Going Green is more than just being environmentally friendly. It also means saving time and money, which goes right to the bottom line, putting more green in your pocket. While being environmentally responsible is becoming an important part of being a good corporate citizen, there are lots of reasons to take advantage of the various time and money saving features of the INTERAC accounting system. 

Going paperless with the Document Management System
Besides being more environmentally friendly, you can save lots of time, money, and space by eliminating paper from your routine processes. 

• Automatically generate pdf copies of payroll and AP checks instead of printing paper copies.
• Automatically email these copies to employees and vendors instead of distributing paper copies.
• Receive and process electronic invoices from vendors.
• Submit electronic invoices to your customers.
• Convert all those boxes of paper in the archives to electronic files and eliminate all the hours of filing and free up that space. 

Taking advantage of Direct Deposit capabilities in both AP and Payroll. 
INTERAC will automatically generate and file the direct deposit statements, and it can even email copies directly to employees or vendors. For employees that don’t utilize traditional banking, the ePayCard service may be an attractive option.

Utilizing the Manager Applications 
Easily share critical information with key team members with direct, view only access to all the data they need from a simple point and click interface. All the manager applications also integrate with the Document Management System to allow users to scan, add, and manage the associated documents. 

• Job Manager provides direct access to all the Job Cost information, including documentation.
• HR Manager provides instant access to the wealth of employee information from Payroll.
• Equipment Manager provides easy access to all your Equipment Cost information and documents.
• Report Manager provides each user with their own custom menu of INTERAC reports, and it is integrated with the other manager applications for easy access.

E-File your federal and state taxes instead of printing and mailing the forms. INTERAC will generate the necessary upload files for federal and all 50 states. 
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These a just a few of the ways you can save time and money and become more environmentally friendly. If you would like to learn more about taking advantage of these options, we would be happy to show you how. Give us a call.

What’s the worst part of losing a grip on your contracting company’s job costs?

Billable costs not making it to the final invoice? The difficulty of identifying which jobs are actually making money? The productivity-killing chore of reassembling ill-managed records?

How about all of the above?

Managing job costs is difficult for any contracting business. After all, the very nature of contracting conspires against making it an easy task. Job work is complex and dynamic. Conditions change. Costs fluctuate.

It’s a constant business challenge. But contractors who give the problem serious attention gain major advantages over competitors who haven’t done the same.

I spoke with Tim Law, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Intersoft Systems to dig deeper into the job cost software opportunity. Tim is an expert on the topic. Intersoft Systems provides accounting and management software and has a particularly strong focus on meeting the needs of construction businesses. Tim has spent the last 8 years consulting with companies to help them leverage technology to improve management tasks such as job costing.

Q:  How has construction job costing changed in the last 10 or 15 years?

No doubt, the last 10 to 15 years have seen some dramatic changes in technology, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. While many of the changes have brought incremental improvements, some have been real game changers.

The broad acceptance of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets is changing the way things are being done in the field. These are also driving a whole new class of web-enabled software platforms which allow the field to be connected to the rest of the enterprise.

In our experience, electronic document management has been one of the most significant software enhancements in recent years. Beyond becoming a standard feature, this capability offers significant benefits across the entire organization.

Converting all those paper archives to a digital format not only saves the costs associated with maintaining all that paper, it also makes that documentation readily available to the entire team.

Q:  How can contractors use job costing to improve the way they do business?

We like to say: “An accounting system is only as good as the information you can get out of it”. Beyond just capturing income and expenses, a true job cost system must be able to provide accurate and timely information about the jobs in progress.

Things like:

• Tracking costs by phase or cost code to monitor how each portion of the job is performing.
• Comparing these costs with estimated costs to monitor estimating accuracy or spot problems on the job before it’s too late to address them.
• Monitoring billings to ensure accuracy and avoid over payments.
• Comparing historical data can provide all sorts of performance assessments.

Having a system that enables you to create reports in formats that are meaningful to the various team members is critical. Experience has shown us that every company has slightly different preferences for how they want their reporting data presented. This may be the most important consideration for a good job cost system.

​Q:  Do general contractors and subcontractors need different types of software for job costing?

In general, the core aspects of a job cost system are the same for both general contractors and subcontractors. However, there are unique requirements in almost every situation. That is one of the reasons that Intersoft Systems chooses to offer our construction suite in an à la carte model, allowing each contractor to select the appropriate applications to address their particular requirements.

While the core job cost functionality is the same for all, there are a series of specialty applications that may be added to fill out the necessary functionality.

For example:

• General contractors may want the Subcontractor Control system to help them manage contracts, track subcontractor insurance status, and manage the billing cycles.
• Heavy contractors will likely utilize the Equipment Cost system to help manage the revenue, costs, and maintenance for their fleet of machinery.
• Specialty contractors may have a need for an inventory control system to manage the inventory for their maintenance and repair operations. There is a good reason why there are so many viable options in construction accounting and job cost software. It is important for a contactor to select a system that has the appropriate applications to address their specific needs.

Q:  Is there an advantage to having job cost software integrated with other core accounting and business applications?

Having a fully integrated job cost accounting system offers significant advantages.

• Data flows seamlessly between integrated applications
• Eliminates the need for multiple entry.
• Reduces errors
• Streamlines the entire accounting process
• Allows for more sophisticated reporting by having data from interfacing applications available

Integration may mean that one vendor provides all the applications as a unified solution. However, most modern systems are also capable of integrating with 3rd party applications, so you can utilize systems from multiple vendors, and still have an integrated solution.

For example: There are lots of specialized estimating systems that can easily share their estimating data with a variety of job cost systems. Integrating time clock systems with payroll is another common scenario.

Q:  How can contractors tell the difference between good and bad job cost software?

There are a few simple questions that can help a construction firm to determine whether they are being adequately served by their job cost accounting system.

Does it provide:

• Timely job cost reporting that enables you to proactively address issues on a job rather than reacting after it is too late to make a difference?
• Financial reporting information that satisfies you, your banker, your bonding agent, owners, or general contractors you may be working for?
• The tools necessary for your accounting staff to be efficient at providing all this information?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it may be time to reevaluate.

Q:  What kind of results can contractors expect when they add job costing software or upgrade to a better program?

There are lots of benefits that come with having the appropriate construction accounting software. It should make the accounting staff more efficient, the management team more effective, and the organization more profitable.

For example, just taking advantage of the electronic document management system brought all of the following business results to one of our long-time users:

• The Document Management Approval System has been a very effective tool in streamlining the entire approval process. Incoming documentation is scanned immediately, coded with the appropriate vendor information and routed directly to the appropriate project manager for review and approval. Each project manager receives an email reminder and they are able to log into their Approval System inbox remotely to review and release documents 24/7. They no longer need to return to the office to access and review their paperwork.
• The AP clerk is able to monitor all the pending documents and hold the appropriate people accountable. As the invoices are approved and released, they flow directly into the AP process for payment.
• DMS has been a great productivity enhancement, allowing the accounting staff to be much more efficient, processing the same volume of work with 20% fewer people.
• In addition to the savings in personnel costs, document management is also saving about $2,000 per year in storage costs for the 20 boxes per year of archives that are no longer being generated. As the remaining archives are replaced by DMS, the net savings will grow to $20,000.

Knowing that an accounting system is only as good as the information you can get out of it, structuring your Job Cost system can be critical to getting meaningful reports. The primary purpose for having an integrated system is to empower project managers and the management team to make the organization more efficient and profitable. Following are a few things to consider.​

What Job Cost Information Do I Need?
It is always a good idea to begin with the end in mind by defining what kind of job cost reports are needed from the system. Using these reporting requirements as a guide will define how the job cost information needs to be captured, and how much detail will be required. The INTERAC system offers a great deal of flexibility on how the Job Cost module is set up, allowing job cost reporting to be as detailed as necessary to properly manage the jobs. How is a job cost system structured?

Jobs / Phases / Categories (cost codes)

• Jobs are the top level breakout in a typical job cost system. Everything is assigned to and rolls up under a job. 
• Phases are the next level. Each job is subdivided into phases, which are user defined and can be different for each job, or similar jobs can use a set of common phases. Phases are typically used to define distinct portions of a job like site preparation, foundation, framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, etc… Every contractor and trade specialty will have their own way of defining what phases are meaningful. 
• Categories or Cost Codes are the lowest level of the job cost breakout. Each phase is further subdivided using categories like labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors, etc… In INTERAC, the Job Cost system will accommodate up to 16 different categories, supporting job cost reporting at a very detailed level, where needed. 

How Much Detail Is Enough?
Some contractors choose to keep it simple and use only two phases, one for cost and the other for revenue, utilizing the categories for the rest of their job cost reporting breakout. With 16 categories, this may be sufficient. Keeping it as simple as possible will make it easier in the field, in accounting, and for management. 

Many contractors need more detail and need to utilize more phases on a job to adequately monitor and manage their job cost. For some this may mean several phases, where other more complex jobs may require hundreds of phases. Use as many as are necessary, but as few as possible to keep the system manageable. 

If all jobs are similar, they may be able to share a common phase structure, allowing job cost reports to be formatted the same way from job to job. This can make interpreting reports much simpler. In some cases, there may not be enough similarity between jobs for a common structure to make sense. The categories remain common to all jobs for the company, but simple jobs may only have a few phases, while complex jobs have many more. In these cases, each job can have its own set of phases, independent from other jobs. For example, a new construction build will be much more complex and long running than a simple service call repair job. 

It is important to keep in mind that someone has to keep track of all the activity on the job, capture it, and get it into the system. The more complex the job cost breakout, the more difficult it will be to accurately capture, the greater the time required for input, and the more likely it will generate resistance from users.  Too much detail may be as bad, or worse than not enough. 

A Word of Caution: Often management teams dream about all the detailed reporting that will be possible, but the burden of capturing all that detail on a daily basis becomes overwhelming for the field staff who end up being responsible for it. This alone causes too many job cost implementations to fail.​

What About Setting Up New Jobs?
In most cases, an estimate was created during the proposal phase, before the job is awarded. It can be very helpful to utilize this estimating data to measure the actual production on the job. With this in mind, it is common to model the phase and category structure of the job cost system to the estimate. This will allow the information from estimating to be used in creating a new job, and then to compare the actual job costs to what was estimated for each phase and category.

The INTERAC Job Cost system supports comparative reporting, making it easy to measure production performance to budget all through the project life cycle. Keeping a close watch on the job costs will help to spot potential problems and avoid costly overruns. Integrating the Purchase Order system will make it possible to track committed costs which have been ordered, but not yet paid for. Outstanding purchase orders are shown as committed costs until the invoice is received and paid. 

Where Does All This Data Come From?
With an integrated Job Cost system, most of the data flows in from interfacing applications. Labor costs come from Payroll. Materials costs come from Accounts Payable. Equipment costs can come from the Equipment Cost system. The beauty of an integrated system is that the information only needs to be entered one time, in the primary application, and will flow through the system to all the interfacing applications from there. 

What About Job Cost Reporting?
Getting meaningful data out of the system is the whole reason to go to all this trouble. Generating job cost reports formatted in a meaningful way can make all the difference in the bottom line. Realizing potential issues before it is too late to react, avoiding costly errors, and managing cash flow are all benefits of a properly configured Job Cost system. 

With INTERAC’s Job Manager and Report Manager all this job cost information is readily available through a very user friendly, point and click interface. Job Manager provides a one screen job summary and the ability to drill down to transaction level detail and even documentation with just a few clicks of the mouse. Any Job Manager information is easily printed or exported to a spreadsheet, allowing users to generate their own custom reports in seconds. 

Report Manager provides a user specific menu of job cost reports right in Job Manager, making it very easy for non-accounting users to run their reports on demand. Not only does this give them instant access to the management information they need, it eliminates all the disruptions in the accounting office requesting updates. 

When it is time to upgrade, give Intersoft Systems a call and let us show you what the INTERAC Construction Accounting System can do for your organization.

Job Cost Reporting with INTERAC Job Manager

The most common reason we hear from contractors for initiating the search for new accounting software is a need for better Job Cost reporting. Getting this critical information to the right people in a timely fashion can make all the difference in being able to avoid costly delays or errors, and address any issues promptly, all of which directly impact the profitability of a job. 

Job Cost reporting isn’t just for the CFO and upper management. It needs to get to the project personnel who directly impact the work being done and are responsible for making any necessary adjustments. With this in mind, Intersoft Systems developed the INTERAC Job Manager program. Job Manager is designed with the project management staff in mind, providing very simple point and click user interface with immediate access to all the Job Cost information. With Job Manager, your entire team can have instant access to the wealth of information in the Job Cost system. 

The main screen provides a complete job summary with the ability to drill down to the detail transactions with a single mouse click and view any associated documentation. You can also run job cost reports from Job Manager with the integrated Report Manager. 

For more information, follow the links below: 

• Job Manager Overview Brochure 
• Job Manager Intro Video

Making Job Cost Reporting Easy

See how the INTERAC Construction Accounting System and Job Manager make it really easy to get the critical Job Cost information to the people who need it to make important decisions that can make all the difference in profitability. 

Learn More