GFO Homes

Startup GFO Home draws on past experience, chooses Hyphen’s BRIX for simplicity, efficiency and affordability

Texas Builder finds ready-to-use, all-in-one construction software for seamless management of sales, accounting and construction at an affordable price point in BRIX and BuildPro

“I wanted to keep it simple and functional, which is what Hyphen Solutions’ BRIX is.”
– Kenny Docekal, Director of Finance GFO Home

EXECUTIVE HIGHLIGHTS FROM GFO HOME’S SUCCESS

• Ready-to-use system up and running within 4 months, without the need for costly and time-consuming customization.
• General Ledger up and running within 2 months, including accounts payables and financials.
• Reduced spending with Hyphen’s cost-effective subscription service; not paying for bells and whistles GFO Home didn’t need.
• Easily able to access, adjust and understand all costs associated with a build project; as well as view live schedule management and files in real-time.
• Projects and budget line items can be easily tweaked, without scrapping the record and starting from scratch.

Veteran homebuilder, Glenn Gehan, created GFO Home with the goal of simplifying the new home business. GFO is committed to the buyer’s unique needs, design and versatility, while building quality, energy-efficient homes. GFO’s team of real estate and construction professionals have the same end goal: to provide maximum value at a lower cost.

Kenny Docekal, Director of Finance, set out to select a platform to manage the building process from purchase to production, budgeting, and reporting. A decision he didn’t take lightly.

Knowing a custom platform wouldn’t be the right fit or hold long-term value for GFO, Docekal sought a functional, flexible, subscription-based service; something that enabled him to understand all elements of costs, prepare financial statements, and pay bills. On the operations side of the business, a tool that would allow the construction team to manage schedules and documents on-the-go.

After evaluating several other products, Hyphen was the most cost-effective solution that met all of GFO’s criteria.

Quick Facts

• New, privately-owned residential real estate company based and focused in Texas.
• Created by Glenn Gehan, former owner of Gehan Homes, and a team of real estate veterans with the goal of simplifying the new home business, resulting in unprecedented value to customers.
• Committed to the homeowner’s unique needs, with a strong focus on design and offering versatile floorplans, building in only the most desirable communities and locations.
• Dedicated to responsible production, providing customers with quality homes that are energy efficient, and built using responsibly sourced materials.

“I wanted an all-in-one tool that was both functional and costeffective. Hyphen gets the job done.”
– Kenny Docekal

Challenges Driving Change

Drawing from past experience, here are some of the key challenges GFO Home hoped to address with Hyphen:

#1 System Management and Maintenance

For a company built on the value of efficiency, a customized system that required in-house management and maintenance wouldn’t cut it. Customization over time only leads to a system that is eventually broken or entirely unmanageable.

#2 High Price Point

Personalized platforms cost thousands to build and even more to maintain. Those costs couldn’t be justified for a startup company with a small team.

#3 Inability to easily make changes to budget line items

Budgets change over the course of construction, but to make simple changes to a budget line item, other systems required a complete deletion and redo of the project, a process that could take upwards of 30 minutes per house.

GFO Home Selects Hyphen’s BRIX and BuildPro for Simplicity and Functionality with an Affordable Subscription Cost

After researching his options, Docekal opted to use BRIX and BuildPro, not only for the low subscription cost, but because Hyphen Solutions offered a platform that was ready and easy-to-use right out of the box.

Building a sophisticated, customized solution was out of the question for a startup company with no data, sales logs or budgets from which to begin. Additionally, customized solutions are often tweaked so many times that eventually, nobody within the company is able to update or maintain it, leaving no choice but to scrap the system and start over. Docekal knew this was not a cycle he wanted to get into. BRIX and BuildPro provided a simple and functional out-of-the-box solution ideal for a startup like GFO Home.

In previous positions, Docekal had also experienced the challenge of trying to update a single line item in a budget, a seemingly simple task that many systems make nearly impossible. In order to tweak the budget, the entire record for the home had to be deleted, the line item updated in the master budget, and a new record for the home created – A process that is inefficient at best. BRIX is a flexible tool that can be managed live, rather than starting from scratch.

Choosing Hyphen Solutions allowed GFO Home to hit the ground running without spending valuable time and money on a customized solution.

KEY OUTCOMES FOR GFO HOMES

Live In 4 Months

GFO Home avoided delays and complications with BRIX’s out-of-box functionality

Simple & Functional

Hyphen provides the functionality GFO Home needs without all the needs with a singlepoint solution

Easily Managed

Records within the system can be easily updated rather than starting from scratch, reducing frustration and saving time.

Low Cost, High Return

Ideal for a startup like GFO Home, allowing for a reasonable investment & high return off increased efficiency.

“My goal was to find one service designed to be incorporated with other pieces we were using; a subscription service we didn’t have to maintain. I looked hard at other tools, but BRIX and BuildPro met our criteria the best.”
– Kenny Docekal

CLOSING REMARKS ON WHY IT’S WORTH IT TO MOVE TO BRIX AND BUILDPRO®

“BRIX and BUILDPRO allow you to manage the data that supports making business decisions with very little cost and expense, thereby leaving you time to spend on the things that add value to the business.”
– Kenny Docekal

About GFO Home

GFO Home is a new residential real estate company based and focused in the state of Texas. GFO Home’s team of experienced real estate veterans created the company with goals that simplify the many processes in the new home business, resulting in unprecedented value to their customers.

GFO Home is committed to the homeowner’s unique needs, with a strong focus on design and versatility and a commitment to build in only the most desirable communities and locations.

For more information about GFO Home, visit www.gfohome.com.