How to Streamline Accounting Processes with Expense Management Tech

On top of constantly juggling multiple projects, general contractors juggle many expenses, while also managing groups of people performing multiple jobs on those projects. It’s par for the course: You hire a subcontractor for one task and another one for something else. Before you know it, you’re swimming in receipts.

And there isn’t much time until you will begin the next project. But managing expenses in the construction industry doesn’t have to be chaotic or even burdensome. What if you entered expenses as they happen? What if you discarded paper receipts? And what if this meant you focused more on growing your business and stopped wasting time?

Fortunately, you can do all of this with automated expense management technology, which eliminates the need for any manual entry, better organizes and tracks expenses, and saves you countless hours and dollars. In addition to being simpler, this process leads to getting reimbursed and paid faster—a huge advantage for construction professionals who need to move on to other jobs as quickly as possible.

So how exactly can this business technology can help you manage your expenses and, ultimately, become more productive and profitable? The answer is more layered than you think.

Stay Organized Across Different Jobs

With so many different jobs that need to be completed, the reality is: You usually hire multiple subcontractors to complete certain tasks. You might need a sub to install the flooring on one project, an electrician on a second project, and a plumber on a third project.

It can suddenly become a project management nightmare, especially if you have multiple project managers, depending on the size of each project. The number of receipts and expenses can spiral out of control. This is where expense management software comes in—particularly in an easy-to-use app. The best software does not require any type of vendor setup or onboarding and doesn’t require information on the layout of your vendor invoices. It’s even better when there is no commitment involved, as with a month-to-month service.

Also, having flexible expense management software that can allocate charges to multiple projects is key. Whether you include expenses for one client, expenses for different projects, or one expense divided across multiple projects, it is important to have technology that can adapt. You should be in control of the technology, not the other way around.

Track Expenses on the Go

If you’re constantly running between the office and the field, your expense management technology should follow you. If materials are received at the jobsite, why should you have to leave to track invoices and receipts?

One factor complicating organization of receipts is that a lot of construction companies are also people’s names. The receipts for Bob Jones Plumbing, for instance, may easily get lost among other receipts. And, it’s easy to get confused about which job that receipt should go toward, especially if it is left in your truck for days.

Whether you’re out in the field or in the office, organizing this paperwork can become much easier using expense management technology. If you can operate a smartphone camera, you can operate expense management tools. That is the only training criteria. You can connect to your email on your cellphone or take a picture and have all of your expense documents automatically come together. You can even upload paper documents through apps or a website if you prefer.

Save Time & Money

Contracting is all about efficiency. Precise timelines and deadlines must be met. And if they’re not, you run the risk of falling behind on other projects, too. You must ensure your subcontractors are paid, for example, before checking off that box. Having automated expense technology that organizes and tracks what you spend and how you spend it makes these tasks incredibly easy.

This technology also helps your company get reimbursed quicker. Every nail and piece of lumber can add up quickly, and if every single item is not tracked, your business is not going to get paid back. With expense management technology, you can spend more time growing your business and less time on inefficient data entry. And you’ll keep your truck receipt-free when you’re traveling from jobsite to jobsite.