Software will help builders

Press, 26 August 1986, Page 26

Software will help builders

Two locally developed software packages are now available in Christchuch to meet the needs of the building industry. They are a set of application modules for the small building contractor and a quantity surveying package used in home building. Both packages are being sold by Whitcoulls, Ltd, on Apricot and Tandon computers. The modules for small building contractors were developed by a sister and brother, Ms Sally Stewart and Dr Don Stewart, in conjunction with Icon Construction, Ltd. It is written in dBASE 111.

It has modules for payroll, backcosting from wages and materials, and for general ledger and invoicing. Included in the monthly reports from the invoicing module are the details for the GST return.

A company, called Icon Software Associates, has

been formed to sell the software and to provide advice and training to clients.

Ms Stewart said the package was aimed at the builder, employing up to 30 staff, who wanted to get ahead with his building rather than be swamped with paperwork. Typically, such builders were three to six months behind with paperwork, she said.

The quantity surveying package asks the user questions on the dimensions and construction of single-storied houses and from it produces a list of the materials required. It would normally take a day or more to produce such a list, said Mr Campbell Botting, of Whitcoulls, but the program reduced it to between one and four hours.

The program has also been written in BASIC for IBM-compatible microcomputers and sells for $l2OO.