So Bob has some criteria for a service that would help him make a decision. But he really needs a list to identify what is really important so he makes a list of things he would need to be able to do to justify using a management service.

1. Search across jobs using key information such as references, names, addresses, invoices, purchase orders and document names
2. To be able to monitor and prioritise across all jobs
3. To easily understand when my standard processes and timeframes are not being upheld by my team
4. To give my team the ability to share the tasks across a job, in other words improving their chances of success
5. Understand what problems occur on jobs so that I can minimise them happening again on future projects and monitor this
6. Make sure we are progressing on jobs and closing down jobs correctly
7. Invoice on time
8. Set targets for invoicing
9. View reports on performance, invoicing and debtors
10. Give my team a central place on all jobs to communicate and drop files
11. Easily export reports to excel so that I can use the data for my own needs

A recommendation to contact the guys at Blueprint has been passed to Bob. However, he doesn't really like IT guys as they usually speak another language and cost a lot. A demonstration can't hurt but he doesn't have much time. So he sends a quick email asking for a demonstration.

He mentions he need to have something up and running quick but is aware that he has a lot of requirements. It's worth asking the question!

Blueprint offer a demonstration that can be carried out online or in person. The online demonstration can be done a lot faster but is less personal which is not preferable to Blueprint but understanding Bob's need the offer is made anyway.

Bob's happy to get a quick reply and to know he can have a quick demonstration without having to interrupt too much of his already busy day. So he books the online demonstration.

Bob completes the demonstration with Blueprint and is happy that all of his questions have been answered relating to the list he previously made. However, he now has more requirements than he first thought because of the functionality available. The new items on his list that he can have out of the box are:

1. Creating purchase orders on a job to manage all purchases from the office
2. Creating time sheets online, to get fully accurate real time costs
3. Creating invoices immediately
4. Creating and tracking workflows for different revenue streams and clients
5. Using the labour schedule to programme when and what people are working on within jobs
6. Helping people manage their own diary and workload
7. Delegating the management of invoicing and debtors retrieval
8. Enabling his workers to upload images and documents from home securely
9. Creating estimates with variations
10. Proactively contacting clients and keeping them informed at every stage
11. Managing a list of suppliers and their contact details ready for allocation in jobs

Bob has weighed up all of the pros and cons and after speaking with his accountant has identified that the cost of the service is minimal compared with the operational time that can be saved. Bob estimates that at least 2 hours per day per person are saved compared with their current operation and so even based on a minimum wage this equates to over £280 per person per month. Bob calmly contacts Blueprint and asks them to setup the system for him on a basic package which he can immediately take advantage of and then later upgrade when they are ready.