Two Tricks for Straightforward Cost Management

A recent report by Quickbase, stated nearly three-quarters of construction employees spend up to 20 hours a week trying to find information. Besides using labor that is already scarce, this ends up costing you money, as well as causing delays, miscommunication and errors. If yours is like most companies in the industry, your bottom line cannot afford that.

Construction platforms like Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) can help you improve your workflows, keep your teams aligned and transform cost management into a more streamlined process. With better workflows, you can focus more on growing your business and delivering quality, profitable projects.

Two of the ways ACC enables you to do that is with centralized data and connected workflows.

Trick 1: Centralize Your Data

ACC centralizes cost-related management activities in the cloud. This gives your project teams a single source of truth to work from. A substantial amount of time can be saved when workers are not rummaging around through electronic – or worse, paper – files trying to find information. When your data is integrated across different workflows, the context remains intact, rather than getting lost or confused during the project.

Requests for information or issues can be escalated and can be related to cost data. ACC enables you to use a single solution to manage contracts, expenses and requests for payment. In addition, information is automatically synchronized for budget overview so you can monitor how the actual project expenses are tracking against the budget.

With ACC, the cost information you need is available when you need it. You can make forecasts and subsequent adjustments to keep your project on track.

Project cost management tools and data reside together in one place on the ACC platform. There’s no need for multiple programs, and there is no confusion caused by switching back and forth among disparate software. Information flows seamlessly throughout the entire platform, which reduces data discrepancies.

Trick 2: Connect Your Workflows

A recent Construction Dive newsletter pointed out that “modern construction companies need to be connected and automated in order to keep up with the competition.”

The ACC platform gives everyone involved in a project real-time insights. It helps streamline reviews and approvals using decision-based workflows that you can customize. You can also customize budget forms, financial protocols and terminology. Whether it’s contracts, change orders, pay apps, or expenses, your documentation process can be automated. When documents are ready, an automated email can ensure they get attention and are reviewed and approved quickly and efficiently.

Performance tracking is enabled through synchronizing data from third-party apps into the cost management tool in ACC. Productivity and cost data can be connected, since ACC integrates with leading cost and project management solutions.

You can eliminate duplicate data entry and manual processes by connecting financial data between accounting and operations, further streamlining processes. Integrations with leading enterprise resource planning solutions give stakeholders better access to data. Your teams benefit from easier communication, and they can make decisions that make your company more profitable.

For an industry that already operates on thin margins, centralizing data and connecting workflows are two tricks that will make managing your costs easier and more effective.

Learn about how to avoid wasting time and money on BIM. Download the free two-volume eBook: “Avoiding the 7 Deadly Wastes in Your BIM Process.”