{"id":7758,"date":"2017-07-24T12:43:24","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T16:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundationsoft.com\/?p=7758"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:25:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:25:24","slug":"glass-metal-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundationsoft.com\/learn\/glass-metal-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"For a Contractor on the Rise, Both Software and Company Stand out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

When Ryan started with the family company, he learned the premier contractor edition of a top small-business accounting application<\/a>, and they used it for several years. Ryan\u2019s the president of VEI Solutions, a glass and metal subcontractor based in Chicago, Illinois. His company puts as big a value on building relationships as they do quality of work. \u201cIt lets you job cost in a way,\u201d he says of their old system. \u201cIt worked out well for the basic accounting needs, but it didn\u2019t have the option to job cost the way I\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n\"eBook<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

To make it work for the jobs VEI performed, Ryan kept a half dozen spreadsheets on the side of his small-business software just to track items like union dues and perform certified payroll. \u201cI had to come up with creative solutions,\u201d he says. That meant a lot of spreadsheets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI designed my own certified payroll template painstakingly to calculate everything I possibly could, and I still had to adjust it to the penny. I created a lien waiver template,\u201d he continues. \u201cI had to track unions separately and workers\u2019 comp separately. I even had to create a dummy account in the system,\u201d Ryan explains, \u201cbecause I could only job cost workers\u2019 comp if the software thought it was coming from a checking account. Then I had to zero it out every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t simply time-consuming. Ultimately, Ryan reflects, it was going to hold them back from what he knew VEI could achieve. A construction-specific accounting system<\/a> was going to be part of their path forward. \u201cI knew it was an important piece of getting to the next stage. I knew that we were going to be growing a lot, and to get to the next level, we needed to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>A Different Sales Experience<\/span><\/h3>\n

When Ryan began his search for new construction accounting software, he went through six or seven one-hour demos with sales teams. \u201cA lot of the sales people didn\u2019t really seem excited about their product, and a lot of times they wouldn\u2019t have answers to my questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there was one vendor they hadn\u2019t talked to yet, and when Foundation Software reached out to send him a brochure and free demo CD<\/a>, he says, \u201cThat stood out. I was able to get a better feel of the software ahead of time,” and by the time he scheduled a live demo<\/a>, he felt prepared with better questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really impressed with Garett at Foundation,\u201d Ryan draws the contrast with his other demos. \u201cHe always had answers if I ever had questions. He was really good about acknowledging my emails in about 15 or 20 minutes and answering by the end of the day.\u201d That\u2019s not the only difference Ryan noticed right away. \u201cI never even thought about asking for a list of referrals from these companies. That really stood out that Garett offered that of his own volition. I called a bunch of references, and I was really pleasantly surprised the feedback was so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already adept at making spreadsheets, Ryan drew up his list of pros and cons, evaluating each of the different aspects. This time, it calculated perfectly. \u201cThe team I worked with at Foundation was pretty stellar. Foundation did a fantastic job of presenting what it was able to do. I\u2019ve been very pleased with it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Technology That Makes Sense for Construction Accounting<\/span><\/h3>\n

Asked about his favorite part of either the software or the company, he insists it\u2019s really both. \u201cThe product is really fantastic and allows me to do so much. When I was going through the training, I got really excited. It does all the tracking, all the unions, all the lien waivers. That I had to create a spreadsheet for every one of those before, it\u2019s overwhelming for me to think about. I was so thrilled by the product.\u201d Ryan says he was surprised at first that he wasn\u2019t finding something like FOUNDATION\u00ae sooner. \u201cIt just makes sense that someone would have sat down and created this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transitioning to more robust construction accounting and job costing<\/a>, he knows that there\u2019s a lot they have available to grow into. That\u2019s true on all sides of the ledger. \u201cAs we\u2019re trying to grow from an operations standpoint, we\u2019re also trying to grow from a financial standpoint. We\u2019re going to be able to get the kinds of financial reports<\/a> we need with the click of a button. It\u2019s great to have that ability to create such in-depth reports.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us a decided advantage because we\u2019re able to stay on top of things a lot better.\u201d He thinks of a big VEI customer that uses four different systems: one for POs, one for project management, one for accounting and one for reports. \u201cFor us, everything\u2019s bundled in one construction accounting system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised I had never heard of FOUNDATION before. Then after talking to a bunch of people I found out that a lot of contractors haven\u2019t either.\u201d For Ryan, it\u2019s a best-kept secret that really shouldn\u2019t be a secret . . . with one exception. \u201cI want to share it with as many people as I can \u2014 but I don\u2019t want to share it with my competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>A Different Kind of Company<\/span><\/h3>\n

When Ryan thinks of what it\u2019s been like to work with Foundation, he thinks of his own growing family business<\/a>. He sees the influence of a strong culture and how it makes a difference, and he urges Foundation just to make sure they keep taking their own path. \u201cThey\u2019re doing something right,\u201d Ryan insists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been very impressed with how quickly I get responses and how helpful the staff has been.\u201d Ryan recalls some complex union corrections he needed help with and the support rep who saw the long project all the way through to resolution \u2014 as well as some instances where VEI had a very unique situation that needed a solution. \u201cThe people have always been very gracious and patient. I\u2019ve always been surprised with how positive and helpful everyone has been.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Watch<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rare I come across a vendor I\u2019m so pleased with.\u201d Ryan adds, \u201cI\u2019m pleasantly surprised by how well Foundation runs its company. My dream is that my company can leave that kind of impression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more construction software case studies \u00bb<\/a><\/div>\n

Preview FOUNDATION accounting online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Ryan started with the family company, he learned the premier contractor edition of a top small-business accounting application, and they used it for several years. Ryan\u2019s the president of VEI Solutions, a glass and metal subcontractor based in Chicago, Illinois. His company puts as big a value on building relationships as they do quality of work. \u201cIt lets you job cost in a way,\u201d he says of their old system. \u201cIt worked out well for the basic accounting needs, but it didn\u2019t have the option to job cost the way I\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":21606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-7758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-case-study","tag-case-study"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConstruction Accounting for a Glass Subcontractor | FOUNDATION\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A glass and metal subcontractor used the premier edition of an accounting application, but they needed more robust construction accounting options.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foundationsoft.com\/learn\/glass-metal-contractor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For a Contractor on the Rise, Both Software and Company Stand out\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Ryan started with the family company, he learned the premier contractor edition of a top small-business accounting application, and they used it for several years. 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