Last week I attended the World of Concrete (WOC) show in Las Vegas and it was awesome! WOC was Disneyland meets the Superbowl compared to other trade shows I have attended during my 25 years in the software industry.

WOC made me feel like a kid again, tugging at my Dad’s hand at the state fair, eager for a chance to climb up on a big tractor or truck.

There were lots of big (I mean “How did they get that through the door?” big) trucks and concrete pumpers; and some really mean-looking pieces of heavy equipment like this 5,000 lb. demo rig attachment (one of their smaller units):

I particularly enjoyed the outdoor lot where several vendors were demonstrating the ride-on troweling machines like they were one-man military hovercraft. One vendor’s “booth” consisted of a mock 4-story construction site.

Besides touring the cool exhibits, I got to meet some great people in the Construction Technology section. Field access and input to accounting systems was a big theme.

Recently announced and demonstrated for the first time at World of Concrete was “Sage Construction Anywhere”. This cloud offering from Sage will provide exciting field access reporting functionality for Sage Timberline and Master Builder users as well as any other parties involved in a project with a need to know. Sage Construction Anywhere will be rolled out in stages with more functionality to come in release 2 later this year.

What’s YOUR favorite trade show?

For more information on this and other topics, visit www.ledgerwoodassociatesusa.com.

Does this sound like you?

“We are having a hard time winning bids that result in profitable jobs.  We can win short-term business by low-balling it, but we cannot survive this way.”

Here’s a great discussion of the issue from Sage CRE.

Impact
ERRORS, LOSS OF PROFIT:  The cost data that our estimators use is inconsistent and sometimes out of date.  Too high and we miss the opportunity.  Too low and we leave money on the table and run the risk of being awarded the job with no chance for profitability.

INCONSISTENCY:  Our estimators take great pride in their work and like to do things their own way.  Unfortunately, when everyone is using different tools and methods for estimating, it makes final review and the ability to reuse historical estimates for new projects we’re bidding difficult-not to mention risky.

REPUTATION:  Relationship building is key in the construction industry.  If we continually low ball bids to get work in the door and rely on expensive change orders to make jobs profitable, we run the risk of tarnishing our reputation and jeopardize future opportunities.  We recognize the shortcomings of doing estimating using a generic spreadsheet.  We’re required to double check all our work and run the risk of making errors that would give us a bad reputation. Adopting a construction-specific estimating tool will streamline/automate the entire estimating process and also help build historical information that can be used again and again in future estimates.

Capabilities
Estimating databases come in a variety of flavors depending upon the user’s specific needs and trade.  Select from a shell to build your own or choose from a number of “out-of-the-box,” databases requiring a minimal amount of refinement.

Solution
Integration of Sage Timberline Estimating with Sage Accounting (Specifically Job Cost) Timberline Office, Master Builder or Timberline Enterprise helps eliminate the need for duplicate data entry and helps track job profitability at all stages of the project. By having all of your estimators using the same tool and collectively building a database of costs and information that you can access for future estimates, your estimates will be accurate and ensure the projects you bid on will be profitable.

Hope this was helpful. I’ll have more on estimating next week.

Do you agree that low-balling bids will tarnish a contractor’s reputation and jeopardize future opportunities?

In a super-competitive construction environment companies must prepare more bids quickly and accurately to survive. Here’s how a smaller contractor improved their estimating to compete more effectively.

Estimating Speed and Accuracy Needed

With fierce competition, Coyote Development needed to improve bid accuracy and increase win rates. Coyote’s controller, owner, project managers and estimators were already working extra hours. Errors on spreadsheets took precious time to track down. Differences in their estimators’ methods and a lack of cost coding made it difficult to track historical performance.

Sage Timberline Estimating

In September, 2010 Coyote Development worked with Ledgerwood Associates to install Sage Timberline Estimating and Sage Timberline Office. Ledgerwood Associates was involved with every aspect of the set up and conversion, including Coyote’s jobs listing (100 jobs), account structure, and beginning balances. The owner and lead estimator were trained on using cost databases and how to transfer their estimates into job costing.

Rapid Bid Turnaround Gets Coyote a Key Contract

A senior Ledgerwood consultant showed Coyote’s estimators how they could produce estimates in less than half the time they were spending before; and Coyote’s bid-to-win ratio has improved. Coyote recently had 48 hours to bid on their portion of a large Las Vegas resort project.

Coyote put a bid together quickly and got the job. And, since they were right on the mark, they ended up with a good margin. Project managers were able to see where they stood all along the way and make adjustments quickly.

Company Profile

Coyote Development, a project oriented Arizona general contractor, builds a variety of government and commercial projects in Arizona, Nevada and the Southwest. Focusing on technology improvement and streamlining the bid process has helped Coyote put together a string of successful projects resulting in consistent growth in a difficult economy.

Would faster, more accurate estimating help you be more competitive?

Ledgerwood Associates Achieves President’s Circle Business Partner Status

Scottsdale, AZ – January 9, 2012 – Ledgerwood Associates, Inc., a Sage North America business partner specializing in the sales, installation, and support of Sage Timberline and Sage Master Builder, has been named to the Sage America President’s Circle for the 2011 business year. President’s Circle award winners are the top performing business partners for Sage products. Sage recognizes Ledgerwood Associates and all President’s Circle winners for their outstanding contributions in 2011.

The Sage North America President’s Circle is awarded to the leading performers among Sage business partners representing a host of segment-leading brands, including Sage ERP Accpac, Sage ERP X3, Sage Timberline, Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200, Sage SalesLogix, Sage Fund Accounting, Sage Abra HRMS (human resource management system), Sage FAS Fixed Assets and others.

“We honor Ledgerwood Associates for their hard work and their focus on our mutual customers, which has earned them the Sage North America President’s Circle Award,” said Tom Miller, VP of Channel Management for Sage. “Congratulations to the entire team Ledgerwood Associates for this accomplishment, and we wish them continued success in the coming years.”

President’s Circle award recipients for 2011 will receive further recognition from Sage at an exclusive executive retreat to be held in Nashville, Tennessee in August, in conjunction with the 2012 Sage Summit conference, where they will be celebrated among thousands of their peers and Sage customers attending the event.

“We are pleased to represent Sage to the construction industry here in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and the West,” said Ed Ledgerwood, President, Ledgerwood Associates. “We’d like to thank our customers who made this achievement possible.”

About Ledgerwood Associates, Inc.
Ledgerwood Associates, Inc. (LAI) provides construction cost management services to over 1,000 construction and real estate industry customers throughout the western United States.  LAI’s experienced professionals apply best practices in finance, workflow management and software to improve business performance.  LAI is one of the largest Value Added Resellers of Sage Construction and Real Estate software products and services. www.ledgerwoodassociatesusa.com

Using the Desktop Reconciliation Tool for Cash Management
By Donna King, Sage Timberline Office Senior Certified Consultant

The Reconciliation Tool is an additional tool available from your Sage Desktop. This tool can help you reconcile your sub-ledgers to themselves, and then to the General Ledger. The Reconciliation Tool steps you through posting, running verification reports, and directs you as needed to Knowledgebase articles.

Where is the Reconciliation Tool?

Start – Programs- Sage Software – Sage Desktop

• In the Desktop from the View menu verify that Tasks is selected.
• In the Tasks pane, select Sage Timberline Office – Additional Tools
• Double-click Reconciliation to open the Reconciliation Tool.

How do you balance Cash Management to General Ledger after Reconciliation of your Bank Account?

• Print your Bank Reconciliation report after completing the reconcile task.

o Cash Management – Reports – Reports – Bank Reconciliation

Verify that the Adjusted Bank Balance and the Register Balance as of the Statement Date totals at the bottom of the report are the same.

• In the General Ledger from the Reports menu, select Year-to-date Ledger.

o General Ledger – Reports – Year-to-date Ledger

• Select the modify date range check box.

• Type the first day of the month you are reconciling in the Start date box, and type the Statement Date you used on your bank reconciliation in the End Date Box.

• Click Ranges
• Select the cash account you are reconciling.
• Click Print Preview.

• Verify the ending balance agrees with the Adjusted Bank Balance from your Cash Management Bank Reconciliation above.

How are the Cash Management bank account balances derived?

It might be helpful to understand where the balances are stored in Cash Management.

Cash Management – Setup – Bank Accounts

• Register balance on the General Tab. The register balance is the total of all transactions entered into CM.
• Bank Balance on the General Tab. Reflects the balance based on all cleared and reconciled entries.
• Last reconciled balance on General Tab. This displays the last balance from completed bank reconciliation. 

• Posted CM Balance – Posted CM balance on the Totals Tab. The Posted CM balance reflects the balance based on all posted transactions. The Posted CM Balance should always equal the sum of the Cash Account totals.

• Cash Account Totals – Totals by GL Cash Account Tab. The cash account totals are the amounts posted to the cash accounts in GL. The sum of the cash account totals should match the posted CM balance. If everything is posted in the GL the cash account totals should match the balance of the corresponding cash accounts in GL.

Common Out of Balance Scenario

Change in Voided Accounting Date in Accounts Payable will affect the Cash Management reconcilation to General Ledger. When you void checks in Accounts Payable, you can use the original date or specify a date for the reversing entries. Cash Management always uses the original check date. This can cause reconcilation issues when you compare Cash Management with the General Ledger.

You can record entries in Cash Management Edit Register task to correct the out of balance voided check amounts.

• Go to CM – Tasks – Edit Register
• Select the appropriate Bank Account

• Type a description for the transaction and in the subtraction column type the original amount of your voided check.

• Verify the Date and Accounting Date is the same as your original check date. Select your cash account as both the GL debit and GL credit, this creates a washing entry to the GL that does not change your account balances

Withdrawal

Now you need to create an additon adjustment to effectively place the void in the correct period.

• Go to Tasks – Edit Register
• Type the void date you used for your voided check in AP.
• Use the Adjustment for your Type in the column.
• In the addition column type the amount of voided check, verify the date and accounting date are the same.
• Select the cash account as both the GL debit and the GL Credit. Again this creates a washing entry to the General Ledger and does not change your account balances.

• Make sure you Post in CM and GL, go through the reconcilation process to verify the GL to CM is balanced.

For more information on this topic contact Ledgerwood Associates, the #1 Sage Timberline Business Partner in the Southwest!