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In this issue:
Visit us at the
Sydney
8-11 Nov
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Message from the Director |
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On behalf of the Benchmark team I am very pleased to announce to
you Benchmark Version 6. Available now, Version 6 has been
12 months in development and delivers a powerful system that will
streamline your operations, increase productivity and help you win more
profitable work.
We’ve added powerful features
like the Resource Rate Change and Fix All Rates to help you prepare estimates
faster and submit your most competitive price for each project. We’ve also
introduced the Marketing Analysis and Follow Up modules to help you analyse and
improve your business and win more jobs.
A further development is our
Cost Code functionality and associated reporting, for improved exports to other
business information systems.
Another exciting new development is our Power Routines module,
designed to deliver significant time savings preparing long term
maintenance tenders.
As we celebrate this release
we would like to thank our expanding user base in Australia, New Zealand and the
United Kingdom. It is great to see so many of our clients go from strength to
strength as their use of Benchmark increases, and to hear how integral Benchmark
has become in their operations.
We hope Version 6 helps you,
your colleagues and your business experience the increased productivity and the
competitive edge it is designed to deliver.
Yours, in the
interest of better estimating,
Rob MacDonald
Director
Top ten features and benefits of Version 6
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1. |
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Resource Rate Change |
View
all Resources used in your estimate and make
project-specific price changes in the one screen to
save time and produce more competitive bids
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2. |
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Marketing Analysis |
Analyse your market share and key business performance
indicators (e.g. won/lost, reason for loss, competitor
comparison)
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3. |
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Dynamic Quote report |
Choose what information you display on your quote to
save you time and impress your clients
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4. |
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Follow Up |
Record details of conversations with your clients and
set reminders to improve customer service and help you
win more work
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5. |
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Price Variations faster |
A new
Fix All Rates feature in the Spread screen saves you
time pricing your variations
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6. |
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Cost Codes for
more budget reporting |
Assign your Cost Codes quickly to Sections, individual
Items or groups of Items. New cost code reports provide
further budget reporting and improve exports to
accounting systems
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7. |
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Export to Excel |
Export your key project data into Microsoft Excel to perform your own analysis
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8. |
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Improved handling of provisional sums |
Allocate your provisional sums faster and easier
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9. |
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More reporting |
Over
12 new reports including an additional Progress Claim
report, more Direct Cost reports to help you review
your estimate, and reports by Cost Code
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10. |
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More Copy + Paste Functionality |
You can
now copy and paste a Section or Item from one estimate
to another
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Announcing Benchmark’s Power Routine Module
We are very
pleased to announce our new and exciting Power Routines module.
Originally designed to estimate annual Road Maintenance tenders,
Power Routines are also ideally suited to estimating Facilities
Maintenance tenders for the likes of Buildings and Parks and
Gardens. Power Routines deliver huge time savings estimating
these large tenders, whilst retaining resource-based consistency
and accuracy. By saving time preparing these tenders, Power
Routines give you more time to review and fine tune your
estimate, to maximise your competitive edge and increase your
chance of winning these lucrative contracts. Power Routines have
been developed over the past two years following an initial
concept and development of a prototype. They are now available
to purchase as an additional module to Benchmark.
Special introductory offer -
order Power Routines before the end of October 2005 and save 50%
on your initial investment.
Please contact
our Sales Team to order Power Routines or to find out more
details.
UK update
Benchmark has been moving ahead in
the UK with one of our last sales to a specialist road
surfacing contractor called Recomac (www.recomac.co.uk).
Work is progressing well on a data file
of Items and Resources based on the UK Highways Method of Measurement. This is provided to new clients in the UK and
updates to the data file included in their investment.
Contact our UK office
to find out more.
Benchmark data file for Landscaping
Benchmark now includes a data file
of Items and Resources for Landscaping works. This datafile
is included in your initial purchase of Benchmark and is also
available to existing users.
Contact our Sales Team to order Benchmark, the ideal
landscape estimating
system.
Look who’s setting the Benchmark
Welcome to the following leading
organisations; just some of many businesses who have recently
selected Benchmark to help them improve their estimating
processes:
Allens Asphalt
GMW Urban
Haines Bros Earthmoving and Drainage
Integral Landscapes
JMAC Constructions
Kelly & Shepherd
Logan City Council
M Raven Consulting
Recomac Surfacing
Town &
Country Industries
Trazlbat Pty Ltd
Urban Contractors
Supporting industry events throughout the world
National Construction Exhibition (NCE) 8-11 Nov 2005
Meet the Benchmark team and see
first hand the benefits of Benchmark Version 6 at the NCE in
Sydney in November - Stand 2514. Visit our stand for a demonstration, or why
not
email us
to book your demonstration in
advance.
For further details visit the
exhibition
website.
We look forward to seeing you there.
United Kingdom -
Highway Design's contribution to Road Safety
Benchmark attended the Highway Design's contribution to Road
Safety conference in Belfast. This event was coordinated by the
UK's Road Surface Dressing Association (www.rsda-gb.co.uk).
The topics included the Contribution of High Friction Courses to
Road Safety and Early Life Skid Resistance and the Contribution
of Aggregates to Road Safety. Thank you to the RSDA for their
great hospitality and to all the speakers for some very
informative presentations.
Australian Landscape Expo
The team from Benchmark recently attended the
Australian
Landscape Expo
in Sydney. Benchmark is the perfect system for Landscapers and
now includes a data file of Landscape Items and Resources.
Thank you to the NSW Landscape Contractors Association and
especially to all the people who attended our stand and made the
show a great success.
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Upcoming Public New User Courses |
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26-27 Oct 05
Brisbane
30 Nov-1 Dec 05 Melbourne
6-7 Dec 05
Sydney
20-21 Feb 06 Manchester
23-24 Feb 06
Belfast |
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New Benchmark Team Member
With the increased
growth of Benchmark we have employed a further Trainer.
Simon has joined the Benchmark team full-time as a Trainer and
also an Implementation Technician. Simon will be training the
New User course and also assisting clients to set up
their own data as required. We would like to welcome Simon to
the team and we look forward to continuing to support our
customers with the highest quality training and support services.
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