Cary & Associates Builders, Inc. is an award-winning Full Service General Contractor specializing in negotiated projects for the Design and Construction of Commercial, Industrial, Winery and Agricultural buildings. We used a very well-known complex construction software for approximately 18 years. Through the years, the problems with the software were accompanied by inordinate increases in support fees. We discussed each year whether to renew our support or look for another construction software. In April of 2003, it became obvious that the software could not be kept up and running and we had constant "crashes". At the same time we received the next year's support contract for about $6,000. It was the last straw for us. I began a search for a new software because I knew our system would crash as soon as our support ran out (which it did). I interviewed everyone I could locate and talked to our subcontractors. Our CFO said that ultimately I would have to go with my "gut" feeling and pick one. He said if it did not work out, we would just buy another one next year and we would still be ahead of the game. All my instincts said to buy FOUNDATION. With a lot of trepidation, I purchased the software and bought a ticket to Cleveland to attend training. FOUNDATION was able to help me before I got to class by transferring my Vendors, Job Numbers, Cost Codes, etc. into my new FOUNDATION Software. I had pulled my G/L down in the middle of our FYE and was ready to open it as soon as I knew what I was doing. Surprisingly, by the end of the week, we ran my first payroll right in class! We spread open my G/L and we were ready to go. They dropped my information off on a disk and I headed for home. The following Monday, we rolled FOUNDATION out on our server and have never had so much as a glitch in anything, let alone a crash. Once it was up and running, our team has able to learn the system easily. It is very user-friendly. Any problems or questions, you can click on the support button and get a call back in about 20 minutes! They can also connect directly to your computer (with permission) and help show you how to fix a problem (human generated) or they will fix it for you! Love it! We have benefited in so many ways it would be hard to describe them all. We are currently on version 11.9 and FOUNDATION has just rolled out their new automated update that updates your server and clients automatically! I suppose one of the biggest benefits is the amount of time it has saved. I used to work every holiday due to having to make hard closures, etc. but with FOUNDATION I have not worked a holiday since 2003! This system is astoundingly efficient. The AIA billing is easily reversed if an architect or owner decides on a different amount. The certified payroll is a dream. Although we are not union, it prepares multi-state, multi-county, multi-union etc. It does a wonderful printout for the 941 and in California our DE9. Our CPA loves the Fixed Asset module. He framed the first print out since he said he had never had one so accurate. Quite simply, we love FOUNDATION! We get great customer service from real people and a software solution that keeps progressing and enlarging on concepts to help construction companies!

FOUNDATION Construction Accounting Review

I have found this software to cover the majority of what I needed, and find that new things are added on a regular basis Customer Service is great. FSI has been great helping with forms to support our needs.

Pros

Liked that it had a Construction Friendly Platform.

Cons

Security was not as good at the beginning. Doing good now.

Great solution for our needs

Extremely happy with the product. Very functional and great value for money.

Pros

The interface is very user friendly and running MS Query through the SQL database allows for many different reports.

Cons

Some standard built in reports in the payroll module are not that comprehensive.

Good product for construction companies

Our users regularly give positive feedback, finding Foundation easier to use than our prior system. Support is excellent - we can submit help tickets online through the software and get calls back within 60-90 minutes (faster for the few times we indicated it was a critical issue). They use a customized version of TeamViewer to connect to our system and walk us through new processes or show us how to resolve problems.

Pros

Consistency of workflow across modules, tight integration with their Payroll4Construction product, and minimal conflicts when multiple users are in the same module. Our prior accounting system gave us conflicts daily. Posting is also a streamlined process with good paperless options. It is easy to modify print templates for invoices, checks, etc.

Cons

The report module could be a bit more robust in terms of creating custom reports. But we've been able to build reports that meet our needs, even they aren't quite as customized as in our prior system (which used Crystal Reports).

Strong Program, lack of support and updates

There are better programs out there.

Pros

The program does it all besides estimating. Has a good system of checks and balances and everything is tracked so very hard for employees to cover their tracks. It does a lot well but everything has its hiccups.

Cons

There are several things I dislike about the product as it has so much potential to be 10x better yet they have no ambition to make it better. 95% up the updates released by foundation software are fixes to glitches or problems. Very rarely is there an actual new feature or upgrade to the program. There are several flaws with the program that would be easy to fix, which have been suggested but go unanswered. Such as the pages scroll very awkwardly, they jump at the end of the page onto the next page but not at the top of the page. Very difficult to review a report on the screen when it keeps going back and forth. Their support team must have a very high turnover as everytime I call I know more than the person who is suppose to be providing the support. To their credit they do go and get the right answer and get back to you but the typical resolution to a problem is 24 hours. For us 2 hours is a long time when your waiting on an important resolution such as payroll.