Masonry Magazine May 2011 Page. 36
SOFTWARE
Contractors should consider a construction-specific accounting system that offers accurate, instant, and extensive reporting capabilities. These systems are usually built upon secure databases and are designed to handle tens of millions of records and multiple users, which means that they can produce reports that can be shared and accessed without tampering concerns. This increases efficiency, and makes sure that everyone is on the same page.
PDF Communication
Bluebeam Software's PDF Revu 9 allows construction professionals to create, share and edit project information, electronically, in PDF. Features include 3D PDF viewing, allowing for a more detailed view of vital project elements. Bluebeam's engineers created 3D navigation that can be manipulated intuitively. Users can spin, rotate and zoom project views to achieve the desired vantage point and to focus on specific areas.
Revu 9's VisualSearch function can capture and search for any symbol in a PDF, providing dynamic usage beyond a text-only search. Users can apply markups and hyperlinks to websites and specification sheets to all search results, making referencing important project data quick and easy. An enhancement to the takeoff tool, area cutouts, allows users to account for room obstructions in area measurements and create more accurate estimates.
The tracking of design issues and questions is imperative in construction. Revu's integrated Markups list enables uses to set custom statuses to any markup on a PDF, and automatically update the markup's color or associated text, depending on the selected state. It's the easiest way to quickly identify whether a particular issue has been approved or rejected, or is still pending resolution. Finally, Revu 9 allows users to save their work back to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint for significant text edits. IMAS
For more information, visit www.bluebeam.com.
Problem: Processing payroll is time-consuming and difficult.
Solution: Whether you have 10 employees or 300, payroll activities and the reports derived from payroll information can be complex. Off-the-shelf accounting software can generate payroll checks and book the costs to the general ledger, but most packages lack the sophistication to deal with multiple states and localities, varying pay scales, multiple job classifications, union reporting, deductions, withholding and tax reporting, and other construction payroll issues.
There are at least five features that can help automate and streamline the payroll process that only a construction-specific system can provide:
1.) Timecard Entry. A construction accounting system's payroll module supports unlimited timecard styles as well as methods of delivery. It should also seamlessly integrate with third-party timecard applications.
2.) Multi-State, Multi-Locality and Multi-Job Processing. Contractors not only save time on payroll tax processing, but also gain a greater understanding of how and where labor and burden costs are being spent on all of their jobs.
3.) Job Cost and General Ledger Integration. In order to track and manage job costs effectively, contractors need a system that integrates payroll with general ledger and job costing modules. Integration of payroll data to the general ledger also leads to overhead
Construction accounting systems usually are built upon secure databases and are designed to handle tens of millions of records and multiple users.
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