Guidance and Knowledge for Value Investors
A type of accounting used in construction or with large contracts. Phases break down the structure/contract into identifiable groups. This information or activity within this group is compared against an original estimated amount to complete this phase (step). Phase accounting is used to compare the estimated amount against the actual outcome.
Financial success in construction is tied directly to job costing. Without job costing, financial wellness is likely a product of coincidence than authority within this industry. Implementing job costing in construction is the absolute best financial control a contractor can do to ensure success. Tie cost accounting to the estimating process, and prosperity is all but certain. Rarely does any contractor fail when they implement job cost accounting.
Phase costing takes accounting to the next level. Phase accounting (costing and accounting are interchangeable at this level of detail) can only be used with job costing. It is designed to break a job down into distinct functions (stages) for analysis. It is a tool to identify discrepancies from estimates.
There are basically three groups of financial based project reports. Each set has its own priorities and purposes. Project reports are a function of production reporting with the exception of the balance sheet set (commonly used for cash flow purposes).
In construction accounting accountants and bookkeepers use certain terms and there are distinct meanings associated with these terms. This article is designed to introduce beginner accountants and contractors to these terms from the perspective of financial reporting.
Just like a tip of an iceberg, a progress billing for a construction project is an invoice for a small part of the overall contract value. It needs to be recorded correctly and presented to management in a way that is understandable and beneficial for making decisions. This article will introduce the concept and cover how progress billings are presented on the balance sheet.
Almost every residential contractor I had as a client had no clue of their financial position as it related to any one of their residential contracts. None of them knew whether the project was fully funded, over funded or unfunded at any point in the construction process.
The primary goal of phase accounting is to break out the construction costs into distinct groups in order to assist management in identifying issues related to cost overruns or profitability. This is a function of the feedback loop method of management which I am advocating to all readers.
The key to the software is to properly set up QuickBooks to meet your needs. You lay out a chart of accounting accounts, buckets to dump data into, then identify your classes of work, create the nine phases of costs (QuickBooks uses item numbers) and finally identify the projects.
In construction there is little respect for processing paperwork. Contractors want to build projects, not deal with how paper is managed. But to gain a true understanding of what it costs to build a project and implement cost accounting, the contractor has to process documents in a meaningful way.
This is the second article in a series of articles walking the small business contractor step by step in implementing cost accounting in construction. This article focuses on designing and developing a document flow system for use in cost accounting. The next step after creating a document flow system is learning how to sort and process the documents that come into the office.