5 core modules you need in a construction ERP like In4Suite®
While running a construction business, there are several challenges that you can come across like difficulty in planning projects, contact management, equipment maintenance, document management, increased material costs, etc.
But what if there is a software that automates and helps overcome these challenges and enhance the productivity of the company? Well, a full-fledged construction ERP software can help builders and contractors to get over the daily challenges faced and encounter positive return of investment (ROI) from different projects.
But how can a construction ERP software help you overcome these challenges?
A construction ERP software usually has a set of modules that help the business automate the processes. The modules are incorporated with a number of features that a company needs to function properly. In the construction space, some of the important modules can be Inventory Management, Customer Relationship Management(CRM), Procurement, Purchase Management, Accounting & Finance, etc. Every ERP has a unique way of defining the modules but needs to have these in essence.
An ERP software like In4Suite® too has all the modules to give complete overview of your construction business under a single platform.
Core modules of our construction ERP software
In this article we shall cover five core modules in In4Suite® that can help the construction industry. They are
1. Expenses & Finance
The construction industry is one of the significant contributors to the Global Economy, but there have been problems in managing financial expenses since its inception. Whenever costs exceed budget, the business owners get into a dilemma on how to execute the project without exceeding the budget.
To help these owners ease their task, the finance module of the In4Suite® construction ERP software provides all accounting requirements, along with a special emphasis on ratios and measures, specific to the construction business. The finance module also enables optimized accounting, integrating payroll, purchase, business development, project planning, project execution and maintenance modules, delivering a perfect picture of the enterprise financial robustness. The integrated approach of the module provides control, speed, and responsiveness, along with cost savings.
Now let’s have a look at the features that the finance module of In4Suite® offers:
- Approval of all payments – Land, Legal, Liaison, Projects, WO/Certificates, Supplier Certificates, Sale Receipts, Leasing Receipts.
- Creation of “Chart Of Accounts (COA)” and mapping to transactions for auto-posting.
- Review of financial statements – Reviews the Day Book (Bank, Cash), Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss, Cash Flows.
- Scheduling of payments based on cash flows.
- 100% real-time integration into SAP-FICO, QuickBooks, Tally®, Oracle Financials, or any third-party accounting system.
- Read/Write vouchers directly from Tally® or other 3rd party accounting systems.
2. Purchase
The construction industry requires materials and resources in bulk. But, managing such massive data through the traditional process takes hours and a lot of effort to file orders, check inventory, record a purchase history, coordinate with suppliers, and so on. But, the purchase module of In4Suite® automates these tasks to provide accurate results.
The module is responsible for handling tasks such as purchase order writing, supplier performance tracking, quotation management, inventory management, creating detailed purchase history files, transportation management, and so on.
A full-fledged purchase module can help reduce inventory levels, improve on-time deliveries, enhance cash-flow and also increase profit levels.
In4Suite® purchase module caters to the following features:
- Receive Indents – The user will receive alerts on receiving indents for materials from the site.
- Collate Indents – Users can collate indents on similar materials to produce purchase orders.
- Track Performance – Manage returns to the supplier. Keep track of best supplier performance.
- Helps transfer of materials from one site to another.
- Rate comparisons and analysis.
- Supply Chain Management and Quotation Management.
- Inventory Management.
3. Engineering
The construction industry faces complexity in project scheduling and its cascading effect when the schedule changes. Also, when the period of project development exceeds the stipulated time, there are chances that the material and other resource costs may vary. If the project is mishandled with missed deadlines, then the industry may face very less profits or even losses along with some unhappy customers. Hence, monitoring has to be done perfectly.
In4Suite® will help overcome these challenges, increase efficiency, maintain quality products, meet customer expectations and thus help the company survive in this competitive market. The software also manages each aspect of the project right from quotation estimates to final invoicing, having project progress at the top priority.
Now, let’s take a glance on the features of the In4Suite® Engineering module:
- Budgeting and estimation of work.
- Creation of a budget by work category for issue and control of work orders
- Budget creation by material type for issue and control of purchase orders and ordering of material by the purchase department.
- BOQ master upload, issuing work orders, maintaining contractor master, consultant master, & tendering.
- Receiving frequent real-time updates via abstracts from the site.
- Planning, Scheduling, & Contracting.
- Proposal Management.
- Contracting Order Management.
- Rate Estimation.
- Tendering In and Out Processes.
- Invoicing to clients.
- Receipt creation against the invoices.
4. Customer Relationship Management
The construction industry needs to manage substantial client data, which gets more complex while using the traditional method of spreadsheets, emails, etc. To ease these tasks, the construction ERP software stores the client data and performs all the activities right from contacting customers to tracking each customer enquiry.
The In4Suite® construction ERP software has a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module that manages all the sales activities such as tracking conversation between manufacturer and client, recording the date and time of the message sent, following up with the message if it is read or not and so on. The CRM also tracks the overall results of the campaign.
Let’s consider the features of the CRM module in In4Suite®:
- Prospecting/pre-sales to sales closure lifecycle of sales mapping.
- Lead Conversion & Lead Profiling.
- Funnel Analysis.
- Managing call centre reports.
- SMS & Email auto-responders.
- Lead interactions & follow-ups.
- Marketing Campaign Management.
5. Business Intelligence
Most of the construction businesses have data stored everywhere, but the information is nowhere. Hence it is necessary to leverage business intelligence tools into the ERP software to extract meaningful insights from the data. Construction industries use Business Intelligence strategies to identify and analyze business data, such as sales, revenue, costs, income, etc. Business Intelligence in ERP system helps in fa ter decision making, as it transforms all the analytical data into actionable insights.
In4Suite® is integrated with a Business Intelligence tool, QlikView, to derive meaningful insights from the data. QlikView offers the real estate business with fa t integration of data coming from various resources, into a single powerful application. The Business Intelligence module in In4Suite® provides a few features that enhance business growth:
- BI offers a real-time look at the data.
- Creates a more dynamic environment for users to manipulate data when necessary.
- Offers real-time, hyper-accurate reports, and assists the organization in understanding the information in detail.
- Helps create interactive dashboards customized to user needs for their core business processes.
Final Word
The construction industry is poised for significant growth in the upcoming days. According to the consulting firm Accenture, over the next decade, the Global Construction Industry is expected to double. It will become a $6.7 trillion business by 2020, accounting for some 55 per cent of Global Construction Output.
A construction ERP software assists the organizations in effectively integrating the processes and complete data under a single platform for the effective functioning of the services. The software also understands the organization’s behaviour to function better than any other software. In4Suite® combines a group of integrated modules together to provide a comprehensive and complete solution for the end users. The software will help real estate developers move towards an increasingly digital world, and manage their day-to-day activities efficiently.
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