Based in Worcestershire, HFN Landscapes deliver top quality landscape schemes to a wide range of clients throughout the UK.
HFN manage and implement all aspects in-house including; hard and soft landscaping, minor civil engineering, reclamation, environmental projects, and also have specialist divisions that design and construct recreational sports and natural play areas.
Challenge
Their business was facing numerous processing issues from manging initial tenders right through to final accounts. Using numerous spreadsheets proved extremely time consuming and created a few inaccuracies across their finances. Paul Clarke, Commercial Manager, says “With Excel I was having to work into the evenings and weekends – it could take me up to 12 hours to set one spreadsheet up for a tender, there was a real need for a software package to help streamline our processes and manage our projects effectively.”
Solution
In 2014, HFN Landscapes made the decision to implement a construction-specific estimating solution to manage their business processes more effectively. Paul explains, “We looked at Eque2 and one other software provider. For us, Eque2 had a very professional approach and after explaining our challenges and what we required, they were able to provide in depth demonstrations and link this to our individual company needs, as opposed to it being a sales pitch. As a user of Sage 50 Accounts it was extremely important that we implemented a solution that fully integrated with the finance system. Eque2’s knowledge and proven integration with Sage solutions was key to our decision.”
Having implemented Construction for Sage Accounts and EValuate, HFN Landscapes processes have dramatically changed providing them with full control across their business. Paul says, “A new software solution required a whole new way of thinking, Eque2 were clearly very knowledgeable and experienced allowing us to have a very smooth transition by providing in depth on-site training.”
The integration of Construction for Sage 50 Accounts and EValuate has allowed HFN Landscapes to overcome many challenges. In particular, streamlining their processes has helped save vast amounts of time and increased the efficiency of their projects. Paul explained; “We now have a level of consistency within our business that we never had with Excel. We are able to build and revise our tenders faster, resulting in more wins for the business. I went from working 6 ½ days a week to 5 days a week, as tasks that would typically take around 12 hours now only take 10 minutes in EValuate. The reporting is also a huge benefit to us, it provides us with meaningful data allowing us to track our projects and the costs associated with them. Using both Construction for Sage Accounts and EValuate has helped us to move forward as a business by providing modern and innovative technology.
I feel extremely valued as an Eque2 customer, they are always very responsive to any challenges we may face and keep in touch regularly to see if there is anything they can help with. There are still many areas of the software we are yet to use that will add great value to our business and further time savings, I look forward to continuing our successful relations.
