You’ve got a pretty slick cost estimating system. Your estimators generate bids quickly, complete with line item quantities, costs, and even “what-if” scenarios. Accounting upgraded from Quickbooks a few years ago and is running smoothly.

Sounds like a pretty efficient operation, right? Not always. The only way to know for sure is to examine how well the two departments are working together. And if you are still using Quickbooks and generic spreadsheets, the answer is a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, a lot of contractors using “slick” systems still aren’t getting the job done properly. Let’s assume the bid coming from your estimating department looks great. But when it gets passed to accounting, how do they handle all the detail? You have one job cost code for “interior framing”, but your bid contains 14 line items for lumber of different sizes, trusses, joists, and hangers. So what does your accounting department do? Someone probably goes through each line item, figures out its corresponding cost code, consolidates the data, and then manually enters it into the job costing module. The alternative – consolidating all the data on the estimating end before sending it to accounting – is hardly more attractive.

While this might be manageable for a handful of small jobs, increase the size and volume of your projects. Then start dealing with change orders. And what about tracking budgets throughout the project process? It becomes difficult and time consuming very quickly. All of this double-entry takes time, requires a lot of extra effort, and creates risks that your system was supposed to eliminate. Bid information easily gets allocated to the wrong cost code, a line item is overlooked, and the result is a final job cost that is not much more than a shot in the dark. So what’s the solution? Integrating your two systems, or going with one system that does both.

Seamless Integration: Everybody’s Doing It
“Integrated” certainly has become a buzzword in the construction software industry. Fact is, unless your estimating, job costing, and accounting systems are truly speaking the same language, your “integrated” system is nothing more than pipes of different sizes duct taped together. At some point it will start to leak. So let’s take a look at how truly integrated systems work to increase efficiency in your estimating and accounting departments.

Letting Employees Do What You Hired Them to Do
Construction executives typically have employee efficiency at the top of their minds. Efficient employees who are on top of their tasks are well on their way to creating profitable projects. If they are instead spending lots of time on double entry, cutting and pasting data, and miscommunicating with other departments, that’s money lost.

Let People Work the Way They Need To
Estimators tend to require more flexibility, while accounting staff members are more roles-based. Software that allows one department to estimate in apples and the other to track receivables in oranges would be best. An ideal system would also be able to make sense of the two different data types – essentially mapping which apples correspond to which oranges – without time consuming and often error-prone human intervention in the middle.

Fortunately, this is exactly the level of flexibility and intelligence that truly integrated systems provide. Estimators can still create detailed bids, generate purchase orders, and send data over to the job costing module. During this exchange of information, the software automatically figures out which CSI code corresponds to which job cost code. This can be accomplished by integrating two stand-alone estimating and accounting systems, or by a single system that manages both.

The Buyout module of Sage Timberline Office allows estimators to issue purchase orders directly from an estimate. The system automatically figures out which line item corresponds to which cost code, preventing employees from manually looking up cost codes and doing double entry.

Since the software does all the heavy lifting in the middle, nobody has to consolidate data or enter it twice. The information that the estimator enters is tracked all the way through system, eliminating back-and-forth behavior between departments. The result is employees spending more time on their jobs and less time picking up the pieces. This saves time, prevents headaches, and ultimately protects your bottom line.

Making Sure Your Data Counts
Knowing your bottom line is a top priority. So why do you look at reports with skepticism? Why do you have to assume at least a 5% to 10% level of uncertainty? Most likely because your accounting department doesn’t have access to “up-to-the-minute” data. In addition, what about data loss and accuracy between estimating, project management and accounting? When data comes in from the field, labor costs tend to get consolidated to conform to cost codes. It becomes increasingly difficult to sort through the hours spent on punch out, clean up, and other miscellaneous tasks.

The solution is a system that can handle different data sources and make sense of them without human intervention. An integrated system or two systems that “speak” the same language will provide this flexibility. With technology that receives data from multiple sources, brings it together coherently, and then displays it in onscreen inquiries or easily accessible reports, integrated systems protect your financial information throughout all phases of the process.

Sage Timberline Office’s bids present detailed cost estimates for materials, labor, and equipment. The integrated job costing module then compares estimated vs. actual costs for each line item, giving companies greater insight into which project aspects are over or under budget.

So integrating processes sounds great, but what can it do for your business? A lot. By taking in and sharing data between departments, you’re able to eliminate the guesswork. You no longer have to speculate on how to code a change order or what the budgeted costs should be for a particular project. It all boils down to better control and communication between departments. This “cradle to grave” integration results in greater transparency into your company’s operations, allowing you to address issues as they arise and base your decisions on solid facts.

Conclusion
So if integrated systems are so beneficial, then why are firms still doing double entry and guessing at their job costs? The primary reason is inertia. As most construction businesses grow, software integration usually is not at the forefront of the owners’ minds. Fortunately, it is never too late to step back and implement an integrated system. Once the software is in place, it essentially starts paying for itself by improving employee efficiency, presenting accurate reports on company performance, and allowing you to better manage your business and projects in real time. So if you are still looking at your reports with skepticism, get on the ball and integrate your software. Your employees and your bottom line will thank you. Find the right accounting and job costing software systems