Building a better Accounting System for Your Construction Business
There is something very special about having a construction business. Every day, you have the chance to create a new world in a very real way. Turning concepts into structures that will withstand decades of traffic, people, or perhaps inventory requires skill, training, and vision. It also requires the ability to keep track of thousands of budget items, purchases, and sub-contractors. Many contractors who do exceptional work have fallen prey to flawed accounting systems that failed to help them manage costs, cash flow, and the capital needs of their vulnerable businesses.
Your accounting system is like the plumbing of a building—it keeps the circulation of cash and expenses flowing properly to allow your business to keep moving forward. Cash makes things happen; your accounting system makes sure that cash does the right thing at the right time.
Nobody goes into the construction business because they like the accounting side of things. Yet, as an owner, you understand that an accounting system (and the people who manage it) must be as meticulous as the tools you use to create and restore. Pardon the pun, but dull and rusty just do not cut it. That is why outsourcing your accounting services can make sense for your growing construction business.
Why Outsource?
When we build an organization, there is a natural, albeit old fashion, tendency to want to hire and create teams that are “yours” to oversee as you see fit. However, outsourcing your accounting function provides several inherent benefits to your business. First, you don’t need to hassle with the endless hiring and training of personnel, which, in all fairness, as a construction expert, accounting may not be your first language. Without the people, you have less worry about bonuses, vacations, insurance, compliances, etc. that go along with the people side of running any business. And, fewer people means more room in your physical operations for other things, like equipment, storage, or other critical staff.
An outsourced service does not go on vacation. More importantly, the outsourced firm will hire and train the best people, folks who work on the most recent software every day, and have the experience to know and understand the nuances of your construction business, too.
Outsourcing lets you manage costs, too. And if your business grows, your outsourced resource can grow or shrink to deliver whatever you need.
You also will find that an outsourced service has the motivation to be timely, accurate and responsive to your inquiries. That includes building a professionally-developed chart of accounts to create reports that make sense while providing insights to help you better understand the health of your business—as well as where adjustments might need to be made—to make improvements.
Making the transition to outsourcing is not as difficult as you may think. While you may have resistance from existing internal personnel, we often find employees are relieved to know that they can be rechanneled to perform other work while the accounting task is transferred into trusting hands.
From controlling costs and managing cash flow to improved communications and better reporting, an outsourced accounting service may be just what your business construction business needs to run more financially efficiently, while at the same time permitting you to devote more time working on other, more pressing matters.
If outsourcing seems like an interesting idea for your construction business, we encourage you to reach out to us for a no-obligation consultation about how our outsourcing solutions might make sense for your operations. We think you will be surprised to learn how easy and cost-effective the transition can be.