Financial management for general contractors is one of the most significant areas of need in the construction industry. Construction projects can quickly exceed budgets or fall behind schedule, costing companies more money for labor and equipment. In addition, shortages and pricing fluctuations on much-needed construction materials can also cause challenges, including extended project times and budget overages.
Fortunately, technological innovation has found its way into the construction business. Advanced solutions in various aspects of the company can aid better financial management for general contractors.
Introducing innovative solutions within your construction business will help you reduce costs, but it will also help you increase efficiency and productivity. Let’s look at some of the best innovations to help with the financial management of your business.
6 Tech Innovations Aiding Financial Management for General Contractors
While various modern solutions are available, the following 6 tech innovations will help your construction business bolster its financial management in multiple areas. You can implement all of the mentioned technologies or select the best combination for your business needs.
1. Building Information Modeling (BIM)
Building Information modeling (BIM) is a 3D modeling tool growing in popularity within the construction industry. From the early stages of planning to the final execution, this tool establishes a single master building design within which everyone can work.
BIM can also help your company plan maintenance needed down the road. As everyone involved in the construction project has the same view via BIM, it can eliminate confusion and errors and help with cost-cutting and the improvement of financial management for general contractors.
2. Inventory Management Software
Keeping track of your materials and equipment can help you efficiently maintain your inventory and prevent running over budget. An intelligent inventory management system for all your gear, raw materials, and tools is truly a must-have.
Thanks to recent advancements, you can now use smart software applications to help simplify inventory management and tracking in the construction industry. You will be not only able to track every item but also receive real-time updates on your inventory, fleet, and other resources.
All decision-making stakeholders can now get a real-time view with accurate data and plan operations accordingly. This birds-eye view of all your resources and materials will help you manage each project more effectively. It is an excellent tool for financial management for general contractors because it will prevent any equipment and material losses- saving you money.
1. Drones
Drones are a futuristic tech innovation that prevents financial damages caused due to safety issues. An incident on a construction site is never ideal for the company or its employees. Accidents lead to additional financial stresses on the company to pay for damages, liabilities, and any injuries incurred on the job site.
Thankfully, today's technology makes it easier for general contractors to monitor site safety and prevent common injuries.
For instance, you can use drones to monitor a construction project, record a video, and send it back to management. This will eliminate the time and money typically required to arrange a physical visit. You can even save money by using drones for inspection in remote areas that are unsafe for your staff.
The perks don't stop there. Financial management is all about bringing in more money while increasing business efficiency. In addition to drones, you can now utilize bricklaying robots to work faster while freeing up your staff for other tasks.
It is important to remember that the goal of financial management for general contractors is all about doing more work in less time. The higher your efficiency, the more ROI you are going to generate.
2. Improving Your Communication
Communicating via email, paper documents, and traditional phones are ways of the past. While some may be comfortable using all modes, as mentioned earlier, modern times require more efficient, instant communication methods.
Remember, the time wasted due to delays is money lost for your business. Therefore, integrating mobile technology such as software, apps, smartphones, and tablets will make it easier for your employees to access information and communicate on the go.
This efficiency and transparency of communication will easily get the jobs done faster and allow them to adhere to each project's timeline. Completing a project on time is paramount because no additional money is lost due to extra labor and equipment hire costs.
3. Cloud-Based Solutions
Collaboration software solutions hosted in the cloud are convenient for general contractors to keep the project on schedule. Using a cloud-based project management solution can help your construction company keep all the information under one hood. Additionally, it will give everyone involved in the project on-the-go visibility of its lifecycle.
A cloud-based solution is an excellent tool for financial management for general contractors. This is because such a solution will reduce any profit fade by staying ahead of any scope changes that may come up. If a change occurs in a project, the software will pick it up and notify all relevant parties to make adjustments accordingly.
4. Accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions Integration
One of the most significant technical innovations is the ability of all software solutions to integrate. You can now select integrated construction software to connect your ERP and an accounting system in a single platform.
You can go a step further and add service management, employee management, and project management software into the mix. Smart solutions also include business reporting, intelligence, and human resource management tools.
You will be able to use software integration to get a broader picture of each project and how each piece is related. Additionally, it will enable you to make better informed financial decisions based on the intelligent reports a fully integrated system will produce.
Let the smart software manage critical aspects of your construction projects. This will help you save time but get better at financial management by saving money.
Adopting tech innovations in financial management for general contractors is key
The rate of technical innovation in the construction industry over the last few years has been impressive. While construction businesses have been slow in adopting the tech, it has provided better financial management for general contractors.
No matter what size of construction firm you are, you can use a combination of any of the tech innovations mentioned in this post to your advantage.
