Operating a construction business brings unique accounting complexities that set it apart from other industries. From the fluid nature of project locations to the complexities of managing long-term projects, contractors face accounting challenges that demand tailored solutions.
Imagine coordinating resources across various job sites, each with distinct requirements, all while maintaining accurate cost allocations. Along with these, the difficulties of revenue recognition and cash flow management in projects spanning months or years. The hurdles are evident.
In response to these industry-specific challenges, QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors is a specialized edition of QuickBooks Enterprise that equips businesses with essential features while offering them unmatched remote accessibility to master the on-the-go nature of construction businesses.
‘It’s not just accounting software; it’s your blueprint for a thriving future.’
Game-changing Features of QuickBooks for Construction
Here is a look at the top seven features contractors will find valuable in Enterprise versions of QuickBooks for Contractors.
Estimating and Job Costing Tools
Undertaking a construction project demands accurate cost management – a challenge contractors know very well about. Without control over job costs, interpreting the actual profit of completed projects and submitting precise bids for new ventures becomes challenging.
QuickBooks Enterprise’s job costing features are designed to help you move projects from initial estimate through project completion while keeping track of the bottom line for every job.
QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors comes with a set of customizable proposal templates with the help of which you can create accurate, competitive bids that improve your chances of securing new business. Whether you opt for service-based charges, percentage-based progress billing, or a flat amount, your project managers can efficiently bill clients.
After landing the contract, you can enter invoices, payments, and timesheet data and choose the appropriate job to assign it to.
In the QuickBooks Enterprise Job Costing Center, you’ll be able to see how your business is doing on any job currently in process. The dashboard summarizes essential information on all work in progress, such as profitability and comparing actual to budgeted costs. It also gives real-time estimates of the time and cost to complete the project, which helps you to know where you stand so you can make alterations before the project is completed.
Change Order Functionality
Changing orders in the construction world is a double-edged sword that holds the power to increase a company’s profit due to the additional work it entails. However, if the contractor performs out-of-scope work before a customer approves a change order, it can lead to conflicts and financial losses.
Nearly every contractor has experienced the painful scenario of getting their paperwork in order at the end, only to realize they’ve put more work and finances into the project than estimated. At this point, clients may refuse to cover the overages due to inadequate communication regarding scope changes.
QuickBooks Enterprise steps in as the solution, simplifying the creation and management of change orders, ensuring you get compensated for the additional work without the hassle. The process is simple: begin with editing the original estimate and saving the changes made. Then, a Change Order window will pop up, allowing you to create a change order with just the click of a button.
If you don’t like how the change order appears, you can edit the text before adding the change order or on the form itself.
When change orders have been managed informally in the past, QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors helps you get back on track, reinstating control and transforming that extra work into additional revenue for your business.
Industry-Specific Reporting
For construction businesses, data isn’t just numbers but the lifeblood behind any major business decision. Every version of QuickBooks Enterprise comes with Advanced Reporting (QBAR), allowing users to customize the most useful reports for the business easily. QBAR includes over 140 starter reports, but the Contractor Edition ensures you don’t waste precious time sifting through reports that don’t resonate with your industry.
QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors comprises a suite of reports curated for contracting businesses, including:
- Job Cost Detail Report
- Job Estimates vs. Actual
- Cost to Complete by Job
- Unbilled Hours by Person and Project
- Job Profitability Summary
- Job Progress Invoices vs. Estimates
- Expenses Not Assigned to Jobs
- Open Purchase Orders by Vendor
But what truly sets these reports apart is their customization. Each report is like a canvas that can be customized to paint an image that aligns with your precise business needs, facilitating you to track costs and monitor the progress of your projects meticulously.
Improved Electronic Invoicing
In construction, cash flow is crucial to maintain a project’s vitality. Many contractors use progress billing to maintain adequate cash flow while projects are in progress. With its progress billing and electronic invoicing features, QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors makes it even easier for clients to pay those invoices.
With QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors, you can share invoices with customers via email with a convenient ‘Pay Now’ link. Once your client makes a payment, the software shows its magic, and the payment is automatically recorded to the appropriate invoice.
Also, you can create customized electronic invoice templates for each client and filter them with specific fields such as a purchase order number or unique phrases.
Moreover, no more worrying about reconciling payments to invoices when a client doesn’t pay the invoice by the due date; QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors brings the feature of ‘automatic reminders.’ It lets your accounts receivable team skip the hassles of chasing payments, ensuring the business collects payments.
Scheduling Tasks, Appointments, and More
For construction businesses, tracking and managing a myriad of to-dos, including tasks, appointments, reminders, and project milestones, can feel like juggling a dozen spinning plates.
Managing these tasks ensures on-time project completion within a set timeframe. It allows for a consistent flow of new work. QuickBooks for Contractors helps construction businesses keep track of important dates with a built-in calendar.
Opening the calendar within QuickBooks Enterprise automatically displays any to-dos or transactions coming up within the next seven days and those that might have slipped past the due date.
You can assign the priority to add new tasks, appointments, calls, faxes, and emails and even link them to a client, vendor, or employee, along with the option to add notes about any items.
By customizing user preferences, you can have QuickBooks Enterprise open those reminders whenever you open the company file, ensuring you never miss an important task or appointment.
Flexible Billing Rates
When adding an employee or subcontractor/vendor in QuickBooks Enterprise, you are likely to assign a standard service rate. However, are there instances when the employee works on more complicated projects that demand a higher billing rate? QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors allows contractors to set up personalized rates for employees, vendors, and customers.
Every time you create a new invoice that includes billable time, QuickBooks Enterprise eases it for you. It automatically fills in the applicable rate for each service based on the employee who did the work. It allows you to control pricing without maintaining long lists of segregated rates for clients or manually adding information.
Disallow Negative Inventory Quantities
Anyone in construction who manages inventory has experienced negative inventory when your accounting software shows fewer than zero inventory items in stock. What’s the typical response in such a situation? Spending hours trying to figure out where the error crept in.
QuickBooks Enterprise is your savior that can prevent negative inventory quantities. Just check the “Warn if there’s not enough inventory to sell” and “Don’t allow negative quantities” boxes in the company preferences for items and inventory, preventing users from creating transactions that will highlight inventory levels in the red.
If you face negative inventory quantities in your QuickBooks company file already, QuickBooks Enterprise has a ‘Negative Item Listing Report’ feature that shows all inventory items with negative levels. According to it, you can adjust your inventory levels in QuickBooks to increase the levels shown in the software to reflect the actual quantity of inventory items on hand.
Discover More with Hosting QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors on Cloud
Did you know that hosting QuickBooks Enterprise on a cloud server is possible in addition to its powerful accounting software capabilities for managing business finances?
It basically means that your QuickBooks data is stored on secure servers in the cloud. This has a number of benefits, including:
- You can access your data from anywhere: As long as you have an internet connection, you can access your QuickBooks data from your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. This is great for contractors who are always on the go.
- Your data is always backed up: QuickBooks cloud hosting providers regularly back up your data, so you don’t have to worry about losing it.
- You don’t have to worry about maintenance: QuickBooks cloud hosting providers take care of all the maintenance of the servers, so you don’t have to.
- You can easily scale your solution: As your business grows, you can easily scale your cloud hosting solution to meet your needs.
QuickBooks For Contractors: Just A Software or a Strategic Investment
QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors is a strategic investment for construction businesses. There are a variety of reasons that make QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors one of the most popular accounting software for the construction industry.
What makes it reliable? It’s not just user-friendly; it has powerful features that make it versatile to integrate into operations for any business size, be it a dedicated sole proprietor handling estimates or a proficient accounting team.
It’s not just about the here and now; it’s about future-proofing your business.
Ace Cloud’s QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors delivers everything from a simple and intuitive user interface to advanced features like payroll and customer relationship management integrations. As a decision-maker in the construction industry, you recognize the value of precision, efficiency, and profitability.
Your future starts now, and QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors is your trusted guide on this transformative path.
If you think QuickBooks Enterprise for Contractors is the right fit for your construction business, get in touch with our Solutions Consultants +1-855-223-4887 for genuine licenses and hosting solutions.
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