A simpler way for a small construction team to run the whole job

A simpler way for a small construction team to run the whole job

Lighthouse Construction & Design had already tried many of the biggest names in construction software. But instead of simplifying the business, Daniel Lindsey found himself paying for multiple platforms, moving information between systems, and still being the only person in the office who could confidently build estimates.

With Eano Pro, Lighthouse brought estimating, proposals, contracts, invoicing, and project management into one place. More importantly, Daniel's wife Blanche was able to quickly take over much of the estimating workflow — freeing Daniel to spend more time where he wanted to be: on the job site.

Their first completed Eano project gave them an early proof point: an upper five-figure proposal was signed by the homeowner just 1 hour and 58 minutes after it was sent.

The results

The problem: too many tools, too much work

Daniel wasn't new to construction software.

He had already used Buildertrend, CoConstruct, ConstructIQ, Excel, and other tools in an effort to manage estimating and projects more efficiently.

The problem was that the supposed “all-in-one” systems still required Lighthouse to stitch together information from multiple places.

“We had to keep merging everything in. Merging things in, merging things in. Even though they put it out as a one-stop spot — it was a lot of merging everything that I had.”

Keeping several systems running at once also became expensive.

“I had to keep a bunch of other different subscriptions with other programs as well. It started $1,500, $2,000 a month just in programs. And it gets crazy.”

But the bigger constraint was the learning curve.

Lighthouse is a small operation. Daniel handles much of the field work while his wife Blanche helps run the office. With their previous software, Daniel felt like someone needed a strong construction and financial background just to operate the system.

That meant too much of the estimating workload still depended on him.

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Giving the owner his time back

One of the biggest changes wasn't simply producing estimates faster.

It was making the estimating process easy enough that someone else in the business could take ownership of it.

“You had to have more of a building and financial background for the other softwares that we had — and she was able to jump in and just fly with it. That says a lot.”

Once Blanche could handle estimates and work inside Eano Pro, Daniel didn't have to spend as much time sitting behind a computer.

“It was a no-brainer for me, because at that point I was able to leave the office and get back in the field and do more visual on the field — because that's my thing.”

For a small construction company, that ability to divide responsibilities can have an outsized impact.

“It's all about time management. You can do multiple things with less people in the office.”

One workflow from estimate to payment

Instead of building an estimate in one tool, sending a proposal from another, tracking signatures somewhere else, and reconciling invoices afterward, Lighthouse can manage the workflow inside Eano Pro.

Cost book → Estimate → Proposal → E-signature → Invoice → Payment

The difference showed up quickly.

For Lighthouse's first completed project in Eano:

• The upper five-figure proposal was sent May 20 at 1:55 PM.
• The homeowner opened and e-signed it at 3:53 PM.
• That's just 1 hour and 58 minutes from proposal delivery to signature.
• The first milestone invoice was later issued June 26.
• The invoice was paid four days later, on June 30.

It's one project, not an average across every Lighthouse job — but it demonstrated the complete workflow from proposal through collected revenue.

Replacing a $1,500–$2,000/month software stack

Before Eano, Lighthouse was combining multiple construction platforms and spreadsheets.

Before

Buildertrend
CoConstruct
ConstructIQ
Additional estimating tools
Excel

Software spend: $1,500–$2,000/month

With Eano Pro

Estimating
Cost books
Proposals
E-signatures
Project management
Invoices
Payments

Lighthouse's starting plan: $588/year

For Daniel, consolidating the workflow meant less software to pay for — and less information to reconcile between systems.

“Everything is in one spot.”

Easy enough for the whole office to use

A construction platform only saves time if the people who need it can actually use it.

That had been a major frustration with Lighthouse's previous systems.

“A lot of them had a lot of learning curve. This was an easy learning curve for her.”

Eano's team worked directly with Blanche through onboarding sessions covering scopes, estimate templates, milestone templates, proposal finalization, contracts, and subcontractor workflows.

Daniel also pointed to the responsiveness of the Eano team as a major part of the experience.

“As fast as I asked a question, y'all developed something new. And that's what — Rosse really just sold it for me, to be honest with you. She put it together for me.”

Keeping the entire project team on the same page

Lighthouse can also share project information with the people surrounding the job — from field leadership to architects and clients.

“It's easy to share with the foremen and your other places, or the architect and everybody else — so we're all on the same page. It's easier to share.”

Instead of forwarding different spreadsheets, PDFs, and updates from multiple systems, everyone can work from the same underlying project information.

“Hands down the best for me right now.”

Daniel has spent enough time with construction software to know the alternatives.

His verdict after moving Lighthouse onto Eano Pro:

“I've had some pretty good software, and this tops it. I've had them all — Buildertrend, CoConstruct, I've had them all. Hands down the best for me right now.”

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