May  8, 2012 Beaverton, OR
May  9, 2012 Seattle, WA
May 16, 2012 Anchorage, AK

In addition to a name change, Version 18.1 includes several new enhancements. Join us and learn how to:

• Use the modern new user interface, which features customizable process maps to help new and experienced users more easily navigate the software and find the information they are looking for.
• Locate reports using an enhanced search feature to get valuable information in a timely manner. Increase service department efficiency with the new ability to track subcontract scheduling using the dispatch board, more informative dispatch emails, and overbooking warnings.
• Save money and stay on budget – email direct deposit stubs, pay vendors using ACH electronic payments, and manage invoicing with new budget warnings.

This will be an interactive session, so feel free to bring your Sage Master Builder questions with you.

Click here to register for the location and time that is most convenient for you. We look forward to seeing you there!

Compiling a Prevailing Wage Report, which varies by state, can also be complicated. With this in mind, learn how to avoid these mistakes and submit reports that are done correctly to benefit both you and your business:

• Your reports could be rejected as being incomplete or inadequate. You will be told to make the necessary corrections and resubmit the forms by a certain date, or payment will be delayed, which will negatively affect your cash flow. Generally speaking, the final contract for every project will provide you with a copy of the correct payroll reporting form and indicate whether you should file your reports electronically.
• If you fail to pay your workers the prevailing wage and don’t submit your payroll reports, you will have to make wage restitution and submit every certified report within 30 days, once the general contractor is notified. As a rule, this requirement is discussed in the final project contract.
• If you fail to pay your workers the rate of pay indicated in the “wage decision,” which is also found in the final contract, you will have to make wage restitution and submit amended reports within 30 days as well. When clarification is needed, the contract administrator usually provides a Wage Bulletin or a Project Wage Rate sheet in order to prevent such errors.
• If your employees’ Work Classifications fail to match those found in the Wage Decision portion of the contract, that problem must be corrected. You may also have to make wage restitution in this case and submit an amended payroll report within 30 days as well.
• If your reports contain inaccurate figures, fail to show how your employees’ fringe benefits are paid, or have “Other Withholdings” you will also have to submit amended reports within 30 days.

Remember to check the calculations on your final reports prior to submitting them. This should never be brushed aside, even if you are using a construction software or accounting software program to produce your reports for submission.

If you manually create these reports, or need to manipulate large quantities of data to complete them, consider automating the process to save valuable time that could be used for other purposes and eliminate any transposition errors as well.

Note that today, a number of QuickBooks users have the capability of generating a built-in certified payroll report. Every week, however, they either manually correct errors, or enter the data into the certified payroll report after printing it out. If you are doing manual work to correct your “automated” solution, give us a call and we can show you how to eliminate this extra work.

• Sage Master Builder is becoming Sage 100 Contractor
• Sage Timberline Office is becoming Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate

We will keep our customers and readers updated as changes are rolled out. While there may be a lot of talk about the re-branding effort in the reseller community, your daily operations are not affected by this announcement. For now, the important things to remember are:

• Your software is still supported – it is not “going away”
• Sage is still committed to delivering superior products and customer service
• CBSNW will continue to provide the same level of service you have come to expect
• You don’t need to take any action related to this name change

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the product rebranding or any communications you receive from directly from Sage.

For those of you who are interested, this brief video from Sage describes the brand name evolution:

Many construction companies start out with a general accounting software solution. It’s not made specifically for the construction industry, but it gets the job done. As the company grows, owners need more information to help them make good business decisions. This is the time when many companies begin to feel they spend more time getting the system to work than they do getting useful information out of it.

It’s not uncommon to outgrow your first (or second) accounting software system, but how do you know if you really need a new system or not? Here are 5 questions to help determine you determine if you need to upgrade your construction accounting software.

1. Do you spend time keying the same data into different software systems (estimating, accounting, spreadsheets, etc.)?
2. Once you win a job, how long does it take to create a job budget, purchase orders, a job schedule, and subcontracts?
3. Do you struggle to keep bonding / WIP reports up to date?
4. How quickly can you produce real-time, detailed, accurate job cost reports? How confident are you making key business decisions based on those reports?
5. How much effort goes into tracking change orders? Is this a manual process handled outside of the accounting system?

If your answers to the questions above indicate that your software is costing rather than saving you time, it may be time to look for a construction specific software program. If you already have construction specific software, we may be able to help you get more out of it so you can spend more time completing projects.

1. Does the system include an integrated Job Costing module?

2. Can the system handle different jobs in different localities? – Do you have employees who work on a number of jobs in different states and localities? Make sure your new system will be able to handle the necessary trade classifications, pay rates, rates and deductions from a single timecard. Also, make sure you will have the ability to assign an employee’s time to multiple jobs and phases as needed.

3. Do I need Certified Payroll Reports? – The inability to produce certified payroll reports, is one of the main reasons we see contractors moving from a generic accounting solution to a contractor specific accounting package. Not being able to produce the required reports can prevent you from competing for government funded projects. There are many things to consider when selecting a system that supports certified payroll – feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have.

4. Is Direct deposit supported? Direct deposit is a “must have” feature these days; however, not all contractor payroll software packages have this feature built in. Be sure to ask is your system supports Automated Clearing House (ACH) direct deposit capabilities and whether or not this is an add-on module requiring extra cost to purchase, configure, and support.

5. How does the system handle Direct vs. Indirect Payroll Costs? – Most construction companies have employee who not only work at the job site(s), but also spend part of their day in the office. Make sure your accounting construction payroll system can handle recording payroll related direct costs, indirect costs (i.e. shop time) and office labor costs without having to implement “system workarounds”.

Selecting the right construction payroll accounting system may seem like a daunting task but it is important to do your homework. If you have any questions or need help defining the requirements for your business, feel free to give us a call at (800) 209 – 6927.

Yes, estimating is also important, but an accurate estimate is only the first step towards bigger profits. You need to know how your actual costs compare to the estimate all the way through construction.

Whether you are researching your first accounting software solution or looking to upgrade the system you have, here are some things to consider before you buy your next system.

Take An Integrated Approach
In order for the job costing module to track the labor, materials and overhead costs associated with a project, it must receive data about your accounts payable, payroll, inventory, and equipment. For this reason, it is important to have a job costing module that is fully integrated with your accounting software. Without an integrated job cost module, your staff will have duplicate data entry work, the system will be prone to errors, and you will have a difficult time getting the information you need in a timely manner.

And if change orders and purchase orders are not integrated into the accounting software, you will lose control and lose money.

Getting The Information You Need To Make Business Decisions
When evaluating accounting software for job costing capabilities, pay attention to the type and variety of reports that are available. The ability to create reports and queries that will give you the answers to your business  questions in a timely fashion is key to increasing your profitability. At a minimum, you should be able to quickly access reports that show you:

• initial and revised budgets by cost code
• actual costs to date
• committed costs
• expected costs to complete the project
• billings and cash collected to date

Don’t Forget The People
Like any system, the information you get out of your accounting software is only as good as what you put into it. In order to capture the necessary details it is important your people in field as well as your people in the office can easily capture costs and get access to the reports they need to do their jobs.

Contractor Business Solutions Northwest Wins President’s Club Honor

What if up-to-the-minute projected profit or WIP data was just a mouse click away?

What if project managers could quickly see the current job status numbers, enter the estimated cost to complete on the same template and, with one click, send it all back to your office?

What if you could see last year’s numbers and current numbers in the same report?

You can. Attend our 40 minute, complimentary webinar today and learn how you can use Liberty Reports to run reports directly inside of Excel, apply your knowledge of Excel to interact with your data, and extend the functionality of reports through Excel features.

2 PM PST, August 24th
Click here to register now.