2023年建筑会计最佳实践

Construction has been a strong sector of the economy for a while now. 好时光会持续下去吗? 这是不可能知道的, with uncertainty around inflation rates and interest rates right now, 做好准备总比后悔好. This blog covers three things every construction company can focus on to ensure they'll be in a better position to either ride out a recession or survive through a smaller economic downturn. Those areas are project performance, cash flow management, and overall cost management.

评估项目绩效

Construction projects have a lot of moving parts, from labor to scheduling to materials. 所有这些都需要密切跟踪, and performance data needs to be gathered and evaluated on all aspects of the project.

Are you correctly assessing the performance of your projects with the benefit of hindsight? 你真的在这么做吗? 有一段时间了, companies have been able to bid jobs with huge profit margins due to the work opportunities in the market. 如果行业放缓, construction companies won't have that luxury and bids may have to tighten. 关键是看哪些工作表现良好, 这还没, 调整你做生意和评估工作的方式.

The way to begin this process is to compare your estimates against the project fade. 这包括了解所产生的成本, 实际工作进度, 花了多少时间. If you do not have this information readily available it may be worth investing in outside experts who can help you improve your processes. 有了这些信息, you should be able to get an accurate picture of project performance and identify which areas you do well in and which areas could be a cause for concern.

劳动力超支是对项目绩效的常见威胁. Construction labor (like all labor) is getting more expensive. As the construction market begins to potentially quite down, it’s important to evaluate whether a project is advantageous for your company. Three factors to keep in mind when bidding on a project are; is the type of work familiar (i.e. “in your wheelhouse), have you worked with the customer before, and the location of the project. 

The market has been so hot the last decade and cash flow has not been a problem so it's been easy to take on work that is outside of your company’s wheelhouse. Not taking into account some of these factors can quickly add up to excessive labor overruns and project cost increases.

Rising material costs are also likely affecting your project performance. With prices on everything from lumber to steel to microchip rising, it's important to understand how these inputs are hitting your bottom line.

变更订单会影响项目绩效吗? 他们不必这么做. One main differentiator between poorly performing firms and best-in-class firms is 他们如何处理变更订单 and whether they see them as a distraction or an opportunity to strengthen relationships and maintain profitability.

优化现金流

钱是一种工具，你必须明智地使用它. A positive cash flow is critical to weathering an economic downturn. Construction firms need to understand their current cash positions and know the ways to strengthen them:

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为大笔开支做计划

If there is a large bill coming due for a critical aspect in any project, plan ahead to ensure you have the cash to cover it or a plan how you'll bill and get paid timely. It can impact your company’s operations for that project and others going on. You want to minimize your cash float and the time between your spend and money coming in as much as possible.

明智地借钱

Interest rates have risen dramatically in the last year and continue to be volatile. It's worth reviewing all of your debt to see if you can save some money on your borrowing. Determine if consolidating debt under the lowest rate makes sense, 终止你的信用额度, 或者寻找新的借款机会. Potentially paying off vehicle loans or others with high interest rates is always something to consider.

资源: 选择建筑贷款机构的技巧

投资多余的现金

If you have the luxury of having cash on your books that you don't need immediately, 考虑投资选择. 以目前的高利率, 你可以得到回报, 即使是短期资金, 这是低风险的.

全面成本管理

Your direct project costs may be top of mind, but they are not your only costs. G&A (general and administrative costs) and other overhead costs can be significant if not monitored carefully, especially when you’re not factoring them into your project bids. 如果你的公司不是, 有多种策略, including adding a percentage of overhead to each project based on direct labor hours. This isn't a perfect solution but will help make sure you're covering more of your actual costs and not just the labor and materials specific to a project.

资源: 审查会计师事务所时要问的6个问题

There are accounting best practices that you can implement to be stronger in the areas mentioned above. 其中包括实施良好的内部控制, 汇总财务报表, 或kpi仪表板.