This Podcast Is Episode Number 0313, And It Will Be About Construction Company Technology Practices To Reduce Financial Management Cost
There is a thread of success weaved into the fabric of the most successful, wealthiest, consistently most profitable house builders, general contractors, residential remodel contractors, flipper house contractors, commercial tenant improvement contractors, sub-contractors, specialty contractors, handyman, architects and designers and over 100 other types of contractors and construction-related companies - they adapt to a continually changing environment.
Everything in the Universe is in balance, and parts of it are easy to see and understand and some parts are hidden in plain sight and require some effort to see and understand. Your ability to look beyond the initial statement and understand the hidden meaning why successful contractors adapt to change to survive and thrive will serve you well. The truth is the most successful, wealthy, highly profitable construction contractors don't like change.
From the mid-1970's until 2000 we owned and operated several construction companies and a few Plumbing Contracting companies. Six keys helped us outperform other contractors in terms of cash flow and profit year after year regardless of the economic conditions:
I was raised in a construction family
I majored in Accounting in the first of several Universities I have attended
Subsequently I have become a perpetual student of Construction Accounting
We understood the difference between Regular Accounting and Construction Accounting
We understood the value of being Process Dependent Vs. People Dependent
We embraced technology that reduced dependency on people by automating a process
Here's where being adaptable counts, construction company owners like you should begin to take note of technology advancements that you can use to implement in your business processes. Listed are some of the ways we can help you:
Smartphones - Keep two - one dedicated for business use and one for personal use. Evaluate your business smartphone and all of the "apps" and discard the ones that are not helping you make money. You can also download our free app here.
Cloud Backup - Use an automatic backup service to store files, documents, contracts, job site photos, change orders and everything else you need to operate your construction company daily in the cloud. It is imperative to include all of your computers, desktops, notebooks and any web-enabled device that contains data. There are several services available (no one is best for every contractor), we can consult with you to determine the best one to serve your needs.
E-Mail - Outlook linked to a cloud server means you can have all of your standard email accounts, G-Mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. downloaded automatically into one Outlook program on your office desktop and laptop, and your desktop and laptop at home. This gives you the ability to access, automatically synchronize and manage all of your emails wherever you are.
Time Card Calculator - Upgrade from paper-based time cards to web-based time card calculator that can be accessed from any web-enabled device including smartphones, tablets, desktops, notebooks, etc. For more information about the only web based time card calculator we trust for our contractors' bookkeeping services firm staff, that links to QuickBooks and works without messing up your QuickBooks; and will dramatically improve your Job Costing Reports and save time and labor click here.
Cloud-Based Financial Reports - Without having to open QuickBooks for contractors and get lost in the muck and mire. We have a program that links to QuickBooks and allows contractors to visit and very straightforward yet powerful secure portal website to review, analyze and run hundreds of financial reports including ratios without opening QuickBooks and risk destroying the underlying data. It is updated every 24 hours and provides everything you need to operate and grow your construction company. Click here for more.
Online Bill Payment And Customer Invoicing - Online invoicing and bill paying is saving contractors like you time and money by streamlining your entire processes which means you are getting paid faster and put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. With the optional bill tracking and bill payment services you are increasing bottom line profits by avoiding late fees and taking advantage of vendor discounts which in some cases can generate 36% Return on Investment! Learn more about this by clicking here.
Cloud Based Contractors Bookkeeping Services - The two best contractors bookkeeping services software solutions are QuickBooks Desktop Version In The Cloud and Xero Accounting Online. The main difference is the Job Costing Reports - if you need Job Costing Reports QuickBooks Desktop Version In The Cloud Works Best. Otherwise for simple contractors bookkeeping services Xero Accounting Online works best. For a complete overview of QuickBooks Vs. Xero click here.
Paper Reduced Office - It will be a while before your entire construction company is "paperless", however, some technology solutions can substantially reduce the need for paper. Each page of document you print costs roughly $0.50 which includes the cost of labor and vehicle expense to go to the store and buy the paper and bring it to office, the office workers and bookkeepers labor, printer ink or toner, electricity, storage cost to print something on the paper and the eventual disposal cost. A more efficient money-saving alternative is using scanners, emailing smartphone pictures, and cloud-based document storage and retrieval. We even have methods to link PDF documents to an individual transaction in QuickBooks Desktop Version In The Cloud and Xero Accounting Online. To learn more about paper reduction methods click here.
We can help you implement the right technology for your construction company. This is only a short list of the hundreds of ways we can improve your cash flow and bottom line profits so you can put more in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. I hope you enjoy them and get value from them.
