Construction Software’s Achilles Heel: Report Writing

All businesses, including construction companies, need to be able to produce accurate, up to date, easy to understand, and complete reports for a variety of end-users.  Construction company owners and leaders will want a different set of reports than the field supervisor will want.  And, the company Accounting department will want yet another set of reports; the Legal department yet another; the Payroll department will want another still, and so it goes.  And, if the company is publicly traded, other reports might be needed for investors and brokers.

Sometimes, business software packages fall short on delivering the kind of reports many construction company employees or leaders might prefer, probably because reporting is a fairly nebulous arena and a difficult one to develop in generic functionality and still expect it to fit specific-to-company needs.

Some Construction Management Software programs make responsible and respectable attempts to incorporate a Reporting module in their packages, and some might rely on third-party reporting add-on packages to fill that need.  In most cases, the reporting functionality will provide generic and basic business information; unless great care is taken to customize such modules or add-ons to the specific construction company business needs; if, indeed, such modules or add-ons are even customizable.

If, during your search for Construction Management Software solutions, you find that reporting functionality is weak, or otherwise does not meet your specific construction company needs, you will likely want to include a third-party that specializes in construction company business reporting, since they would more likely be geared only for business Reporting details, and often are completely customizable to fit nearly any business reporting needs.

In many cases, third-party Report generating modules and add-ons utilize web interfaces to access and report out on business data, information, trends, and details; thus the construction software solutions being considered should be web-enabled or even web administered, to ensure seamless integration of components and modules, and to round out your Construction Management Software package selection.

Construction Management Software Reporting functionality should include a number of business report levels, to meet the needs of the various end-users.  Such reports might run the gamut from a simple snapshot-in-time view for customers, investors, brokers and company leaders to a variable-enabled and comprehensively detailed report for company Managers, CFO’s, Supervisors, Lawyers, Accountants, Public Relations Officers, and others.

While it might be difficult to select a Construction Management Software Reporting segment that will readily fit neatly and seamlessly into existing construction company business processes and procedures, chances are that you will be able to find, perhaps with the help of a construction software review, just what is needed to fit your particular construction company reporting requirements.

Using Construction Software to Get from ’90% Complete’ to ’100% Complete’ and Remain on Budget

The business is pretty simple.  There are two principal tasks: 1) get the projects; and, 2) do the projects.  Successful companies have productive business development programs and efficient project execution teams.  Although simple, the business is not always easy and can be subject to a variety of common problems.

One typical problem seems to be completing projects within budgets.  Getting from 90% complete  to 100% complete often consumes more than 10% of the allotted resources.  Reasons (or excuses) vary widely but a troubled project should never come as a surprise to management (although often they do).

To avoid going under water at the end of a project, budgets and variances need to be set and tracked properly.  This requires:

1. Making realistic and detailed initial cash flow/spending/invoicing projections, and

2. Monitoring the project’s financial performance and making proper adjustments

An effective construction accounting software system will tell the Project Manager how much of the budgeted costs have been expended.  However, without a good projection, the Project Manager will not know if the percent expended is correct at any given point during the project.

Variances need to be recognized early so the proper adjustments can be made.  Too late, and the best you can do is damage control.  It is critically important to understand the contract scope of work and, in particular, the client’s expectations to recognize when out-of-scope work should require an amendment or fee adjustment.

A number of construction software programs are available to establish and track project budgets.  These programs are often integrated with the company’s financial accounting package.  One key is to balance program complexity with simplicity.  The project tracking program must be capable of breaking the project down into components for an accurate projection.  For example, shop drawing review during construction happens long before development of record drawings.  However, the programs can’t be overly complex or they won’t get used.  Resource allocation programs used by construction project managers are generally too high powered for engineering applications.  Acceptance and effective use of the programs requires the right balance between program capability and simplicity of use.  A sophisticated spreadsheet approach can work, but without integration into a financial system.

As is often the case, completing the latter stages of a project while staying within budget depends on early planning, variance tracking and making the right course corrections early enough to be effective.

Special thanks to David F. Edson, P.E., Sr. Vice President of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc. for his assistance in writing this post.

How to Select your Construction Software Champion

You’ve decided your company needs new construction project software and have started looking at options. The question is: Have you designated someone in your company to be the software champion?

Every company, large or small, needs someone to lead the charge for improved efficiencies through better software. This software champion must have certain traits to ensure that the company achieves the expected return on investment.

Here are 5 critical traits that your software champion needs to have.

1. Experience in Software Implementation
Learning the ins and outs of software evaluation and implementation on-the-fly will jeopardize your initiative. That’s why your construction software champion must have prior experience evaluating and implementing software. Keep in mind that the scope of previous experience needed to make a sound decision increases with company size and complexity of operations.

2. Knowledge of Company Operations
Your construction software champion must understand how your company operates. If he/she doesn’t, taking the time to learn the processes and operations well enough to know what questions to ask vendors during demos is crucial.

3. Full Support from Management
Choose a construction software champion you can trust. Committing time and money to a complex evaluation, selection, implementation and training process is not a place for wishy-washy management that doesn’t fully trust their champion to complete the project successfully. When full support is provided to the champion, you won’t be tempted to pull the plug when the going gets rough (which almost always happens at some point in the project).

4. Respect of Peers
Without the respect and confidence of his/her peers, the construction software champion won’t get the cooperation needed to gather information and data to move to a new system. Choose a well-respected individual.

5. An Advocate for Change
Most people don’t like change and implementing new software is about as traumatic as it gets for the company’s accounting, project managers and IT departments. Your construction accounting software champion should have the skills to properly prepare and motivate personnel for change, while helping them feel less threatened by the new system. This requires sensitivity to people’s needs within the new software environment, as well as the ability to make the evaluation, selection and implementation of new software a team effort. Without a sense of participation, many employees will not “buy into” the new software and may even try, in subtle ways, to sabotage the initiative.

Summary

Your construction software champion is critical to a successful software implementation. He/she is the person with the most software experience and, once chosen, deserves full management support while leading to a final decision. There are many potential pitfalls along the way; trust your software champion to know where the mines are buried and how to avoid them every step of the way.

More Construction Software Conversion Tips

This article highlights more elements that are vital to getting your software up and running quickly and effectively. Following these guidelines and the guidelines posted in the previous construction software conversion tips post  before conversion provides the framework for your implementation and gives you control over the entire process.

Converting Your Data

There are two basic options when it comes to data conversion: manual and electronic. The choice you make will depend on the services offered by your vendor and how much data you want to bring into your new software.

Manual Data Conversion
This option entails manually re-entering specific data into your new software. A time and labor-intensive task, using a team approach can help, especially if your entire staff tackles the data entry with gusto. Some companies choose to bring minimal data over to the new software, keeping their old system around for look-up purposes. In this case, manual data conversion is adequate.

One caveat of manual conversion is data entry errors. Long hours and tight deadlines are a breeding ground for mistakes. Make sure you implement quality control procedures to verify the accuracy of entered data.

Electronic Data Conversion
Electronic data conversion involves the use of technology to bring your existing data into the new software. This option is ideal in many cases and for a multitude of reasons. Less labor-intensive than the manual method, the electronic route benefits smaller conversion teams or more aggressive timelines.

If electronic data conversion is available through your software vendor, give this tool serious consideration. Guidance on how to retrieve your data from your old system should be provided, as well as a listing of acceptable import formats.

Data quality, validation and formatting are key issues with electronic data conversion. Make sure you fully understand what your vendor can and cannot do, what your responsibilities in the process are and what procedures are in place for error checking.

Although electronic data conversion can import master files, job cost history, customer information, vendor details and open invoices in a very short period of time, it does require some technical knowledge. If this is a problem, your vendor may offer technical consulting or services to handle your electronic data conversion for you.

Data Cleanup
The “garbage in, garbage out” principal applies to data conversion. The quality of your converted data will only be as good as the source you import from – whether that import is done manually or electronically. Taking steps to clean up your data prior to conversion gives you the opportunity to:
• Standardize your data (capitalization, abbreviations, acronyms)
• Identify missing or duplicate records
• Purge unnecessary data
• Reformat your data if necessary
• Evaluate for corrupted information
• Test your data’s validity when exported

Testing
Testing your converted data is just as crucial as data cleanup. Manually or electronically entering data into a test database on your new system gives you the chance to evaluate critical processes and review vital reports for accuracy.

Think of testing as a practice or dry run for the real thing. Verifying data integrity, running queries and comparing reports in the new construction accounting software with those from your old system are just a few safeguards gained by testing. The end result? Issues can be identified and corrected before going live.

Tip: Consider hiring temporary help during your conversion to assist with data entry or to provide day-to-day business support during this time.

Training

Once your software is installed and your data converted, training is the next phase in your implementation. Do not cut corners on training. Adequate instruction on the functionality and features of your new software will lay the foundation for continuous improvement in your workflow processes.

On-site training will be your best option for hands-on learning using your own data. Start with training on the core modules such as job cost, payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable. Once these fundamentals are mastered, you can begin to roll out your additional program modules.

Follow-up training can be done on the phone, via e-mail or perhaps another on-site training session. Proactively improving knowledge of your new system will result in a more complete implementation, providing a strategic advantage to enhance your construction management processes. In any case, heed your vendor’s recommended training guidelines for the system you have purchased.

Tip: Consider on-site training “refreshers” once a year, when you upgrade to a new version of your software or when you experience staff turnover.

A Continued Partnership

Long after your go-live date has passed, your relationship with your vendor will continue. Nurture that relationship whenever possible. Communicate enhancement requests to the development team. Offer to be a reference for prospective clients. And if regional or national user conferences are planned, attend them if you can.

Construction accounting is a complex environment. The time and monetary investments made in a new management system are commitments to your long-term profitability. Building a partnership with your vendor will contribute to your ongoing success.

Successful Construction Software Conversion Tips

Implementing new construction management software can be a significant challenge. To ensure success, it’s important to fully understand your business objectives regarding the new software and develop a plan to meet those objectives.

This article outlines some elements that are vital to getting your software up and running quickly and effectively. Following these guidelines and strategic planning suggestions before conversion provides the framework for your implementation and gives you control over the entire process.

Assemble Your Team

Your conversion team should resemble a pyramid of sorts. With a team leader at the top, followed by layers of support personnel with various levels of involvement, you will create a strong foundation for positive results.

Conversion Lead
Your in-house conversion lead is the primary contact between your company and your software vendor. This might be the company owner, CFO or controller. This person should play an integral role in using the new software and will be responsible for keeping your implementation on track.

Top Level Managers
The next layer of your team is comprised of the top-level managers. Some examples would be the controller (if he or she isn’t your conversion lead), chief project manager, equipment manager and service manager. These individuals will provide valuable input on what they need from the new software to most effectively perform their jobs.

Data Entry Staff
At the base of your pyramid is your data entry staff. During your conversion, it’s important to include staff that will use the construction project management software on a daily basis. Discuss current processing procedures and identify ways that the new software can improve or streamline work flow.

In addition to these core groups, make sure you include other personnel at some level. This from-the-top-down approach to assembling your conversion team will effectively gain company-wide commitment and support for your implementation.

Tip: consider bringing in your outside CPA as an additional team member or consultant.

Get Software Vendor Assistance

The most knowledgeable source for conversion assistance is your software vendor. With hundreds or thousands of implementations under their belt, your vendor can provide invaluable guidance every step of the way.

If a conversion or implementation manager is available through your vendor, take advantage of their experience. Use vendor-supplied conversion checklists and do the legwork suggested to best prepare for your transition.

Resources offered by your vendor are worth the financial investment and will deliver a significant return on investment.

Tip: Get your vendor’s recommendation on where to order new checks and forms for your software.

Create a Timeline

With your vendor’s assistance, create a detailed timeline for your implementation. List everything that needs to be done, start to finish. Brainstorm with your entire in-house team to gather additional to-do items; the more thorough your list, the greater your chances are for success.

It may help to designate general categories to organize your thoughts. Some examples include: Pre-Installation, During Installation, Data Conversion, and Training Topics. Hardware and software installation dates and are just a couple of specific timeline items for consideration.

Conversion is an excellent time to evaluate your current chart of accounts and cost codes, and to make changes if needed. Adding these items to your timeline will prompt you to review and revise before it’s too late.

Develop your timeline in calendar format with hard dates or date ranges for each milestone. Assign a team member to each item, making sure your conversion lead checks in frequently.

As you create and complete your timeline items, it will be important to ask questions. Communicate with your vendor and conversion team by asking: Are we on track? Are there things to add to the timeline? What potential pitfalls or delays can we anticipate and avoid?

Tip: Don’t forget to add your “Go Live” date to your timeline.

These are only a few tips for a successful software conversion.  There are several other things that you can do to ensure a successful conversion to new software.  I plan to return to this topic at a later date.