Remodeling - February 2009 - (Page 32)

YourBusiness Tech@Work Section Editor: Stacey Freed sfreed@hanleywood.com JOE STODDARD Feeling Free I Zamp of Approval W hile working on a country club remodel in Vancouver, Wash., interior designer Jayne Sanders routinely communicated with the client, the remodeler, and the project’s trade partners via e-mail. After one particular meeting at which the client decided to change the flooring options, Sanders dutifully sent an e-mail to the installer. But the installer laid the wrong floor; he said he never got the e-mail message. It was an expensive mistake. Soon after, Sanders was involved in the beta testing of Zapproved. Created by Monica Enand, an electrical and computer engineer in Portland, Ore., Zapproved is a Web-hosted application that brings transparency and accountability to the approval process. “E-mail results in poor decision-making,” Enand says. “There’s no way to see if people agreed.” Sanders finds Zapproved particularly useful in dealing with the contractors who are implementing her designs. “It’s really helpful to track changes in a project and see who approved them,” she says. FREE AND CLEAR Zapproved is similar to e-mail but has a clear call to action. A proposal only closes when a reader accepts or denies. It gives due dates and has room for comments; users can see the status of every decision in one place. Those receiving Zapproved messages don’t have to register to read them, and users can access the service from any computer system — with no special training (although the Web site, www.zapproved.com, offers a demo video). The application is free to use; there are fees for extra storage or if you want to create specially branded messages. Sanders has been using the service for several months and has nothing but praise for it. “It has streamlined my process,” she says. And she is happy to report that there have been no more mislaid floors. —S.F. Read more about freeware for remodelers at remodelingmag.com. 32 Remodeling February 2009 remodelingmag.com Photo: Frank J. Borkowski n the November 2008 issue I talked about when to consider industry-specific software. This month let’s look at the other end of the spectrum: free software. ■ Don’t want to spend $500 on a seat of Microsoft Office? Try OpenOffice, www.openoffice.org. ■ Need an org chart but can’t justify Visio? There’s Gliffy, www.gliffy.com. ■ WinZip costs $40, but IzArc is just as good for free, www.izarc.org. ■ Microsoft Project too costly? Check out GanttProject for free, http://ganttproject.biz. ■ My favorite freeware of all, Google SketchUp, www.sketchup.com, is legal for commercial or personal use and is a must for any remodeler. So what’s the catch? Not much. Most freeware is safe to use and many titles are better than their commercial counterparts, but there are a few things to be mindful of: ■ For personal use only: Read the user license carefully. ■ Privacy and security: Freeware may contain viruses, malware, or “features” that compromise your privacy. Do some research and stick with quality download sites. ■ Here today, gone tomorrow: Your favorite freeware could suddenly disappear, either swallowed up by a bigger fish or simply shelved by the developer. No problem if it uses standard file formats such as .doc, .xls, or .mpp. Worst case: You have to migrate to a commercial software application that can open your files. —Joe Stoddard is a process and technology consultant to the building industry. To request a copy of his “Cheap Tricks” software guide, send e-mail to jstoddard@ mountainconsulting.com. http://www.openoffice.org http://www.gliffy.com http://www.izarc.org http://ganttproject.biz http://www.sketchup.com http://www.zapproved.com http://www.remodelingmag.com http://www.remodelingmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Remodeling - February 2009

Remodeling - February 2009 Contents First Word Market Watch Linda Case Mark Richardson Shawn McCadden Ways + Means Bottom Line Sales + Marketing Field Notes By Design Tech@ Work Good Form Close Up Second Look Going Green Clinic Specbook Upscale Remodeling Start Right People, Process, Profits Interview: Sara Ryan Duffy, President of SRD International New + Notable Products Final Touch Green Speak Green Spec In Focus First Look Benchmark

Remodeling - February 2009

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