# Is anyone paperless or cloud-based yet



## Greg Di

As I sit here at my in-laws bored out of my mind, I am taking the moment of calm to reorganize many of my business documents and "systems" for 2010.

My goal is to get as paperless as I can in 2010 and to put as much of my business documents "in the cloud" so I have access to them no matter where I am or what hardware I have on me at the time.

I bought a Netbook this weekend (on it now) to keep with me all the time so I don't have to resort to using my Blackberry to look up contracts and estimates. Heck for $300, it cost the same as my phone!

My primary computer is a MacBook Pro with a 17" screen. It's huge and not something I like to schlep around with me. All of my documents until now have been designed and produced in InDesign which is complete overkill for what I need in a legal document. My background was in graphic design and marketing, so when I began creating documents back in the day, I used InDesign.

Now, I'm dumbing them down to MS Word docs so I have 100% cross platform compatibility. Word lacks many of the slick features I can use in InDesign, but I have been successful in porting over all my documents thus far.

Instead of worrying about file sync, I'm getting the documents "in the cloud" by utilizing DropBox. I was going to manufacturer all the new docs right in GoogleDocs, but I found that software was lacking many of the features I needed to make the documents work properly. Using real MS Word & Excel in tandem with DropBox seems to be a better solution. If there's a better way...let me know.

I'm also desperately trying to figure out a way to get all the receipts I get every day off the floors of my trucks and into an archive. My receipts are a mess and half the time I lose them before I file them. I hate paper!

I'm looking into possibly getting a high-speed paperport scanner, but they seem to get mixed reviews. Is anyone using one successfully? What brand?


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## ChainsawCharlie

Probably not quite the same thing, but I do 100% of my billing through email. That's paperless.


On the receipt thing, I have a PayPal debit card. I can see my transcations online at any time, even from my phone. I also get 1.5% cash back from it on all purchases.


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## ChainsawCharlie

http://www.neatco.com/


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## wallmaxx

Greg Di said:


> As I sit here at my in-laws bored out of my mind, I am taking the moment of calm to reorganize many of my business documents and "systems" for 2010.
> 
> My goal is to get as paperless as I can in 2010 and to put as much of my business documents "in the cloud" so I have access to them no matter where I am or what hardware I have on me at the time.
> 
> I bought a Netbook this weekend (on it now) to keep with me all the time so I don't have to resort to using my Blackberry to look up contracts and estimates. Heck for $300, it cost the same as my phone!
> 
> My primary computer is a MacBook Pro with a 17" screen. It's huge and not something I like to schlep around with me. All of my documents until now have been designed and produced in InDesign which is complete overkill for what I need in a legal document. My background was in graphic design and marketing, so when I began creating documents back in the day, I used InDesign.
> 
> Now, I'm dumbing them down to MS Word docs so I have 100% cross platform compatibility. Word lacks many of the slick features I can use in InDesign, but I have been successful in porting over all my documents thus far.
> 
> Instead of worrying about file sync, I'm getting the documents "in the cloud" by utilizing DropBox. I was going to manufacturer all the new docs right in GoogleDocs, but I found that software was lacking many of the features I needed to make the documents work properly. Using real MS Word & Excel in tandem with DropBox seems to be a better solution. If there's a better way...let me know.
> 
> I'm also desperately trying to figure out a way to get all the receipts I get every day off the floors of my trucks and into an archive. My receipts are a mess and half the time I lose them before I file them. I hate paper!
> 
> I'm looking into possibly getting a high-speed paperport scanner, but they seem to get mixed reviews. Is anyone using one successfully? What brand?


Greg, I like your thought process. I am working through the same. I am kinda haphazard about it right now...but reading this post has renewed my desire to set an outline to accomplish full cloud integration.

Receipts that I receive - I photo them with my phone and save them to the corresponding job at sync time.

I'm on an iPhone...so some files that I use repeatedly, I store on the phone. The rest are in the mobileMe account or drop box. I create job folders in the cloud that are synced from their twins on my iMac. 

Some of my head aches come from having to run PC software for my design pgms, then save and transfer the final product to my mac. 

I think I will start with creating a list of: 
1. Recurring cross-project documents (templates - i.e. invoices, estimates, codes) kept on phone. It still requires a notebook to complete the data entry on a doc. then a printer. Some of this could be at home with the relevant info being gathered at the first meet and greet. Depends on how each person closes the deal.

2. Current active projects - (scanned - plans, permits, quotes, vendor items) kept sync'd in cloud and 'puter.

3. Future pending - Cloud

4. Completed - removed from cloud except for before and after pics....probably best located on a website.

Just some thoughts....I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas. I really want to get 2010 leaning into the wind. Sounds like you do too.

Take care

Mike


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## Greg Di

Mike,

We are on the same page.

I started using Evernote quite a bit this year, but the BB process of viewing your online docs just stinks as it runs through the default BB browser and is clunky as all get out. Not to mention, I can't really see anything in a pic on my BB anyway. I mostly use it to take a snapshot of checks I am depositing so I have a record of them for entry into Quickbooks when I get home.

Now that I have the Netbook online, I can use the internet out on the road a little more efficiently. I am using my BB for data through tethering. It works great, but 3g is not that great via tether compared to good old WiFi.

Administration becomes an issue with any/all of this. We are now creating a LOT of new data daily and you have to make it a point to sort and organize it daily or else you have a mess. 

This is where a VERY good document scanner comes into play. They all will scan anything you put in them, but the software is what makes it or breaks it.

You want to feed in a receipt from HD and have it automatically tag it and file it under "Home Depot" and "Building Supplies". If you have to manually do that, it's a major PITA. All the reviews I have read seem to have shortcomings in this area.

As far as proposals and contracts go, I am in pretty good shape. Last year, I built a killer spreadsheet with a database for deck estimating which lets me estimate a standard deck in about 10 minutes provided I have plans or I don't have to design the framing in my head.

I just revamped my standard remodeling estimating spreadsheet during the conversion into the cloud, but the problem with remodeling is that nothing is ever the same or repeatable (with deck building, it is). I don't think I am going to put the lookup database functionality into that spreadsheet because it's not really worth it considering the uniqueness.

One other issue with all these commonly used documents is version control. Inevitably, you create a document on day one that works. Then, next week, you are using it as a template for another job and you add or change something going forward. This is a HUGE PITA for me as the opportunity for errors becomes enormous.

For instance, I have a pretty standard deck proposal, but even that gets customized for every job every time. Take out a line, add a line, put in a clause, customize this, whatever. The problem I've run across is that I usually start my newest proposal by opening the last proposal I did that was similar and do a "save as". That similar proposal may have been MONTHS ago and in that time, I've added things into the document that should be there but weren't present when I wrote the initial one. Catch my drift.

The only option I can think of is to create a "Master Template" proposal that has every line item I'd ever want/need (or as many as I can think of) and then just open that and delete out the inapplicable lines or customize them and save THAT as the job proposal. Seems like a horror show to me though. Any ideas on how to do this efficiently?


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## Chris G

Greg, check with your accountant, you shouldn't have to keep hard receipts for anything you paid with by Credit Card. I always argue that's easy to accumulate wonky receipts. When I return $500 worth of material, do they take my original receipt away? No, but it does show a credit on my bank statement.

I use a Macbook 14. Have used Macs for 20 years. 

I use Billable for Invoicing, and Illustrator, (kicking it o'school) for preparing proposals and then everything is PDF'd.

I have tried to find an integrated, estimating/invoicing program, but haven't found one I like. Billable is crazy easy to use though.

Also, I don't know if you have this in the U.S., but up hear anyone can transfer money from their bank accounts to you with e-mail. It's very easy to do.


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## Greg Di

Chris G said:


> Greg, check with your accountant, you shouldn't have to keep hard receipts for anything you paid with by Credit Card. I always argue that's easy to accumulate wonky receipts. When I return $500 worth of material, do they take my original receipt away? No, but it does show a credit on my bank statement.


I use my debit card for 99% of everything which is why I really haven't been giving two shlts about saving and organizing receipts. The digital trail is all right there. I honestly don't know why anyone even bothers with receipts any more.


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## Chris G

Greg Di said:


> For instance, I have a pretty standard deck proposal, but even that gets customized for every job every time. Take out a line, add a line, put in a clause, customize this, whatever. The problem I've run across is that I usually start my newest proposal by opening the last proposal I did that was similar and do a "save as". That similar proposal may have been MONTHS ago and in that time, I've added things into the document that should be there but weren't present when I wrote the initial one. Catch my drift.


That's exactly what I do, and run into the same problems. If you are more tech savvy than I, try Express Invoice. It's free for Mac users. I found it a little clunky, but it will do Quotes and changes. Maybe you've already tried it, dunno. I though the templates were a little ugly though.


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## Greg Di

I can't really use accounting software to create the proposals I use to present with. My proposals are report-like documents averaging 8 pages or so. They are not like a QB estimate form at all so I'm forced to use a text editing program for them rather than accounting software.


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## bconley

Greg.
For the scanning software I ran across this http://www.papersaveplus.com/ on the web, I don't use it, I use Paperport and a visioneer RoadWarrior scanner Paperport is great except I can't get it to print to QB's like the papersaver will.

My scanner is slow and I'm looking at the Fujitsu Scansnap it seem to be the best.
Are you looking to cloud based accounting program also?
Bill


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## RCPainting

Great thread!
Has anyone used the Templates from Google Docs?


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## Greg Di

bconley said:


> Greg.
> For the scanning software I ran across this http://www.papersaveplus.com/ on the web, I don't use it, I use Paperport and a visioneer RoadWarrior scanner Paperport is great except I can't get it to print to QB's like the papersaver will.
> 
> My scanner is slow and I'm looking at the Fujitsu Scansnap it seem to be the best.
> Are you looking to cloud based accounting program also?
> Bill


The Fujitsu's seem to be the best going. I have to see if their software is as good as the hardware.

Funny you mentioned cloud-based accounting. 

I wanted to go full cloud, so I contacted Intuit about moving to their online QB version. The conversation ended when they told me I'd be looking at $400+ PER YEAR PER COMPANY (I have three) to use the system. Frankly, I hate Intuit and think they are criminals, but I have not been able to find an alternative software solution to QB, so I stuck with it.

In lieu of using the QB Online system, I'm making my own and it works just as well and probably BETTER than their system.

Step 1) Buy QB2010 Contractor version for $250
Step 2) Install QB2010 on a beater computer (or I may just build a new thin client type Athlon box) with no monitor.
Step 3) Install DropBox Plug-in for QB data file(s)
Step 4) Install LogMeIn client for remote access to the box from ANY web browser

I have been using LogMeIn to access my current QB app for over a year now since the video card went on the computer it is installed on.

I can do ANYTHING from within the browser that I could do if I was physically sitting at the machine. Best part is that I am splitting this cost with a buddy of mine since we will share RA to the box and QB since QB lets you password protect the company files (and I trust him) it's not an issue.

That's how I am handling accounting and the cloud.


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## bconley

Why do you use a beater computer? is it to keep all of the conflicting files in one place? and do the new files sync to dropbox and your netbook?


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## Greg Di

bconley said:


> Why do you use a beater computer? is it to keep all of the conflicting files in one place? and do the new files sync to dropbox and your netbook?


I am installing it on a beater box only so that it can be up and online 24-7 because I have multiple users RAing to the box at any given time.

Installing QB on my Netbook would severely limit access by others, and quite frankly, I don't want to bog down my Netbook with that POS bloaty application.

I will also set up the document scanner to this box as well so it can process scanned PDFs in the background.

It looks like THE scanner to get is the Fujitsu 1500. It's $450, but it appears to be flawless in both hardware and software.


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## MOTB

*paperless and mobile are the ways to go*

So glad to see you guys talking about this since this is exactly why I created www.MyOnlineToolbox.com. I would like for everyone to even turn it up a notch when it comes to strategizing for 2010 and beyond. Sure, paperless is a good goal but you also have to be as mobile as possible so your business application should be web-based where you can access it from home, the office, at your customer's house or while taking a coffee break at a Dunkin Doughnuts. Also, going paperless implies that you will have to be better at collaborating (sharing) your information with others which impliess your subcontractors and your customers should all be connected with you. Wishing you all a successful 2010 ... you are definetely thinking correctly to compete. Happy New Years all! Brian


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## J L

*Good Thread*

I like what keeping everything on the cloud provides, but there are some applications that I run that can't be done on the cloud. I just began using Smartcontractor estimating and PM software. However, once a document is created (estimate, purchase order, invoice, change order, etc...) it gets uploaded to the proper client folder in google docs. 

I agree that accessing docs on a phone is cumbersome, almost not worth the effort. I've began taking my laptop around with me with a 3G/4G card from clear wireless.


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## J L

I also use basecamp project management software (online) for managing projects. I give my clients and lead carpenters (who also have laptops in the field) access to the project and delegate tasks accordingly. Contract documents are uploaded to basecamp as well. There are some to-do lists that we keep private (running punch lists) and there are others that the client has access to and can comment on. If comments are made, all parties are emailed so everyone is kept in the loop.

One other item that I'm messing with is from echosign. You upload a contract (or select a google doc), add email addresses, put where each party has to sign, and it will email them and me and allow us to sign contracts digitally. Once signed, it emails the signed copy to both parties. Good for change orders too.


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## Ed the Roofer

Greg, 

Try FreshBooks or Sage Billing Boss for your accounting and plug-in any mash-ups you think would help. For one or limited user companies, it is free.

For the job description template, I use one main master template with ALL of the phrases and add hand-written versions or highlighted adaptations to it through-out the year and see if I implement them into the master script at each update time.

Yeah, it is a long scriptwith everything on there, but it is easy to delete unneeded lines and make totally custom tailored to each new prospective client.

Ed


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## J. Sullivan

A little off topic, but I just bought an Amazon Kindle, so now even my paperbacks are paperless. 

On topic though, I'm completely paperless except for thank you cards and referral thank you gifts. That's just good manners.


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## casey344

*LogMeIn and Quickbooks*

Greg ... I second the LogMeIn / Quickbooks scenario. I have been using it this way for almost 2 years. Occasionally I run into situations where my wifi internet connection speed makes working remotely frustrating but it's worth the savings. Our QB data file is on our small business server, when I leave with my laptop the data is still accessible remotely. 

My 60-something father-in-law who refuses to learn anything to do with a computer can fax me a document to my TrustFax account that has a 866-number associated with it. He has sent our weekly timesheets while I was away, I then logged into QB via LogMeIn entered the time into QB called and told him how many checks to put in the printer and ran payroll from another state.

I handle our construction business mostly from our office, but I have a seperate business I run predominantly from home. Being able to "log in" remotely has been invaluable.

Greg ... how are you using DropBox and Quickbooks?


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## texastutt

MOTB said:


> while taking a coffee break at a Dunkin Doughnuts.


In Canada it's Tim Horton's (cept me).

I'm headed in this direction. what of having all your computers on a server and that server has an fttp link? I've thought of this, have not followed through yet. 

The small computer for the vehicle seems to be an idea. I've switched to G-mail for anywhere accessibility. Goole Docs lacks but Open Office is pretty darn compatible with-in itself and up to Word 2003 (have not tried it with 2007) The spreadsheet is missing a few of my Excel macros on my quote form with is HUGE and is only cloud based. But does take into account all items on a quote.

My Word Templates are still in the process of transition over to Open office so I can't say 100% how compatible it is.


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## piercekiltoff

Well, I just upgraded to QB 2010 contractors edition from QB2006 - that was probably the first pleasant upgrade for Intuit product that I've ever done. It's actually nice to upgrade their product and find that by golly, there are new features! 

We're also experimenting with a product called ServiceSideKick. I've been given a 30 day money back guarantee on this one, and at this point, I'm 10 days in and really wondering if I want to keep this trial going - the longer I keep it, the more used to it my guys get, and I'm not sure I actually think that the system will work as advertised. It's funny, they're telling me it's been around 16 years, but it seems like something they hashed up over the last 6 months....

Part of the problem is that over the last week and a half we had payroll, the year end transition, my CPA sold to another CPA (so now we have a new accountant), we upgraded & moved computers throughout the office, upgraded QB, and went head first into this ServiceSideKick thing - it's been dramatic around here.

We've been using Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Voice for a lot of our work, but I'm trying to find ways to tie all the different systems together and keep it a multi-user environment - without breaking the bank or requiring that I go and learn AJAX programming or something similar.


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## gideond

Take a look at CRM products. SugarCRM is a nice place to start.


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## Tiger

I switched to Apple last year and in an effort to "Keep It Simple" I've made the business conform to the software on the Mac. I have MobileMe but don't use it for "cloud" backup. I have a 1 TB external drive running on Time Machine for automatic hourly backup. 

I email proposals as .pdf and run credit cards online paperless. Most invoicing is from the van with a simple 2-part carbonless invoice. As a residential service business there is very little 30 day invoice/statement paperwork. I still insist on a signed paper contract, so that's about the only paper I keep around (contracts and invoices).

The thing I've worked on this year that probably reduces paper the most is reducing the catalogs I get from vendors. If I get a catalog in the mail I call the vendor and tell them to take my name off the mailing list because I've bookmarked their website and will order by phone or online.


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## robstyles21

I recently partnered up with my Dad who is very old school in his ways, he still starts jobs for customers without even having a set price or contract...AMAZING! Granted, he only does this with his oldest customers but its still a little bothersome to me. On the flip side, I embrace technology but need a little guidance when it comes to the software created for this industry. All of our contracts are done in word, which I PDF to our customers. I recently purchased QB 2010 for Mac but have no clue how to use it. I would like to hire a consulting company that can help me out with transitioning our business to 2010 but I'm not really sure where to start. Once I get my feet wet and have a basic understanding of the various programs I can take it from there, but its the getting my feet wet part that I am having trouble with. If anyone knows of someone who can help me out it would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks.


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## czimcharopaints

i use neatco scanner. works great and gets everything ready for taxes and organizes it all


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## JeffBLV

I have been using a construction cloudware system and paperless for over 3 years with my GC firm. Not only is it good for the planet but it has bought back that accountability that seems to have left the industry. If you would like to know more about what I am using just let me know.


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## piercekiltoff

Jeff,

Please let us know what you have going on over there.

I've been working more with the Service Side Kick people, and I'm thinking things will pan out over the next 6 months or so. They've agreed to a reduced subscription rate if I provide feedback (which is something I'm rather good at).


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## texastutt

As I read this I'm removing and reinstalling my Adobe Acrobat Pro so I can open quotes. I prefer not to print them out... But it takes time to fix the software (A con in the process). I just met a new granite supplier today and he does not email only fax... there are still a lot of people behind the curve.

Another con is I've seen a Magazine article on HandiCap kitchen from one of my online magazines, and I can't find it, I've been searching through all my subscriptions on line, some have better indexes than others... Things will improve over the years.

I'm watching this thread for ideas to make myself an organized cloud based business.


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## JeffBLV

David
I my business I run everything that I send out of my office in the cloud. All my coordination, collaboration and document sharing for project management. So that means my project emails, prime contract with the owner, my committed costs with the subcontractor and vendors, CO, COR, RFI's, Submittals, Punch list, Meeting Minutes, Photos, all the project documents (including plans, shop drawings, safety manuals, MSDS sheets any type of plan), Daily Logs for my field personnel, Project Schedule, time cards, Billings, Vouchers, insurance certs, pretty much anything that goes out of my office to someone I put in a project specific cloud location with access rights that I control so that everyone in the team has the latest real time information 24/7 with a computer and internet connection. And my favorite part is there is NO SOFTWARE, or in house IT required. You probably can't tell but I really like it. Thanks Jeff


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## piercekiltoff

I'm a big fan of using Gmail because I can archive the articles/emails to get them out of my inbox without deleting them, and then I can put the heavy lifting on Google when I do a search. So, when I can't remember what a customer told me a year ago about his well (a lot of my customers take a year or more to turn around) I just type into the "search gmail" box and bang I've got the results. The search feature is about 500% faster this way than using Outlook.

Also handy are labels - that way you can label each conversation as part of that customers project. So, you could go as far as I'd like to say I do, and set up a folder like structure so that my labels read "C/Joe Smith Home Building/River King Lot 1/" and I put all the emails regarding that one project under that label. It helps to be able to dig that stuff up quickly.


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## casey344

*How it's done.*



JeffBLV said:


> In my business I run everything that I send out of my office in the cloud. All my coordination, collaboration and document sharing for project management. And my favorite part is there is NO SOFTWARE, or in house IT required. Jeff


Jeff ... can you elaborate a little on how you are doing this?


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## JeffBLV

Casey
I am using a construction cloudware system, sounds almost to good to be true. I have been using it your 3 years now. Could you imagine working today with out a cell phone? Well that is how I feel about this. Jeff


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## casey344

JeffBLV said:


> Casey
> I am using a construction cloudware system, sounds almost to good to be true. I have been using it your 3 years now. Could you imagine working today with out a cell phone? Well that is how I feel about this. Jeff


Does this "cloudware system" have a name or is it a secret?


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## MOTB

*Could you imagine working today without a cellphone?*



JeffBLV said:


> I am using a construction cloudware system, sounds almost to good to be true. I have been using it your 3 years now. Could you imagine working today with out a cell phone? Well that is how I feel about this. Jeff


Hi Jeff,
Why don't you just go ahead and tell us what package you are pitching since we can tell by what you are saying that you are here for a marketing participation in the forum. 6 Posts without saying the name and ending with "Could you imagine ..." is pure marketing. Perhaps I am wrong this time, but just tell us the package name without asking marketing questions. Thanks,
Brian


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## ABLE1

I agree with the marketing ploy. Either that or Jeff is blowing smoke somewhere. 

If you read this it makes you wonder what it could possibly be.

"And my favorite part is there is NO SOFTWARE, or in house IT required"

If the above is true and it is paperless then in my opinion the solution "working in a cloud" has to do with using your own brain to retain all the details of your business. What kinda fun would that be??

When I first read the "cloud" thing I thought it was something that had all your stuff on a web based system out there in the netherworld. But now I am not so sure.

After this flurry Jeff may not be back to explain. But it would be nice if he stood up and explained himself a little (or a lot).:whistling

Waiting for more input.

Les


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## texastutt

My vote's in there too, Jeff... I don't care for telemarketing, or those phone calls that want to share an opportunity that I can't refuse, but I'm never told what that opportunity is... I know how to make software do what I want, and I am always looking for a better way (working better on site too), but I don't have time for BS.


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## JeffBLV

Sorry, I am not trying to keep it a secret. I subscribe through a company call Procore and a reseller that they have Project Technology Solutions. Check it out and let me know.


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## ABLE1

I should just drop this issue but........ just to make a point.

This was removed directly off the website.

_"With Procore's Construction Software You Can..."_


I rest my case.:clap:

Have a good weekend all.

Les


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## guyzzer

*Neat(co)!*



czimcharopaints said:


> i use neatco scanner. works great and gets everything ready for taxes and organizes it all


I'm just now checking that out... looks like a good find, thanks!


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## Jaf

I read on a review of procore... $195.00 per month _per_ construction site. 

My britches aren't that big yet.

Not sure how reliable the info is... I got it off the internet after all.


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## rbsremodeling

I have switched to Google Apps for email, calendar and docs, My quick books is web based and My estimating software is web based..

Turned off our fax line and switched to an online fax company

24-7 access anywhere I get internet access, to any and everything.. Best thing I ever did..


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## guyzzer

*Web Based...*



rbsremodeling said:


> I have switched to Google Apps for email, calendar and docs, My quick books is web based and My estimating software is web based..
> 
> Turned off our fax line and switched to an online fax company
> 
> 24-7 access anywhere I get internet access, to any and everything.. Best thing I ever did..


Regarding QuickBooks... when you say "web based" you mean remote hosted, and NOT QuickBooks Online... yes?


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## rbsremodeling

guyzzer said:


> Regarding QuickBooks... when you say "web based" you mean remote hosted, and NOT QuickBooks Online... yes?


No it is web based.. 


This is one solution.

http://quickbooksonline.intuit.com/


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## y.painting

Regarding Neatco, just from online reviews, their stuff seems to still be in beta/alpha phase. I was interested in them too, but I saw too many bad reviews online.

Instead, I got a Fujitsu S1500 ScanSnap and all receipts get scanned in and stored here.


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## kevins9999

My two cents on going paperless:

Big :thumbsup: for the Scansnap 1500. It's super-fast and scans both sides of the page at once. I was using Evernote for document storage, but that didn't work out great. Now I'm using google docs (google apps version). It searches the text of your docs. You can share anything to anyone fairly easily.

We just started something new in the field. Our guys have Android phones and we use an app called ScanR. It lets you take a photo of a document, converts the photo to a pdf-scan - black and white - looks like paper. There are a few apps out there that do the camera-scan thing, but the quality from ScanR seems to be the best. There are similar apps for the iphone (but never having owned an iphone I can't tell you what they are!) It will automatically email the scan wherever you want. We have some subs that can barely generate an invoice, so when they present whatever it is they call an invoice in the field they can hand it to one of our leads who can immediately scan and send it to the office.

We're still working on what we want to do for client collaboration and job scheduling online. We tried Basecamp but found that it was too clumsy. We also tried Smartsheet, but it has strange permission issues which would let your client change due dates and info on each task - so we're stopping that.
We use google apps for email, so the search functionality is great - but we really need to consolidate project-related posts into some system. We're now working with a client who sends about 30 emails per day (i'm not exaggerating). And, he has a tendency to forget stuff that we've agreed on 200 or 300 emails ago. We've looked at all of the industry-specific packages and I'm not really satisfied with any of them. Any ideas on this are still appreciated.

We've been using Echosign for about a year. I'm shocked more people don't use it. It's relatively cheap. I use it for contracts and just started using it for payments. For contracts, we create the contract, upload it, place signature fields and send it to the client. They usually sign within 1 day. Once it's signed it gets emailed to both parties. For payments I created a "legal" ACH acknowledgement form (you can find these online). When we generate an invoice the invoice gets uploaded to echosign. We've stored the ACH form on echosign as well, so we just have to attach that to the invoice. We fill in the amount due and the date and send the it to the client. They fill in their bank routing number and checking acct. number, then sign. We have 2 ways of processing the ACH transaction. We signed up for Intuit merchant services, however they forget to tell you that they hold your ACH deposits for 3 business days - so that doesn't work. Instead, we print a check draft using VersaCheck and deposit it as usual in the bank or ATM. Echosign integrates fairly well with a google apps account.

AND -- I almost forgot - We're now using Bluebeam PDF Revu. I have an HP TM2 convertible tablet/laptop. Bluebeam replaces Acrobat, so it defaults as my PDF reader. I can write on/sign/fill out any pdf with my tablet pen, then either email it or fax it through the net using RingCentral (which is also our virtual phone system.) It also has the ability to do take-offs, though I haven't used it for that yet.


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## redbird

We have been using Evernote for some time and are on the paid program. I was wondering what type of problems you had with it. We have not had any problems.


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## taharaja

We use Netsuite for our end to end CRM, accounting and Inventory management and we recently launched or webstore with it. Netsuite has become one of the fastest cloud based provider. They are a little expensive in my opinion, but they provide a tremendous amount of flexibility and growth. They also have a large 3rd party providers that can implement a lot of customizations.

Compared to quickbooks, Netsuite provides growth and flexibility. Its not as easy to implement as quickbooks though.


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## kevins9999

redbird said:


> We have been using Evernote for some time and are on the paid program. I was wondering what type of problems you had with it. We have not had any problems.


We are on the subscription version too. We tried to use it as our cloud-based file system. The problem is that you can only have one level of folder organization - so if you want to organize folders like "clients/smith/change orders" you can't do that.

The other problem is in the overall organization of documents. There doesn't seem to be a great way to layout the software to view documents in a preview without the document being either extremely large or have no preview at all.

Also - It stores everything as a "note." So each document was actually a note with the scan of the document attached as an attachment. This made it a little cumbersome to quickly look for something.

The ocr is nice in evernote - especially with hand-written documents, but it's really more of a note organizer than file cabinet. We may continue to use it for notes, but it seems kind of redundant once you implement google docs.


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## Ohiobuilder

kevins9999 said:


> My two cents on going paperless:
> 
> Big :thumbsup: for the Scansnap 1500. It's super-fast and scans both sides of the page at once. I was using Evernote for document storage, but that didn't work out great. Now I'm using google docs (google apps version). It searches the text of your docs. You can share anything to anyone fairly easily.
> 
> We just started something new in the field. Our guys have Android phones and we use an app called ScanR. It lets you take a photo of a document, converts the photo to a pdf-scan - black and white - looks like paper. There are a few apps out there that do the camera-scan thing, but the quality from ScanR seems to be the best. There are similar apps for the iphone (but never having owned an iphone I can't tell you what they are!) It will automatically email the scan wherever you want. We have some subs that can barely generate an invoice, so when they present whatever it is they call an invoice in the field they can hand it to one of our leads who can immediately scan and send it to the office.
> 
> We're still working on what we want to do for client collaboration and job scheduling online. We tried Basecamp but found that it was too clumsy. We also tried Smartsheet, but it has strange permission issues which would let your client change due dates and info on each task - so we're stopping that.
> We use google apps for email, so the search functionality is great - but we really need to consolidate project-related posts into some system. We're now working with a client who sends about 30 emails per day (i'm not exaggerating). And, he has a tendency to forget stuff that we've agreed on 200 or 300 emails ago. We've looked at all of the industry-specific packages and I'm not really satisfied with any of them. Any ideas on this are still appreciated.
> 
> We've been using Echosign for about a year. I'm shocked more people don't use it. It's relatively cheap. I use it for contracts and just started using it for payments. For contracts, we create the contract, upload it, place signature fields and send it to the client. They usually sign within 1 day. Once it's signed it gets emailed to both parties. For payments I created a "legal" ACH acknowledgement form (you can find these online). When we generate an invoice the invoice gets uploaded to echosign. We've stored the ACH form on echosign as well, so we just have to attach that to the invoice. We fill in the amount due and the date and send the it to the client. They fill in their bank routing number and checking acct. number, then sign. We have 2 ways of processing the ACH transaction. We signed up for Intuit merchant services, however they forget to tell you that they hold your ACH deposits for 3 business days - so that doesn't work. Instead, we print a check draft using VersaCheck and deposit it as usual in the bank or ATM. Echosign integrates fairly well with a google apps account.
> 
> AND -- I almost forgot - We're now using Bluebeam PDF Revu. I have an HP TM2 convertible tablet/laptop. Bluebeam replaces Acrobat, so it defaults as my PDF reader. I can write on/sign/fill out any pdf with my tablet pen, then either email it or fax it through the net using RingCentral (which is also our virtual phone system.) It also has the ability to do take-offs, though I haven't used it for that yet.


I recently switched to a Android phone and really like it. I had to give some things up coming from a Blackberry but it has been worth it. I just installed an app called Bump, its very handy....need to share a photo or file just bump your phone with another phone that has Bump installed and its shared.

Your story sound similar to mine. I went down the Sharefile and Basecamp road too as well a a few others. Have you had a demo with Co-construct yet? I have been using that for schedulings, selections and client communication. I rarely email with clients and everything comment is kept track of in its specific location. 

With the Google Docs how do you get the scanned files in the field to a specific folder? Do you have a specific email that can upload it to Docs?


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## Kent Whitten

There are programs that you can connect to gmail and upload and download your files. I have an app that I can even make an invoice and email.

For bulk storage of large sized files, those go on my computer. For word, PDF, excel, etc. those go to Google Docs, all readily available in the field.


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## kevins9999

Ohiobuilder said:


> I recently switched to a Android phone and really like it. I had to give some things up coming from a Blackberry but it has been worth it. I just installed an app called Bump, its very handy....need to share a photo or file just bump your phone with another phone that has Bump installed and its shared.
> 
> Your story sound similar to mine. I went down the Sharefile and Basecamp road too as well a a few others. Have you had a demo with Co-construct yet? I have been using that for schedulings, selections and client communication. I rarely email with clients and everything comment is kept track of in its specific location.
> 
> With the Google Docs how do you get the scanned files in the field to a specific folder? Do you have a specific email that can upload it to Docs?


I use Bump sometimes - but the problem with Bump is that the other person has to have Bump too. You can also share contacts easily with Barcode Scanner. If you select share/barcode your phone will display a QR barcode that the other person can scan.

I've spent a lot of time investigating the industry-specific collaboration software. I know Donny from Co-Construct reads this forum - and also to be fair - I think that Co-Construct works for some people, but it doesn't work for us.

Google Docs used to have a general email upload feature that would send docs to your account unlabeled. They got rid of it a while ago. ScanR will automatically email the file to you and store the file at scanr.com, but it won't send directly to Google Docs. There's another app called DocScanner that supposedly does that, but I've never tried it. Alternatively you could do a Scan-to-PDF/Dropbox/Google Docs integration but that's kind of redundant.


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## Ohiobuilder

Kevins,

I agree on Bump, my wife has it and we use it to share photo's, thanks for the heads up with Bar code scanner. I do have that on my phone.

You are correct, CC is not for everyone but I had to smile when I read you post, I have looked far and wide for a system that worked best for the way I build homes. I have used and tried to implement the following: Gdocs, virtualboss, mico project, google sites, zoho project, build links, build trend, sharefile, custom excel sheet, sharepoint and so on. I always had my eyes pealed for what might be best. For me I found CC to be the closest fit and have integrated it very well.


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## Mike Finley

Greg Di said:


> As I sit here at my in-laws bored out of my mind, I am taking the moment of calm to reorganize many of my business documents and "systems" for 2010.
> 
> My goal is to get as paperless as I can in 2010 and to put as much of my business documents "in the cloud" so I have access to them no matter where I am or what hardware I have on me at the time.
> 
> I bought a Netbook this weekend (on it now) to keep with me all the time so I don't have to resort to using my Blackberry to look up contracts and estimates. Heck for $300, it cost the same as my phone!
> 
> My primary computer is a MacBook Pro with a 17" screen. It's huge and not something I like to schlep around with me. All of my documents until now have been designed and produced in InDesign which is complete overkill for what I need in a legal document. My background was in graphic design and marketing, so when I began creating documents back in the day, I used InDesign.
> 
> Now, I'm dumbing them down to MS Word docs so I have 100% cross platform compatibility. Word lacks many of the slick features I can use in InDesign, but I have been successful in porting over all my documents thus far.
> 
> Instead of worrying about file sync, I'm getting the documents "in the cloud" by utilizing DropBox. I was going to manufacturer all the new docs right in GoogleDocs, but I found that software was lacking many of the features I needed to make the documents work properly. Using real MS Word & Excel in tandem with DropBox seems to be a better solution. If there's a better way...let me know.
> 
> I'm also desperately trying to figure out a way to get all the receipts I get every day off the floors of my trucks and into an archive. My receipts are a mess and half the time I lose them before I file them. I hate paper!
> 
> I'm looking into possibly getting a high-speed paperport scanner, but they seem to get mixed reviews. Is anyone using one successfully? What brand?


Any updates to this? Are you doing anything different at this time or still using this set up?

If you have XP, have you thought of using the built in XP Remote Desktop functionality? Looks like it is built into XP and gives you the ability to remotely access your office computer and move files, all for free.


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## FoundationSoft

Hey all,

I'm writing an article about using SaaS and how contractors feel about it. Anyone willing to talk to me?


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## MOTB

*Are you for or against SaaS?*

The comment seems vague, plus we do not know "specifically" who you are at your company. Without getting into the traditional tit-for-tat discussing our business models, would you be willing to rephrase the question so it is easier to see how it will fit into your model. I see you already favoring a one-sided article, which is OK, but perhaps you can ask the question better so participants know where their comments may lead, especially for a quoted story. Good luck. Brian


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## eliteconcrete

Google docs is a killer app for firms that cannot afford a custom solution. I am amazed at the functionality and ability to share documents with specific people - the permissions system works very well.

For anyone still using MS office, do yourself a favor and try the free version of google apps. Get younger people in your company to try this and they will lead the charge to increased office efficiency.


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