Enhancing Project Management with Clarc
Director, James Blackburn
![Hawthorn Geddes Engineers & Architects](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/638fbe9df51f20bd9a843b7f/669892e7a6477a3bb4003dd6_Blog%20long%20-%201187%20x%20480.jpg)
Really good. A truly responsive team at Clarc.
Company Background
Established in 1960, Hawthorn Geddes Engineers & Architects Ltd. is Northland’s largest independent engineering and architecture practice. They recently transitioned from WorkflowMax to Clarc's integrated project management platform. James Blackburn, the director, shared their positive experience with the new system.
Smooth Transition and Responsive Support
The transition from WorkflowMax to Clarc was facilitated by a proactive team that helped guide Hawthorn Geddes through the process. James praised Clarc's efforts, stating, "Really proactive team that helped us through the transition from WFM and strive to give us outputs suited to our work stream." This tailored approach has been particularly beneficial in aligning Clarc's capabilities with the firm's multidisciplinary team needs.
Financial Management and Xero Integration
Clarc's financial management tools have provided Hawthorn Geddes with improved visibility and control over their project finances. The platform's real-time budget tracking allows the engineering team to monitor project costs more effectively, ensuring they stay within budget constraints. James highlighted the clarity of financial reporting in Clarc, which enables the firm to make more informed decisions about resource allocation and project pricing. The integration with Xero has been described as "truly 'open door'", offering a more dynamic connection than their previous solution.
Project Planning and Budget Management
While still in the early stages of implementation, Clarc's task management features are showing promise in improving work distribution visibility for Hawthorn Geddes' engineering projects. James noted, "Early days yet, but as work flow is populated it allows visibility of work distribution." The real-time budget management capabilities have been particularly well-received. "Really like the budgeting side. Again, early days but so far so good," James shared, indicating positive initial experiences with cost control and financial planning for their engineering consultancy work.
Ongoing Adoption and Future Improvements
As Hawthorn Geddes continues to explore Clarc's full range of features, they look forward to leveraging its reporting and analytics capabilities for strategic decision-making in their engineering practice.
Looking ahead, James expressed interest in having a fully user-editable contract template, including arrangement and font customization options, Clarc's development team has acknowledged this request and added it to their product roadmap for future implementation.
Overall, Hawthorn Geddes' transition to Clarc has been positive, with the platform's customization options, financial management tools, and responsive support team standing out as key benefits. As they continue to adapt to and explore the system, they anticipate further improvements in their engineering project management processes and overall efficiency.