Embracing change
It is estimated that 41% of businesses in the construction industry manage their accounts with pen and paper. This is a long way from streamlined operations, automated invoice processing and centralised information in a dashboard. The complexity of compliance procedures, sourcing projects and managing human resources are additional pressures for construction businesses and often exacerbated by not being office-based.
Multiple projects, multiple sites
Take back financial control and streamline operations by automating manual tasks and harnessing the potential of technology. Reviewing your financial position on a regular basis and working in real-time will help facilitate accurate cash flow and profit forecasting. Having greater knowledge of your financial position will allow you to make more informed business decisions and take advantage of opportunities for growth. Technology can also help you manage invoices from suppliers and send your own quotes and invoices from your phone. Capturing receipts and expenses will enable you to have an up-to-date view of project costings to convert into a quote for clients. With adjustable VAT rates saved to invoice items, you can be certain you have correctly charged your clients for the work and supplies purchased.
Record-keeping and tracking expenditure
As an industry, construction has an industry culture of late payments. Tracking invoices and setting up alerts can ensure your business isn’t forced to wait the average 82-day period before payment is made. Working in real-time and in the cloud permits invoices and quotes to be calculated and sent on-site. Reducing the delay in completing financial tasks means you can be confident your quotes are accurate. Additionally, managing debtors and payments is improved with alerts for due invoices and the ability to review the business’ open, overdue and recently paid invoices on the home dashboard.
Sub-contractors
Managing expenditure, subcontractors and expenses in real-time can also prevent later queries, divergence from set budgets or unexpected project costings. The software’s artificial intelligence capabilities can learn rules to assign transactions to projects and workers, as well as categorise receipts captured on your phone. Any additional expenditure not included in a budget can be managed from either a central location or organised into a project class. This data can be reviewed from your dashboard or customisable reports that can drill down into projects and individuals.
Compliance
Construction businesses face a number of complex and time-consuming compliance processes. Utilising the in-built CIS module enables compliance to be achieved without stress and alongside all other financial transactions. Additionally, by sharing access with your accountant you can be certain your taxes, deductions and compliance have been verified by a professional, saving you time and costly errors. These capabilities enable cloud accounting to streamline operations, boost efficiency, facilitate communication and increase your company’s productivity.