Specialized accounting software for the construction industry is designed for building contractors who want to manage their own accounts simply and securely. Even if a chartered accountant is required to produce annual financial statements such as balance sheets, profit and loss statements and appendices, it is perfectly possible to keep your own accounts throughout the year, without necessarily having a great deal of knowledge in the field.
For this, the use of appropriate software is essential. This software is parameterized to comply with accounting and tax standards, which considerably reduces the risk of errors made by non-professionals.
Here are a few good reasons and undeniable advantages that are sure to convince you to use an automated, comprehensive and high-performance accounting software dedicated to construction companies.
The benefits of bookkeeping
Accounting contains a wealth of valuable information for managing your business. If you have the time, you can take charge of your accounting yourself, enabling you to monitor your business more closely. With a real-time view of your company's financial health, you can anticipate any cash flow problems and adapt your sales strategy accordingly.
On a day-to-day basis, you'll need to record your various transactions on the basis of supporting documents such as invoices, cheques and receipts. Incoming (revenue) and outgoing(expenses) financial flows will come mainly from payments made by your customers, and will be intended to cover supplier, employee and other expenses.
To make these entries, you'll need to follow the accounting rules set out in the General Chart of Accounts (G. C.A.), which governs the recording, presentation and content of accounting documents.
All information relating to income and expenditure is listed in a number of documents, in accordance with the accounting entry:
- The journal: transactions are recorded chronologically in separate journals, depending on whether they are debit or credit. These include purchase, sales, cash, bank and miscellaneous journals. These auxiliary journals are then grouped together in the centralizing journal, enabling you to monitor your situation from day to day.
- The general ledger: this document contains all accounting transactions classified by account, according to the order specified in the General Ledger Plan. It is used to monitor each account separately.
- The trial balance: based on the general ledger, it summarizes the balances of all accounts, specifying whether they are in debit or credit. This provides a quick overview of the status of each account.
Why use accounting software?
Using software to manage your accounting is not compulsory, but it is highly recommended, as it offers a number of advantages.
Securing the accounting management process
Once the software has been set up correctly, entries are automatically recorded in the appropriate journals, and totals and centralizations are carried out without any human intervention, eliminating the risk of errors.
The software will also check the balance of each entry to ensure data reliability.
Time-saving
To automate your accounting management, software available on the market or online offers a host of clever solutions. You can benefit from automatic collection and qualification of bank statement lines, automatic reconciliation between invoices and payments (lettering), and entry templates to avoid re-entering subscription invoices, for example.
These features save you a considerable amount of time, as the most time-consuming manual tasks are eliminated. So you can concentrate on activities that are more strategic to your business.
Ease of communication with the accounting firm
If you use invoicing software, the data on your invoices will be automatically transferred to your accounting software. By exporting your entries, your chartered accountant can easily retrieve all your accounting data. Some software packages also give your accountant direct access to your accounting software, simplifying the collaboration process.
Don't hesitate to ask your accountant about the compatibility of the tools you use. Good coordination between your invoicing software and your accounting software can greatly facilitate the management of your accounts, enabling you to work more efficiently and smoothly.
Adaptability
Software publishers have taken into account the evolution of your business and offer you solutions tailored to your needs. You canenhance your accounting software by adding additional functions, for example,to make it easier to monitor your worksites or draw up work schedules.
However, it's important to consider the main disadvantage of accounting management software: cost. Standard solutions may be less expensive, but they are also less suited to your profession. By opting for a software package specific to the construction sector, you'll benefit in particular from the specific chart of accounts used in this field, which will make it much easier to manage your accounting in connection with your construction activities.