Two words that are taking on increasing importance in today’s unpredictable business world are “financial planning.” This is particularly true when it comes to managing building properties, since most companies can’t afford to be “surprised” by certain unexpected expenditures such as a leaking roof that needs extensive repairs. Now, more than ever, it is important for businesses to plan for anticipated property repairs or replacements and properly maintain and track their building assets. One way companies are doing this is through programs such as the “Total Roof Management” plan offered by Clark’s Quality Roofing.

Since its inception 18 years ago, Salt Lake City-based Clark’s Quality Roofing has grown to become one of the largest commercial roofing contractors in the United States. One reason for its success is its focus on long-term relationships, according to Carl Clark, president. “We don’t believe in simply installing a roof and walking away,” he states. “We want to help our clients get the best value out of their roofs by making sure it is inspected, maintained, and when necessary, repaired properly. That’s why we offer our clients the ‘Total Roof Management’ program.”

A Powerful Asset Management Tool
Clark’s Total Roof Management program is a combination of three different programs: Roof Watcher, which helps Clark’s clients manage leak repair and life extension work; Roof Guardian, which simplifies cost forecasting for new and replacement roofs; and Roof Analyzer, which coordinates roof inspections, analysis recommendations, and database services.

Putting these programs in place requires gathering and storing a lot of data about the roof, such as warranty details, repair history, and inspection schedules. To help them manage this information, Clark’s uses the InfoRoof Professional software program, available from Digital Facilities Corporation, Acton, Massachusetts. InfoRoof Professional features an organized database system, roof maintenance program, and high-quality report generators. Version 2.0, introduced in fall, 2002, also features a CAD Viewer component that allows users to “red-line” or mark-up a CAD drawing in order to identify and highlight problem areas on a roof. InfoRoof Professional also offers the ability to do financial planning, such as preparing 5 or 10-year budgets; and creating long-term schedules of expenditures such as repairs, maintenance, and replacement.

This financial planning feature was a critical factor in Clark’s Quality Roofing’s decision to select InfoRoof Professional three years ago, explains Rose Boyle, controller and administrative manager at Clark’s. “We have not found any other product that offers a similar feature,” she states. “We use InfoRoof Professional to maintain inspection, repair, and budgetary information on all of our roof management customers, and our customers rely heavily on the financial planning feature of InfoRoof.”

Using Information to Save Money
Perhaps the biggest benefit of having access to all of this information is saving funds that might’ve been spent on premature roof replacement. “We can use this data to identify and stop roof leaks quickly and perform cost-effective corrective work that can extend the life of a roof by two to eight years,” Boyle points out.

Recently Clark’s inspected almost 10,000,000 square feet of roofs for one Total Roof Management client, and was able to use data from those inspections to prepare budget information for the client for the next five years. Now this company can manage their building assets wisely and avoid nasty “surprises” – which is what financial planning is really all about.