SEATTLE — Dexter + Chaney, developer of Spectrum Construction Software, recently marked the 30th anniversary of the company’s founding with a staff party at the Dexter + Chaney campus in Seattle. Spectrum addresses the accounting, operational, management, and reporting needs of more than 1,000 construction companies throughout the U.S.
Partners Mark Dexter and John Chaney started the business in 1981 in the spare bedroom of Dexter’s Seattle apartment. The duo had worked together as certified public accountants in the consulting division of Arthur Andersen (now Accenture) on a maritime project involving pricing change orders and mark-ups — a manual process at the time. They figured there had to be a better method, and decided to apply the emerging technology of electronic spreadsheets to the construction market. Today, Dexter + Chaney employs more than 80 people who work in two buildings on the company-owned 2.3-acre campus in north Seattle. While the company has experienced many changes over the past 30 years, its dedication to serving the needs of its customers has remained constant.
“Our founding principles — making Spectrum the last software our clients need to buy, and our commitment to making each client a customer for life — apply today as they did in 1981,” said Chaney, the company’s president. “Producing software that our clients never need to re-purchase is a commitment that we’ve upheld for 30 years. It’s been true for all of our past releases and upgrades, and we will continue to do likewise with future versions of Spectrum and for the life of the product.”
Looking to the future As Dexter + Chaney marks three decades in business, the company is focusing on the upcoming release of Spectrum version 14.
“We’ve taken clients from green screen to DOS to Windows over the last 30 years,” said Chaney. “Version 14 is as big a leap in technology, access and usability as any we made in the past. I’m not exaggerating when I say that Dexter + Chaney is poised to revolutionize the way construction software serves the industry.
“The development of Spectrum version 14 is rooted in our commitment to our clients,” Chaney continued. “Our development philosophy is simple: listen carefully to customers and then provide what they really need. That was true 30 years ago and it remains the same today.”
Spectrum’s fully-integrated 28 modules provide a solution that fits the needs of contractors across all construction industries: general, electrical, mechanical/HVAC, heavy/highway and utility contractors and specialty subcontractors.
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