How do construction companies automate expense reports in Acumatica?

Key takeaways

• In Acumatica Construction Edition, job cost is project, project task and cost code, and budgets can be tracked at the task and cost code level.
• Expense receipts already have Project, Project Task and Cost Code fields; the hard part is filling them in correctly from the field.
• Vergo proposes those values per receipt line and creates expense receipts, expense claims or journal transactions through the public API.
• Crews text receipts; nobody opens the mobile app to build a report.

Where should you go next?

• Vergo's Acumatica integration
• What expense management software integrates with Acumatica Construction Edition?
• What is the best expense management software for construction companies using Acumatica Construction?
• Get started with Vergo

What does an Acumatica expense receipt need for job cost?

Acumatica describes a cost code as an additional classification level for project revenues and costs in a construction project. Projects can track budgets by task and cost code, or by task, item and cost code, and cost codes appear on general ledger transactions, AP bills, purchase orders, expense entries, time cards and budget lines. On each document line, the cost codes you can pick are filtered by the account, project and task you chose.

An expense receipt carries the same structure: Project, Project Task and Cost Code, plus the expense account and subaccount and whether the cost is billable. Leave the cost code blank or pick the wrong task and the cost budget for that line never moves, while another line looks over budget.

How do you automate it, step by step?

1. Connect Acumatica. Vergo connects through Acumatica's public API. Nothing is needed from your team or the vendor.
2. Connect existing cards. Vergo takes card transactions directly; no card applications and no banking change.
3. Collect receipts by text. Foremen text a photo from the jobsite, and Vergo chases missing receipts itself.
4. Code each line. Vergo proposes project, project task, cost code, expense account and the billable flag from how your team coded similar spend, and shows why.
5. Review by exception. Route by project, amount or account, or let policy flags catch rule breaks.
6. Create the documents. Vergo creates expense receipts and expense claims, or journal transactions for overhead, in Acumatica.

How does this handle billable and T&M work?

Acumatica marks an expense receipt as billable so it can be passed to the customer. On time-and-material and cost-plus jobs, that flag matters as much as the cost code. Vergo proposes it alongside the project coding, based on how that project's spend has been treated before, so reimbursable costs are not left out of the next pay application.

A practical example

A concrete sub's foreman buys form oil, snap ties and a rented power trowel on one card swipe. Vergo proposes the project with the foundations task and the formwork cost code for the oil and ties, and the flatwork cost code with the equipment rental account for the trowel, marked billable because that job is cost-plus. The project accountant confirms and Vergo creates the expense receipts with the split intact.