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There's no 'one size fits all' software package. For example, generic accounting systems don't work for everyone. In the construction industry, your payment structure is more complex than those used in typical business transactions. Additionally, those basic accounting systems won't offer construction-specific features such as allowing for retentions and applications.

There's plenty of variation in how your accounting software can be used.  In this article, we explore software 'worst practices'. If you don't want to receive a return on investment, or if you enjoy annoying staff, here's how you should use your new accounting system...

You didn’t take the decision to upgrade your accounting software lightly – but you’ve decided to take the plunge and upgrade your old system now that its begun to show signs of age.

It took you some time to search through your options and collect recommendations from friends in the industry, but you’ve finally chosen your new software provider and you’re looking forward to the upgrade.

However, there’s a final hurdle to overcome before you can start seeing your software’s benefits: the implementation stage. This crucial period defines how successful the switch is: will it go smoothly and without a hitch, or turn into a disaster that damages your business?

These tips will help you achieve the first outcome.

Plant and equipment are essential to the completion of every construction job. Plant is also one of the biggest costs in construction companies’ accounting systems, yet many businesses fail to manage plant efficiently.

The UK may not have to put up with monsoons and decade long droughts, nor months of complete darkness, but adverse weather conditions still bring our country to a standstill. Whilst many of our industries operate whatever the weather, in construction, we’re a little more reliant on the elements to complete projects on time. 

A new tax year has begun. It’s time to start a new file in your accounting software and look forward to another year in operation. 

Anticipating market conditions over the next year, five years, or several decades is extremely challenging – particularly for an industry whose fate depends on the whims of ever-fickle governments. 

Here at Integrity Software, we set ourselves apart from the crowd with top quality customer service provided by individuals who know the sector inside out.

On average, productivity in the UK is 20% lower than in other industrialised countries such as the US, France and Germany. 

Now that the dust from this year’s government budget announcement has settled, we can look behind the headlines and analyse the finer detail. 

Every day, your business might create and access hundreds of documents in dozens of different formats. From paper-based documents to PDFs, we’re accustomed to managing many types of ‘paperwork’ on a daily basis – but inevitably, mix-ups occur.

The construction sector is notorious for late payments and cash flow pressures. Given the industry’s asymmetrical payment structures versus work completed, contractors often find difficulty in balancing cash flow requirements with paying creditors.

A stitch in time saves nine....

Return on investment (ROI) calculations are used by business and government to determine the potential value of investments.

It’s no secret that labour costs in the UK construction industry are rising quickly, thanks in no small part to the ever-worsening skills shortages that the sector faces. 

If you’re involved in a fledgling construction business, you’ll know that you need every tool at your disposal to compete with the established names.

‘Garbage in, garbage out’; a computing term that tells us that computers, when given poor quality data, can only output data or analysis of the same quality.

Here at Integrity Software, we offer potential clients a demonstration of our construction accounting software at very early stages of our discussions. 

As a business, you should be on the lookout for an accounting software solution that most closely matches your company’s unique needs, whilst avoiding the common bugbears that plague some systems

If you’re switching to specialist construction accounting software for the first time, you’ll be looking forward to using a powerful system that can deal with all the industry-specific processes you can throw at it. 

Many of our construction accounting software users work on relatively small scale local infrastructure projects that provide immediate benefits to the area, with a reasonably quick turnaround. 

The New Year is an exciting period for every company. Here at Integrity Software, it’s no different – we’re looking forward to rolling out plenty of new software modules and updates during 2016.

2015 was a busy year for the team at Integrity Software, with plenty of new faces in the offices, dozens of new clients to welcome and a handful of large client events to host.

As skills shortages put increasing pressure on your margins, all areas of your business should be examined to identify potential savings.