Construction AP Automation Experts
Get Real-Time Visibility into job costing
Accounts Payable Automation Job Costing for Construction Companies
The construction industry is fundamentally different from other trades in its accounts payable requirements: Ensuring profitability hinges on having accurate, real-time visibility into job costs. Achieving a high level of control can be significantly challenging when dealing with a multitude of vendor payments and time-sensitive approvals. DataServ is uniquely equipped to help your construction company handle these challenges with our AutoVouch™ solution, tailored approval workflows, and seamless ERP integration with no human interference required.
Finding an AP Solution for Construction Companies
It starts with an understanding of Job Cost Accounting methods. Managing job costs manually is time consuming and open to many human errors. It’s hard to find qualified employees in the construction industry, including finance and accounting roles. Construction companies need a robust job costing process in order to ensure profitability, but it is not as easy to find Accounts Payable talent that is familiar with Job Costing.
When you do find a great partner that understands the accounting, they become a very valuable resource. Yet most firms today tie up this valuable resource with manual processes. This is where DataServ comes in. We can quickly capture all of your vendor invoices and eliminate all manual keying for your team. Beyond that we offer automated workflows, real-time visibility into project costs, and the ability to automate 2-, 3-, and 4-way matching as well as feed your billing system with invoice copies as invoice backup.
What Is Job Costing?
Job costing refers to the process of tracking and allocating all expenses related to a specific construction project. This includes costs for materials, labor, equipment, and overhead. By understanding the true costs associated with a project, construction firms can make informed decisions, ensure projects remain within budget, and identify areas for cost savings.
The challenge, however, is that construction job costing requires detailed tracking and constant updates, especially when invoices from vendors, subcontractors, and suppliers start flowing in. If these invoices are not properly managed, it can lead to inaccurate job cost calculations, billing delays, and cash flow problems.
That’s where our job costing solution comes into play—streamlining the accounts payable process and ensuring that every expense is accurately tracked, allocated, and reconciled to the right job. With DataServ’s Accounts Payable for Job Costing, construction companies can take the manual labor out of invoice processing and job cost management, improving both efficiency and profitability. Our solution integrates seamlessly with ERP systems like Penta, making it easy to fit into your existing processes.
How DataServ Simplifies Accounts Payable for the Construction Industry
DataServ’s APIA Software is designed to simplify and automate the invoice-to-payment process, ensuring that all expenses are accurately tracked and allocated to the right project in real time. Here’s how DataServ makes job costing easy for construction companies:
99+ Percent Accurate Automated Invoice Capture
Manually processing thousands of invoices each month is not only tedious, but it also increases the risk of errors. DataServ’s automated invoice capture eliminates this risk by electronically capturing invoice data as it is received and allocating the costs to specific jobs or projects. Whether invoices are received via email, via payment requisition, as paper documents, EDI, or through another path, DataServ’s system captures and digitizes them. This automation ensures that every invoice is entered into the system quickly and accurately, eliminating manual data entry and drastically reducing processing time, freeing up your accounts payable team to focus on more strategic tasks.
Streamlined Approvals and Coding
Manually processing and approving invoices can be a slow, error-prone task, especially when multiple stakeholders are involved. The constant need to key in data, chase down approvals, and ensure accuracy can tie up valuable resources, leading to bottlenecks and potential cash flow issues. DataServ eliminates this cumbersome process by automating invoice approvals and coding. Our automated workflows route invoices to the right project managers or approvers via notifications, reminders, escalations, and out-of-office responses, allowing them to review and approve payments quickly. Whether they’re in the office or working remotely, nothing gets delayed.
2-, 3-, and 4-Way Matching for Accuracy
Two-way matching is especially important for construction companies dealing with a high volume of jobs or projects. DataServ’s AP for job costing automatically matches purchase orders and invoices ensuring that only valid and accurate invoices are processed and paid.
Because DataServ operates pre-ERP, this process reduces the risk of overpayments, duplicate payments, errors, and rework all of which can skew ERP data and negatively impact job profitability.
Real-Time Visibility into AP Workflows
With DataServ’s comprehensive workflows, construction companies gain real-time visibility into every step of the AP process. Project managers and finance teams can monitor expenses as they happen, ensuring accurate job costing and giving them the insights needed to make timely decisions. Never lose track of an invoice or approval and always be able to find the answer with real-time access. This prevents overspending and keeps projects running smoothly. DataServ provides analytics to explain trends about purchasing, billing, and even budgeting and hiring.
Seamless Integration with ERP Systems
Every invoice processed through DataServ is automatically pushed to your ERP system, eliminating the need for manual data entry. This ensures that all costs—whether for materials, labor, equipment, or subcontractors—are accurately recorded in real time, providing project managers with up-to-date visibility into their AP workflows. Our solution integrates seamlessly with any ERP system, including construction-specific platforms like Penta. If your job costing processes span multiple systems, we can accommodate that, ensuring invoices are processed correctly and job costs are accurately recorded, even across separate platforms or workflows.
Reducing Employee Turnover by Eliminating Manual Steps
One of the biggest challenges in the construction industry is finding skilled professionals, especially in finance and accounts payable roles. Job costing in construction requires specialized knowledge of project accounting, which can be hard to find. Even when you do hire someone with the right skills, they often spend valuable time manually handling invoices and tracking costs, which can be prone to errors. DataServ reduces this burden by automating invoice data capture and processing, allowing your talented team to focus on higher-value tasks like data analysis and reporting or strategic vendor relationship management.
Bi-State Development shares their experience working with DataServ and how our AP expertise has helped improve their AP automation beyond expectations:
Transform Your AP Processes with DataServ
Regardless of where you are at in your AP automation journey, DataServ will meet you there and help you evolve.