The Domino Effect of Not Upgrading Your Current Accounting Software

January 25, 2022
Tarry Schabel

The entry-level software that helped make your construction business better and more efficient might be the thing that’s now slowing it down. More and more midsize construction companies are looking to replace that basic accounting solution with cloud-based financial management software. Waiting too long to modernize can turn into a real domino effect, one domino falling after another, all indicating that your current accounting solution might need to be upgraded.

Domino One: Your business is growing more complex.

As contractors grow, the accounting and overall structure is naturally going to become more complicated. Managing job site crews, compliance demands and the need for separate legal entities can give your accounting department a lot to deal with. Any company who adds employees does so very deliberately because it automatically adds complexities. People are clocking in on the job site. You have equipment that requires maintenance and tracking.

Domino Two: More complexity creates less productivity.

It’s a natural progression when a business grows but remains using the same accounting software. Seeing a productivity decline often aren’t the result of the employee, but rather having unrealistic expectations from the same people doing more complex activities. The workload is greater, so your team is scrambling to get invoices paid, to close out the end of the month or quarter and probably having to create or find workarounds for handling all of this in a timely manner.

Domino Three: Old reporting tools are inadequate for growth.

Preset reports are so handy when first starting your construction business because you can plug in your numbers and get the data you need immediately. But the first domino – growing complexity and the second domino – lacking productivity, create the need for better reporting. When you have people in different places, they all need access to the same data to be able to make decisions and understand each situation completely. This requires dashboards and construction-specific insights to help harness this wonderful business growth into profits.

Organizations who sit on an aging accounting system can really miss opportunities. It’s good to take a step back and look as objectively as possible at your construction and/or real estate company. How agile does it feel right now? Can your separate teams in the office and in the field access the data they need to perform their jobs? Finally, are business leaders able to drill down quickly and easily into company data to determine areas that should be grown, areas that are problematic?

There are some excellent choices for cloud-based construction software that requires less up-front investment in software and hardware. Seek out a solution that is accredited and secure, so you don’t have to invest in more staff just to maintain a new system.