The use of digital solutions is becoming more common across the construction industry – and indeed in all facets of building projects.
While there are obvious and immediate benefits around enhanced communication and information-sharing that come through use of a digital package, there are also many other features that can be integrated into a company’s solution and help to drive new efficiencies throughout every level of the job.
The fact that solutions can be customised for particular clients or users means that stakeholders can take on and leverage different specific aspects of the software as required.
Using construction accounting software as part of the overall digital ecosystem gives users another important tool to help in completing their building projects more successfully.
Construction accounting software does all the same things as general accounting software but with the added extra of some construction-specific features.
So while it will take care of all the usual functions, such as general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, it will also have special modules such as time and material billing, and equipment service and usage tracking. Most software allows companies to tailor their version to include the aspects which best suit their specific requirements.
Furthermore, construction accounting software can also be used in strategic planning and operations management of a building project. Contractors can ensure the project’s budget is properly managed by monitoring costs and cash flow, keeping expenses and costs organised, and improving accountability.
Ultimately, dedicated construction accounting software will help you deliver your project on budget, it will help you ensure that the project is financially successful and to maximise the commercial return.
Construction accounting software is important because it helps you to keep tight control over the budgets on a project.
The key benefit of construction accounting software is that it allows you to keep track of the financial aspects of a project as it progresses. Accountants and project managers can see how the budget relates to the progress onsite – if only a quarter of the work is done but half of the budget has already been spent, this is something that must be flagged up and addressed.
Profitability in any large project is dependent on many different factors, so being able to track job costs is an important feature in accounting software. Comparing actual costs with estimated costs in real time allows you to keep a close eye on how a project is doing in terms of profitability.
Many construction accounting software packages will allow you to set up alerts on any items that may negatively affect job costs.
When your accounting software is integrated with your software for other aspects of a project, you can easily share data between the various platforms – and you can trust the security and integrity of the data. The Zutec platform is software agnostic, so is compatible to work in tandem with various accounting solutions.
The sharing is quick and easy as everything is integrated as part of the same ecosystem – this makes for greater collaboration between the different stakeholders, be they financial staff or project managers, and reporting is made much easier. The smoother the flow of information, the better the financial health of your project, as all relevant stakeholders are up-to-date and well informed.
This feeds in to greater productivity – better collaboration and information means better decisions, fewer mistakes and generally greater efficiency. Projects are less likely to go over budget, and if something does go over, there is a clear trail of data to show where any error was made. This can give the insight to avoid a similar error being made in the future.
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