Energy and lighting retrofits are all about the benefits of modernization. Yet for some retrofitters, pen, paper, and Microsoft Excel are still the go-to tools for audits.

There are several reasons why you might be reluctant to make the switch, whether it’s because of cost, habit, or concerns about technology. We’ve heard many of those reasons from our own clients before they gave SnapCount a try, so we figured we’d address them here.

How many of these reasons are on your mind?

#1: “Paper is cheap. We already have Excel. Why spend the money?”

In a word: efficiency. SnapCount helps you conduct audits, create proposals, and implement projects up to 70% faster—which means you can win more projects and generate more revenue with less effort and re-work.

The question to ask yourself: If most of your team’s work was completely automated, could you win more business? If the answer is yes, our Savings Calculator can show you how few additional project wins it will take to get to 100% return on investment from SnapCount. Everything after that is pure profit.

You can even look at your investment in SnapCount as an hourly rate. Would you pay your employee $1.37 more per hour to make them 25% to 75% more efficient? There aren’t too many retrofitters out there who wouldn’t, we’d guess.

#2: “We’ve always done it this way, and if it ain’t broke…”

We understand there can be resistance to adopting a new system, especially if you’re a long-time expert who can do an audit in five minutes, take your sheet of paper, type the numbers into Excel and have a proposal within a day. But even if you can do your audit in record time, there’s still the duplicate time and effort required in transcribing that data – time and effort which you could probably spend elsewhere.

Nevertheless, we get it. No one wants to force change on their team. And we don’t want to force change on you. That’s why, if you want, you can use SnapCount the way that works best for you. Some users manually re-enter the data into SnapCount to get the quote proposal. Some load the data into Excel and then import it.

Another consideration: You might be able to do manual audits quickly and accurately – but what about the people you hire? When processes are automated, standardized and collaborative, a junior staffer can often do the job as efficiently as the experienced hand, making your entire business better.

#3: “We do things differently than other retrofitters.”

You may be convinced that your unique equations or exclusive way of presenting information are why you can’t switch to an out-of-the-box solution. It’s worth having a discussion with us: More often than not, the difference is minor enough that SnapCount can offer the same functionality, just in a different way.

If it is truly a novel capability, and if it is critical to keep, we will explore modifying SnapCount to fit your unique needs. We also run the numbers so you can decide if the customization makes financial sense. It could be that once all the numbers shake out, your unique practices aren’t worth forgoing the potential gain in productivity and profitability.

#4: We’ve already invested so much in our own system.

If a retrofitter has created powerful spreadsheets with macros and equations, in effect, they’ve developed their own software. On top of the sunk cost of all that development time, their system is custom built for their needs. What commercial product can match that?

That’s the upside to building your own software. The downside is: you “own” it. You have to support it, update it, and keep it current. You’re also on the hook for any future development to keep up with market changes. A better option is to outsource your IT activities with SnapCount. We support it, update it, and keep it current. And we’re in the business of developing new capabilities in response to market changes. For any custom capabilities, we can work with you to adapt the software to fit your use cases.

#5: What if someone forgets their tablet at home? Or at a job site?

Tablet at home? No problem. Goodness knows we’ve all done it before. The good news is SnapCount is mobile phone compatible, so the audit information can be captured on your phone in a pinch. If all else fails, you can always gather the information with good old pen and paper and entered directly into SnapCount or Excel later.

Tablet left at a job site? That’s okay too! Even if there are contractors from another company there, SnapCount is secured. So even if someone else has your tablet, they won’t have access to your data or customer list.

#6: Can we trust our data is secure in a cloud-based system?

Absolutely. SnapCount has a robust IT team, back-up data centers, and stringent security protocols. We’re happy to review our systems and data security with your IT people so you can be confident your and your customers’ information is protected.

#7: I’ve heard some software companies use or sell customer data. Will my data be safe from competitors?

SnapCount never competes with its customers.

We are a software-only company. We do not sell light bulbs or install projects. We don’t compete with you now, and we won’t in the future. What we do is put our experience from 200,000 audits and the feedback from thousands of people and compile that into the most robust retrofit software available.

Also, we do not sell your data for marketing, although we understand the concern. We’ve heard horror stories about retrofitters that went with a lower-priced app only to learn their customer data was being sold as lead generation. There is nothing nefarious hiding in our end user license. What you see is what you get with SnapCount.

#8: We don’t need that much horsepower.

Some smaller companies look at SnapCount’s capabilities and think “I don't need a Ferrari. I just need a Toyota to drive to work."

Fair point. But will your business stay at that level forever?

The good thing about SnapCount is you can start small and scale as you grow—chances are we offer a plan to fit your size, requirements and budget. It can be a simple audit tool now, if that's all you need it for. And it can be a robust platform that lets you do large national accounts later on.

Should you grow to 20 employees and need more functionality, it's just a flip of the switch; the horsepower is already built in and available. You don't have to retrain your team. You don't have to re-mobilize. You don't have to pull your data out of one system and put it into another.

Making a change in a tool that is so central to your business requires careful thought. If we didn’t address your objection here, let us know and we’d be happy to discuss it. Or, you can review success stories from our customers. They’ve been where you are now, and are now enjoying a brighter, more automated future.