Labor costs typically account for a significant portion of a construction project’s budget, and any cost overruns in this area can quickly derail the project’s financial viability.

Talk about scary.

An important part of effective construction cost management is having clear (digital) documentation of your workers’ time, location, and cost coding. Without this, it’s difficult to ensure accuracy and predict the costs of future projects.

Join our partners Arcoro and ExakTime on Oct. 31 to learn how to effectively capture and leverage time tracking data to drive better cost management.

During our Halloween webinar, you’ll hear real contractor stories and learn more about:

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Retain the people you need to drive financial and project success when you combine Arcoro and Sage

With material and bid prices decreasing and infrastructure spending accelerating, the construction outlook for 2023 remains positive.  Companies that are nimble, tech savvy and strategically focused are continuing to implement productivity increasing software to find better profitability and operational scale to account for persistent workforce shortage.

With open construction jobs surpassing 2019 levels, contractors are doing what they can to combat workforce issues and grow engagement with HR technology. Better learning, training and performance management tools lead to higher retention and easier compliance.

Join Sage and our partner Arcoro to learn how integrating your accounting software with HR technology can help you retain the people you need to drive financial and project success.

During this Lunch N’ Learn you’ll learn more about:

Stay for the whole session and lunch is on us!

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TimberScan Titanium is the most sophisticated solution for easily and automatically routing invoices to the appropriate approver based on your business rules. Developed for seamless integration with Sage Intacct Construction, TimberScan Titanium automates every aspect of the accounts payable process, including data entry, approvals, and reporting – all on a user-friendly and visually appealing interface.

Join us for this webcast to learn how to get more from Sage Intacct Construction today and suit-up for the future. Haven’t migrated to Sage Intacct yet – join us to learn more about how these 2 technology solutions can improve your business processes.  A software expert will be presenting and ready to answer any questions you have.

Interested in learning more about TimberScan Titanium before the event? Download the brochure today.

Register Here

 

Increase your business productivity and expedite cash collection from customers by optimizing your field operations. Our upcoming webinar will provide you with insights on how to improve your productivity and grow your business when you integrate Sage Field Operations (SFO) with your Sage 300 CRE software.

By implementing this technology, you can maintain consistency in your business operations and ensure that your labor is productive and profitable.

What you will learn:

Don’t miss this opportunity to drive business growth with effective field operations when combining SFO with Sage 300 CRE.

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Increase your business productivity and expedite cash collection from customers by optimizing your field operations. You can achieve this by integrating Sage Field Operations (SFO) with your Sage 100 Contractor software. Our upcoming webinar will provide you with insights on how to improve your productivity and grow your business.

By implementing technology, you can maintain consistency in your business operations and ensure that your labor is productive and profitable.

What you will learn:

Don’t miss this opportunity to drive business growth with effective field operations when combining SFO with Sage 100 Contractor.

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Credit Card Reconciliation and Expense Reports

Now you can submit and reconcile expenses from anywhere.

Get the CC Reconciliation Infographic here and register below for a live demo. A software expert will be presenting and ready to answer any questions you have.

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Business Intelligence (BI) software provides a fact-based, real-time, singular version of the truth, empowering construction companies to build and maintain a competitive edge. Project managers who use BI have immediate access to critical information about their projects such as labor, scheduling, suppliers and detailed financials. BI software aggregates information from multiple data sources, transforming it into actionable insights that project managers can use to steer their projects towards success.

Below are five ways that project managers are using BI to make better business decisions.

 

1: Self-service data analysis and reporting

Time is critical to the success of construction projects, and delays usually translate into dollars. Project managers can use BI software to quickly analyze data and develop reports that lead to more strategic decisions. In the past, the analysis and reporting was likely managed by an IT department that was likely focused on more IT-centric needs of the business. The IT department can be a bottleneck and cause delays to the field, leaving project managers to make decisions on gut-feel or intuition rather than true intelligence. Intuitive BI puts the onus of data analysis and reporting into the hands of those in the field who need the data the most, and want to make quick decisions based on fact. Project managers use BI to decide how to prioritize project workflows, allocate labor, schedule equipment and supply deliveries, and manage costs and risks.  The ability to use data and manage reporting for their areas of responsibility has tremendous impact on whether current and future projects are successful

2: Better managing labor

Labor can be one of the biggest variables for construction projects. The better it can be managed and anticipated, the better chance project managers have of controlling their costs and turning a profit. The jobsite is traditionally a wide array of activity with contractors and subcontractors, and materials and equipment coming and going. Data is coming from all parts of the operations, and by aggregating and analyzing the information, project managers can quickly identify areas where labor can be reduced and or allocated to increase efficiencies, improve productivity and or drive completion. Project managers can also monitor the effectiveness of labor, whether it’s his or her own staff or contractors and subcontractors. Keeping and comparing labor with project timelines, supply and waste and other aspects of the jobsite can help project managers identify sources of labor that they will want to use on future projects.

3: Improving project efficiencies

BI can help project managers to identify problem areas and opportunities and make decisions that will refine their projects’ efficiencies. For example, nothing slows a project down faster than if the crews run out of supplies or if shipments are delayed. Project managers can use the data analytics to better understand when and how much materials need to be ordered and when to ask suppliers to deliver them. Ordering too much product can impact project budgets, while also creating challenges for how and where to store any excess. With better visibility into project data and workflows, a project manager can make better decisions on what suppliers to work with to keep things moving forward. Knowing supply ordering and delivering patterns, along with the best times, prices, and quantities to buy, also allows project managers to negotiate the best pricing tiers to increase profit margins and capitalize on every opportunity.

4: Keeping executives informed

Executives can use BI to make decisions based on statistical facts. These facts can guide choices about future growth by evaluating a long-term view of the market and competition. Executives can use the data to help decide where to focus growth, how to streamline processes, identify productivity levels among staff and suppliers, monitor cash flow and project profitability, among other ways. While managers can use the actionable insights to determine the most effective strategies to improve individual projects, BI allows Executives to see the bigger picture, funneling all of the facts from across the portfolio of projects to make crucial operational decisions.

5: Managing financial success 

Business Intelligence offers a real-time picture of a project’s financial risk, cost variance, cash position, change orders, AR retainage, AP aging and profitability of the job. Top-notch BI allows project managers to drill all the way down to individual transactions to get instant answers to money-saving opportunities and cost concerns. By examining incoming and outgoing finances of the present and past, construction companies can make decisions based on future financial status. Breaking down costs by job give project managers the information that is relative to them. Customizing the BI dashboard allows project managers to track key performance indicators (KPIs) that enable effective financial oversight and management.

Aktion Analytics business intelligence for construction professionals makes it easier for project managers to access the information they need to better understand their project’s past and present performance in order to make the right decisions to increase the chances of success in the future. Companies will be better positioned to make successful strategic decisions when they analyze data and monitor critical business operations from a single source of truth.

To learn more about the value of business intelligence for your construction business, download this white paper.

More and more, construction companies are turning towards technology to streamline their operations instead of away from it. But being able to find the right fit for your needs requires a strategic approach to effectively implement and use that technology.

Here are three key tips for evaluating and selecting the kind of solutions that will meet and even exceed your construction company’s needs.

 

Designate a team

Identifying needs and wants takes a broad amount of participation across different departments and different levels. But you’ll also want to select a designated team that can systematically evaluate your options. These people will be charged with ensuring your technology investment is a good fit and will be embraced by the entire company as an effective and useful tool.

 

Make a “needs” list

The pain points are often well known amongst your team members but making a clear list of what you need is very important. Company leadership may want to get employee feedback to help develop this list, allowing them to feel a part of the process. It might sound simple, but clear goals make a significant difference in identifying what kind of technology you need. Instead of broad complaints, turn the pain points into specific objectives that can be achieved. Below you’ll find a few examples of ways to hone your pain points into needs for a legitimate solution.

Pain Point: Sharing reports with different people in my construction company is difficult to do.

Need: We need a way to quickly and easily share reports with multiple people in the company so that people have information needed to do their jobs.

Pain Point: The data I need is not available to people in the field.

Need: A mobile solution that can be used from anywhere would allow better collaboration among different departments.

 

Participate actively in the implementation

After your designated team makes recommendations and a decision is made, you still need to remain involved. Getting a solution implemented requires active participation. You will want to stay in close contact with the people at the solution provider you selected. There will be timelines, training and possibly occasions to adjust as needed when any roadblocks come up.

Strong planning leads to success, so approach this strategically. Once you’ve selected the solution or solutions needed, gone through training and implementation, your patience and hard will be apparent. Aktion supports a wide variety of technology options for the construction industry. When you’re ready to look at those choices, please reach out to us.

Join us for this quick, 30-minute overview demo of GCPay’s NEW Sage Intacct Integration!

Does your team ever struggle with missing lien waivers? Sub-billing errors? If so, you’ll want to check out this overview of GCPay’s newest integration with Sage Intacct for Construction. GCPay’s cloud-based solution eliminates the main issues contractors experience with manual sub invoicing processes, including:

Most Sage customers save 60-75% of time off their current manual process once implementing GCPay and never look back!

With electronic signature, online notarization, and e-payment capabilities built right in you won’t want to miss this new exciting integration webinar.

 

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Streamline document management with Sage Paperless Construction.

In this webinar, experts from Paperless Environments will showcase Sage Paperless Construction — the construction industry’s best AP workflow automation tool — and give an overview of the system’s all-new look, feel, and features. The session will spotlight how Sage Paperless Construction can save you time & money by automating your AP workflow.

Learn how Sage Paperless Construction works right within your Sage system to take cumbersome manual approval and coding systems into the 21st century.

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