Dexter + Chaney Celebrates 30 Years in Business

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.

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 huge 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  company president John Chaney. “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.”

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.

Spectrum’s fully-integrated 28 modules provide a seamless solution that fits the needs of contractors across all construction industries:  general, electrical, mechanical/HVAC, heavy/highway and utility contractors and specialty subcontractors. Dexter + Chaney leverages the latest technology to continually advance the software, improving functionality and delivering a solution that helps contractors become more efficient and productive.

More than 1,000 construction companies throughout the United States use Dexter + Chaney’s Spectrum Construction Software. Spectrum includes 28 integrated modules that work together to cover all aspects of construction business management, including job cost accounting, equipment management, human resources, project management, document imaging, service management, remote connectivity and much more. Spectrum is built using the latest technology, including a SQL Server database, and is developed with the most advanced tools available, including .NET technologies and the PRO-IV Rapid Application Development Framework.