Before switching accounting software, there are some questions you should ask yourself which will help in your search for a new software solution. Why can’t your company stay as is? Why does this matter? How much money are you losing by not making a decision? What is your P&L by job and by company? What goals are you hoping to accomplish with new software? What should I be looking for in a provider?
It’s important to identify your current systems shortcomings and develop a plan to implement a software solution that will add real value to your company.
There are five common reasons that push people to upgrade their accounting software:
1. You’ve outgrown your existing system
If your business has experienced recent growth, it’s challenging for older accounting software systems to scale and adopt new features required in today’s fast paced tech world. Switching to a more flexible cloud-based system will allow your business to continue to grow and adopt forward thinking controls around automation and collaboration.
2. Need for greater Integration
As the construction industry changes, software that is unable to evolve will eventually become obsolete. You need a software solution that is designed to easily connect the project managers from the field with the internal operations in the office. Switching to an up to date software system will provide your company with greater integration making it easier to enter in costs and track real-time information related to your jobs & company. With daily job logs from the field, you can enter in PO receipts, time entry, RFIs, punch lists, photos, subcontracts, notes, safety incidents and so much more. This information should sync directly back into your integrated accounting system to provide you with meaningful reports.
3. Your business model has changed
A significant change in business practices could mean your existing system is not a good fit anymore. Small accounting software packages are designed horizontally, not for a specific target market. You need a software solution designed specific to your niche and one that understands your business model and has experience in the construction industry.
4. Rising costs are becoming an issue
Software should always feel like its adding value to your business, not sucking it away. Especially with the development and improvements made to cloud systems, there are many affordable solutions out there. Why take on risk with a huge initial investment when you don’t have to. In today’s world of SAAS based models, you can enter into a contract with zero risk and no initial investment. You can hold your software vendors accountable to ensure they deliver a quality product and service. Also, teaming with a cloud model saves you money because you don’t have to purchase a server or incur I.T costs by managing back-ups, storage, capacity etc.
5. Existing software lacks detailed job costing
It’s a real nightmare for contractors when you know you’re losing money on a job, but can’t pinpoint where or why. Upgrading to an integrated software solution designed for construction provides you with detailed job costing applications, making it easy for you to track profit & loss by job, subcontracts, committed costs, progress billing, estimates, actuals, change orders, daily job logs and more. For the purpose of project management and control, it is not sufficient to consider only the past record of costs and revenues incurred in a project. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all the goals and objectives while meeting the constraints of scope, time, quality and budget. Good managers should focus upon future revenues, future costs and technical problems.