The construction industry is fraught with complications from the office to the worksite. Unforeseen costs can pile up due to liability insurance, ongoing equipment repair and other jobsite necessities. It can seem impossible to stay on top of the ever-changing costs and faltering profit margins.
Still, executives depend on construction accounting software to make the right decisions. Carrying on without a clear picture of ongoing costs exposes leaders to serious risk. On the other hand, instant access to real-time job costs, budgets and estimated profits gives executives the ability to reallocate resources and make the right decisions.
There are a number of ways companies can successfully gain more accurate accounting data. One method – recommended by the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) – is to closely look over every moving part within your firm, searching for areas of risk. Firms should pay special attention to high-risk areas like schedule management and ask pointed questions to get the information they need.
That being said, all this inspection and questioning can take up valuable company time. Using an advanced unified platform can alleviate the need for so much “old-school” collaboration. Standardized field reports, for example, can fill in real-time information to keep executives and financials in the loop with at-a-glance project data. Construction-industry tools like automatic photo-logging make it easier to stay on top of unforeseen jobsite issues. Smart leaders give key players the ability to access and report crucial data when they need it to empower decision making and lower risk.