WACRAD: Flexible, cost-effective CRM-to-ERP software for construction SMEs

Many growing construction businesses reach a point where spreadsheets, emails and separate software solutions are no longer enough.

Information can be spread between the office, project managers, site teams, customers, suppliers and accounts, making it difficult to see what is happening across the business. While traditional construction ERP systems can offer greater control, they can also be costly, complex and too rigid for the way smaller contractors actually work.

WACRAD gives you a more flexible option.

Developed by our in-house team here at Web Alliance, WACRAD stands for Web Alliance Construction Rapid Application Development. It’s a modular CRM-to-ERP platform designed specifically for SME construction businesses that want to bring their operations together in one system without committing to a lengthy and expensive bespoke software project.

With WACRAD, you can start with a ready-to-use foundation and build from there, adding the additional functionality your business needs as it grows.

Designed for construction workflows

WACRAD has been created specifically for SME construction businesses, including contractors, subcontractors, fit-out companies and installers.

The platform supports key processes including:

• Prospect management
• Site survey management
• Bespoke quotation creation and issue
• Customer approvals
• Job and project management
• Labour and project manager scheduling
• Employee clocking in and out
• Automatic timesheets
• Project progress photography
• Document generation
• Health and safety documentation
• Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS)
• Client portal access
• Project milestones and tasks
• Warehouse management
• Inventory control
• Invoicing
• Reports and dashboards

From first enquiry to final invoice

WACRAD helps connect your business.

A prospect can be managed from the initial enquiry and site survey through to the creation and issue of a bespoke quotation.

Once the customer approves the quotation, it can automatically become a live job, helping information move through the business without having to be repeatedly copied, re-entered or transferred between different systems.

From there, WACRAD can support the management of people, projects, documentation, stock, customer communications and financial information through one central platform.

Keep your site teams and office connected.

WACRAD gives office-based teams, project managers and employees on site access to the information they need through one central system.

Labour and project managers can be scheduled against individual jobs, while site-based employees can clock in and out through the system, automatically generating their timesheets.

Progress photographs can also be uploaded against individual projects, creating a clearer record of work completed and helping managers keep track of projects.

 

Keep essential project documentation in one place

WACRAD can automatically generate and store project documentation, helping reduce administration and making vital information easier to access.

It can generate health and safety documents, including RAMS, and make them available to teams on site.

Instead of information being stored across individual laptops, inboxes, folders and spreadsheets, project documentation can sit alongside the job it relates to.

Give your clients better visibility

WACRAD can provide your customers with access to their own client portal.

Depending on the information you choose to make available, customers can view:

• Progress updates
• Site photographs
• Timesheets
• Milestones
• Tasks
• Invoices

This reduces the need for phone calls, emails and manual progress reports while giving clients greater visibility of their projects.

Know what’s happening before problems become bigger

One of the biggest benefits of WACRAD is greater visibility. Bespoke dashboards for owners, managers, employees and clients allow each user to see the information most relevant to them.

A traffic-light monitoring system flags projects that may require attention because they’re running over on time or cost, enabling managers to identify potential issues earlier and act before they have a wider impact.

Improve materials and stock control

WACRAD also incorporates warehouse and inventory management.

Materials and equipment can be allocated to specific shelf and bay locations using an IKEA-style location system, helping teams identify exactly where individual items are stored.

Stock levels can be manually adjusted where necessary, with changes recorded through an audit trail to improve accountability and give managers a clearer picture of inventory across the business.

Connect WACRAD with your finance software

WACRAD can work alongside commonly used accounting platforms including:

• Sage
• Xero
• QuickBooks

This reduces the need to manually transfer information between different systems and allows operational and financial processes to be better connected.

Start small. Scale when you are ready.

WACRAD is built around Web Alliance’s Rapid Application Development approach.

Rather than forcing your business to change the way it operates to fit a standard software package, WACRAD combines a ready-to-use CRM foundation with modular functionality that can be configured around your own processes.

You start with the functionality you need now and expand the platform as your business grows or your requirements become more complex, giving you a practical route towards a more comprehensive ERP-style system without having to replace everything at once.

Once your initial business data has been uploaded, WACRAD can typically be operational in around a week.

 

Transparent pricing

WACRAD has been designed to make advanced business management software accessible to smaller construction companies.

Standard pricing

One-time setup fee: £300

Monthly subscription: £300 per month for up to ten users

Additional users: £10 per user, per month

More flexible than standard software. Faster than bespoke.

Every construction business works slightly differently.

That is why WACRAD is designed to be adapted rather than forcing your business into a rigid predefined process.

You can get a working system in place quickly, then customise and expand it over time as you identify opportunities to automate more processes, connect more information and improve visibility.

Support when you need it

WACRAD is supported by our UK-based technical hotline, available Monday to Friday from 8am to 3pm, giving you and your team direct access to support when you need it.

A ticketing support system is also available at any time, helping your team log, track and manage support requests.

Book a WACRAD demo

See how WACRAD could help your construction business connect projects, people, stock and financial information while giving you better visibility across your operations.

Request a demo today

Call 0800 677 1786 or email info@web-alliance.co.uk.