KS BUILDERS SAYS FAREWELL TO FAFFING

With jobs through to 2022 on its books, Auckland-based KS Builders doesn’t have extra time to invest in the admin side of things, which is why company accounts guru Sarah Smith loves working with PlaceMakers – its Trade Portal makes her job easy as!

After more than a decade in the building industry, KS Builders owners Kiel and Sarah Smith have seen their fair share of changes – both good and bad. While some diehards might lament the loss of bartering over the price of goods in the yard, Sarah says PlaceMakers early adoption of smart technology has done wonders for KS Builders’ 12-person team.

“While there’s no doubt demand has ramped up in the past few years, we’ve always been busy, so any tool that increases efficiency is good for our business,” she says.

“Since PlaceMakers introduced the Trade Portal and Trade App last year, its capabilities have just gotten better and better!”

Her husband Kiel, who started the business in 2008, runs the crew on the ground and says he uses the Trade App for every function, every day.

“It’s ridiculously handy,” says Sarah. “He can check what’s available, how much it costs, how much stock is available and when it could be on site.

“He can order directly through the App, and know that it’s going to turn up – either via truck or delivered in person by Mikala, his awesome PlaceMakers Account Manager.”

Sarah reckons it’s the unique combination of in-person and digital that really sets PlaceMakers apart in Kiel’s books. “Kiel still gets the interaction and in-person updates on price increases or stock issues from Mikala, but also benefits from the instantaneous information and turnaround offered by the app.”

A seriously good online relationship

As the one looking after the admin side of things, Sarah’s relationship with PlaceMakers is online-only – which is exactly how she likes it.

“It’s seriously so good. On Kiel’s side, he puts in an order, we get the confirmation and, when the materials are ready, they’re delivered,” she says.

“At that point, it becomes my domain. The invoice goes into Xero, it takes me two seconds to check it against the order, I click ‘approve’ and it’s done! No faffing about copying and pasting information from invoices coming in through email or on excel sheets – it’s so easy!”

Sarah reckons the Trade Portal’s most recent upgrade – the ability to integrate invoices into a business’ accounting system – is the best improvement to date, saving her hours per month.

“It makes things so simple. In fact, I really dislike dealing with companies that don’t offer it,” she admits. “It’s a massive advantage, to the point that I make it known to Kiel that I’d much prefer he order from PlaceMakers than anywhere else!”

Asked whether it was tricky to integrate initially, Sarah says if she can do it, anyone can. “PlaceMakers sent out an email with instructions. I followed them and it’s worked perfectly ever since. Definitely worth the small amount of time it took!”

Part of the team

Sarah says it’s great to feel like a supplier is on your team, helping make life easier, especially in this environment.

“We are normally a labour-only business that contracts to housing companies, but since Covid, everyone wants home improvement jobs and we’ve taken on a few,” she explains.

“With costs increasing so frequently these days, if we still had to email suppliers for quotes, they would probably be out of date by the time they arrived!

“With the PlaceMakers App, we can put together a good estimate relatively quickly and, if the client is keen, lock it in and let them know when we can start based on our workload and the estimated material delivery.”

Having good supplier relationships is part of what makes KS Builders a great place to work, says Sarah.

“Given the trade shortage, we felt super lucky to attract three great new recruits recently.

“I think it’s because we have a reputation for paying well and on time, and for being flexible – something that’s more important than ever when you’re in lockdown!”

KS builders also believes in investing in industry newcomers, with a steady flow of apprentices on the books.

“We’ve been really lucky to retain most of them and currently have our first female apprentice on board.”

With three LBPs, six qualified builders (as of January 2022) and two apprentices, Sarah says the company is well stocked to handle the incredible volume of work heading their way in the coming year.

“It’s full-on but it’s a great industry to be in, and working with good people and innovative suppliers such as PlaceMakers is a big part of that.”