Uncategorised
HSE Inspection Initiative – inspection-ready health and safety software
Quick takeaways: HSE inspection initiative – focus on occupational lung disease caused by asbestos, silica, wood and other dusts New Health & Safety Xpert gives everything you need for your general building works compliance in one package – including documents relating to this latest initiative Starting on 17 June, the HSE will be carrying out its latest construction inspection initiative. This initiative will continue the focus on health, in particular…
Read more
How’s it going? Stress, Mental Health and Wellbeing at work
Health & Safety Xpert 2019 BBC News released a video about the alarming prevalence of mental illness among men in the construction industry in the United Kingdom. Long hours, lack of job security and macho atmosphere are blamed for the high risk of suicide – three times higher than the national average for men. Like many in the industry, Adrian Wild, Managing Director of HBXL Building Software is very concerned…
Read moreBuilder Profit Guide and Business Model Overheads Spreadsheet
Your guide to profit margins and making more money Download Spreadsheet & Guide As part of our ‘We mean business’ series, we’re looking at costing each job accurately – and by that we don’t just mean the materials and labour – but the overheads for running your business and the profit margin you need to allow for too. We’ve even created a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet populated with the descriptions of the…
Read more
EstimatorXpress 2019 is here…
If you want to see what easy, fast, business-changing estimating looks like, then please book an online launch demonstration now! Book your demo here Watch EstimatorXpress 2019 demonstrated live on your own computer screen (at home, office, garden shed…). One of our friendly (yes really), non-jargon talking Sales Consultants will be your tour guide. It can take as little as 30 minutes or as long as you need. You can…
Read more
Estimating software for builders and developers – meet Bob
Estimating software for builders and developers is today’s topic in our series of articles about the wide cross-section of the industry EstimatorXpress appeals to. Take a look also at Sarah and her partner’s small building firm and Callum and his start-up building firm. Building firms that have been going for a number of years and steadily grow into say a 10-20 person business clearly know what they’re doing. And that’s…
Read more
We’ve just launched the PlansXpress 2019 Take-off edition!
We’ve just launched the PlansXpress 2019 Take-off edition! It’s a brand new take-off only version of PlansXpress 2019. You use it to simply trace and take-off existing building plans, then import into your EstimatorXpress for an instant estimate. Keeping things really simple, with just the tools you need to take-off plans, PlansXpress Take-off costs just £399+VAT. (Of course if you do want the drawing/architectural features to draft new plans, then…
Read more
Builders! Six reasons why you need to be on your game…
Potential customers don’t like poor communication even if the quote is in the right ball park for them Do you ever have dead cert, ‘in the bag’ jobs that still go elsewhere? What went wrong? The price was slap bang in the middle? They seemed interested…? Well you might be surprised to know that often the customer chooses the (often more expensive) contractor who is always prompt with email, text,…
Read more
Introducing PlansXpress 2019
The development team at HBXL Building Software have been working on a brand new version of PlansXpress! And it’s not your ‘average’ update either – an amazing amount has happened in development to make it a really, valuable piece of software. As you may or may not know, HBXL invest 25% of turnover into R&D to ensure that the software our customers use is constantly improving. What’s new? This is just…
Read more
Builder Testimonial: A Q & A with Paul Knapp, owner of B S Knapp, Bristol
Paul has been in the building trade all his working life. Following his father’s retirement, two co-owners joined Paul’s business in the last few years. One disability adaptation project led to another, then another, and although this has become something of a specialism, Paul’s firm also takes on regular extensions and refurbishments. Here’s the face-to-face chat we had with Paul. “How easy do you find EstimatorXpress?” “I’ll give you an…
Read more
Crystal Direct: as recommended by another satisfied HBXL builder
“I have been using the HBXL Crystal Direct link for nearly 6 years now” You can’t beat a testimonial from a satisfied customer to make the point that Crystal Direct really do provide a great service manufacturing and delivering PVC-u windows, doors, French doors, roof lanterns and conservatories for building firms across the UK. HBXL have enjoyed a successful partnership with Crystal Direct for a number of years now. Dave…
Read more
Builder testimonial: How James changed his way of estimating
Hi James, tell us a bit more about who you are and what it is that you do? Mainly from a commercial QS background, I consider myself quite set in my ways using my Excel spreadsheet, spending 4 to 5 days on every job which gave me a sense of confidence that the price was right using my methods. However it was a ‘Eureka!’ moment when I could see that…
Read more
Why your construction company shouldn’t overlook the Building Safety Act
If you’re a residential construction company in England, the Building Safety Act 2022 is something you need to be aware of. And that’s regardless of whether you’re working on an extension or a five-storey apartment block. Download your free guide >> While much of the public conversation around the Act has centred on high-rise buildings, the truth is that it applies to all building work that falls under Building Regulations,…
Read more