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Construction companies today are losing time, money, and resources in their financial processes. From data entry in spreadsheets to trying to get all the receipts in one place, companies spend too much time on tasks that can be made easier. That lost time and slow process cuts into profit margins and creates a bottleneck on what companies can do with their resources.
In order for this to change, construction companies will need to embrace technology. However, with slim profit margins and a plethora of outdated software, businesses are often skeptical of the benefits. They might be inclined to think that the way they’re doing things now is fine, or are unsure of what’s even possible with technology on the market today.
Let’s tackle that issue head-on and lay it out as clearly as possible. Here are the key benefits construction companies gain when they adopt new technology and why businesses need to adopt it to stay competitive.
Maximize accuracy, and minimize errors
Construction is extremely complicated. The job of building a skyscraper has an enormous amount of moving parts to keep track of, both on and off the project site. It’s no surprise that change orders can fall through the cracks and that billing can be so complex. Tracking that much information requires teams to choose between time and accuracy to get things done on schedule.
A financial automation platform can do the heavy lifting for you. A bot doesn’t get tired, weary, or lose information while it works. It can only do what it’s programmed to do and copy the numbers it’s fed. Technology can track and move your information for you so that your teams don’t have to do it. This will sharply increase both the accuracy and speed of all reports, budgets, and billings. You can be confident that data isn’t lost at any point in the process, and that what you’re looking at is always accurate.
Empower your employees
It’s not uncommon for employees to experience burnout around closing periods. Not only are there many tasks to be done to keep a project moving along, but there’s also a flood of data moving in and out of their heads every day. It’s dizzying trying to keep track of it all, let alone repetitively enter the same data into different formats. Repetitive data-entry day in and day out can hurt employee morale, performance, and satisfaction. This is particularly problematic during periods of labor shortages when they are already short on staff.
This is where technology can change everything. Not only is the automation more accurate, but it also lifts the burden of certain tasks from your employees. They’re now focused on valuable tasks that engage them and their skills. Whether it’s verifying the data the software has put out for them to review, or spending their time analyzing the business, employees can do the more satisfying parts of their job. Imagine if everyone responsible for financial reporting in the business could spend 80% of their time on analysis instead of on data entry and chasing. That’s a win for both the business and the employee, all while saving time and money.
Spot issues in real-time
The current flow of information in construction is broken. It moves in monthly and quarterly cycles. By the time most issues are caught, significant damage has already been done for the prior weeks. This can be anything from equipment concerns, rising costs of materials, or any of the other numerous factors that can impact billing and the health of a project. This keeps companies in a reactive position, where they’re stuck playing catch up on issues that have already happened instead of jumping into the problem.
With Briq, you get real-time insight into your business every single day. Imagine what real-time data could do for a business that only ever reconciles once a month. You can go through your financials while you're having your morning cup of coffee and it's done. You don't have this big exercise at the end of the month. You do it in real-time. The instant issues begin to crop up, they can be addressed and planned for so that their impact is always mitigated.
Invest for success
These benefits are only scratching the surface of what’s possible. From equipment tracking, and labor forecasting to automated WIPs and synchronized corporate cards, technology like Briq is here to revolutionize the way construction companies are doing business. Investing in these solutions is what’s going to keep your business competitive and strong well into the future.
If you’d like to know more, you can download our webinar here, where we go into more detail on each of these points. Or, if you’d like to see what Briq can do for your business, contact us here and schedule a demo.
