell disaster. Max’s story is a reminder that investing in better processes isn’t just about saving money; it’s about building a foundation for trust, reputation, and long-term success.
