CPA Practice Advisor - 12

APPS WE LOVE

By Gail Perry, CPA, Editor-in-Chief

DIY/Construction/Home Repair
IN CONJUNCTION WITH our niche practices feature this month on construction,
we decided to survey members of the CPA Practice Advisor community to
see if they have any apps to recommend in this genre. We picked up some
recommendations and then found more on the web to share with you.
Happy DIYing!

Scott Hoppe, principal
of Why Blu (formerly HoppeTax, recommends
MagicPlan. "Magicplan lets you create floor plans
with your mobile device. Super easy and super
professional floor plans. Just what you need to
high level plan a remodel/furniture moving."
In addition, Hoppe is a fan of Houzz: "After
you get the plan together, this will help you pick
the furniture out to buy. See the furniture in
your room through your phone. You can find local
professionals once the project moves away from
DIY."

Mark Koziel, executive vice president, public accounting, AICPA,
also recommends Houzz. "Houzz is awesome. It's
a great way to get ideas in one central source. I
also used it to source contractors locally."
In addition, Koziel suggests we check out
Buildertrend. "Since we just built a house, I
have an even better app: Buildertrend and
buildertrend.net. Our builder used this app/
site to interact with us on a regular basis.
Our budget and selections went into the
system and we approved all selections,
invoices and change orders right in the
system. I could sign for all of these and
make payments directly in the app. It's like
Bill.com for builders! Plus they posted pictures
as the build was happening so we could follow
progress since we were three hours away."

JULY 2019 ■

Daniel Vidal,
head of business development at Expensify,
recommends Task Rabbit. "It is a great app that
has all kinds of services and lets you choose different providers based on the rates and services
they offer. It also allows users to chat with their
'tasker' before committing to anything so one
can be assured they'll be able to take care of
the task at hand."
Last year, TSheets surveyed its customers
to find their favorite apps for the construction
industry. One of the highlights is DEWALT Mobile
Pro. This app provides calculators
for construction pros. Included is a
scientific calculator and calculator
templates for area, length, volume,
estimating studs, drywall, and concrete slabs. If
you're embarking on a major construction project,
this seems like a must-have app for you.
Planning a painting project? Sherwin Williams offers its ColorSnap Visualizer app to let
you see how different colors will look on your
walls. The Home Depot's ProjectColor app and
the Paint Tester app provide a similar service.
Choose a color either from the selection on
the app or by taking a picture of something
containing the color you want to match. Then
photograph the wall(s) you want to paint. The app
will apply the color you have chosen to the walls
so you can actually visualize the end results.
Not sure where to start?
Tr y searching through
the archives on WikiHow.
With over 150,000 howto
guides, you're likely to find
instructions for just about any project you can
imagine.

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

If you're willing to make a small investment
($1.99), you might want to add iHandyCarpenter
to your carpentry toolbox. The app turns your
phone into convenient tools, including a plumb
bob, a surface level, a steel protractor, a steel
ruler, and an inclinometer/clinometer.
The HomeAdvisor: Find a Contractor
app provides you with access to a network of home construction contractors
(hundreds of thousands, according to the
app description) who specialize in home renovation, repair, and maintenance projects. You can
read customer reviews and view pricing before
committing to a work agreement. ■

http://www.buildertrend.net http://www.Bill.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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