Why Contractors Need Efficient Job Cost Accounting Software

Subcontractor contracts, purchase and change orders, labor, materials, overhead; The list goes on and on when it comes to assessing your actual costs and projected costs for any given contractor project. And if your business is still crunching numbers by pencil or manual spreadsheet entry, you’re only increasing your risk of going over budget on any given job.

Construction accounting software is truly an ally when it comes to overseeing, managing, and altering every aspect of your job costing process. Proficient accounting software makes job costing a cinch by breaking down every element of your construction project budget into smaller, specific sections, from estimating and bidding to the final invoice.

Financial management for any industry can be overwhelming, but every general contractor knows how one minor accounting error can put an entire project in jeopardy.

Here are a few primary reasons why every contractor needs efficient job cost accounting software to improve the accuracy of your job cost numbers and stay ahead of the competition.

Eliminate Estimating Errors

Accurate estimates are what can make the difference between winning and losing a bid. Using generic spreadsheet applications is what often leads to estimating errors as one wrong click of the mouse can change or even delete a formula.

When you have reputable job cost accounting software at your disposal, you can review or create estimates that are all in the same format, resulting in no chance at accidentally provoking any mathematical errors.

In addition to built-in error checking technologies, proficient contractor accounting software equips users with detailed, customized cost-variance reports, allowing you to be better prepared for future bids.

Analyze Labor Efficiency

Labor remains one of the highest cost burdens for every contractor’s accounting management, and failing to stay efficiently on top of labor costs can quickly result in reduced productivity and profits.

Innovative job costing accounting software can be integrated with mobile time tracking software that allows contractors to oversee, approve, and submit any off or on-site labor hours.

When you can track and analyze direct labor costs to calculate your official labor burden, project managers can maximize efficiency within their budgets, while catching any issues before they progress into primary problems, giving you time to recoup any impending losses.

Superior Change Order Management

Change orders are essentially inevitable on any given project, and if not properly managed, they can have a drastic impact on project income as well as the accuracy of every estimated cost.

With cutting edge contractor accounting software, you can instantly enter any approved change orders into your software system, ensuring any last minute financial changes are completely accounted for.

Superior change order management enhances your job costing reports in a variety of ways, including:

• Instant updates to job cost budgets, keeping all contractors in the loop on any budget changes
   
• Automatic updates to project contracts to highlight and breakdown any requested changes in scope
   
• Manage and edit bonded or fixed-price project schedules so change orders are billed on time
   
• Receive confirmation from subcontractors for newfound scheduling or project commitments

Set Up Real-Time Alerts

Invoices, contracts, schedules, paperwork; staying on top of all of these stages of job costs throughout the duration of any given project can prove exhausting to say the least. That’s why contractor accounting software excels where spreadsheets or manual data entry fails, giving contractors real-time alerts and reminders on every issue that could impact job costs.

You can set up real-time alerts that notify you straight to your smartphone, so you can avoid any potential obstacles such as:

• Over-budget job hours
   
• Under or over-billed jobs
   
• Unaccounted for change orders
   
• Cost codes
   
• Invoice deadlines
   
• Insurance expiration dates
   
• Compliance-related costs and more

The more up to date you are on every angle of your job costing to-do list, the more financially secure your construction project will be.

Superior Accounting Software From Sage 100 Contractor

Managing your company’s finances should be rewarding, not stressful. With Sage 100 Contractor, staying on top of your project finances has never been easier, especially when you can take advantage of certified Sage 100 Contractor software training and integration services, courtesy of Software Consultants.

We take pride in helping our clients win more bids with superior contractor accounting software. To upgrade your current accounting technology, contact Software Consultants today to schedule a free accounting assessment!