Commercial Painters Case Study
Multi-company accounting for 11-state expansion
These Commercial Painters Use Construction Partner Software to Manage Multi-Company Accounting Processes for 11-State Expansion Plan
The Problem
David T, President and CEO, has an ambitious goal for his growing Livermore, California-based company: to establish high quality private and public painting and related services businesses in all 11 Western states. In 2000, Dave took the first step toward that goal by acquiring another commercial painting company (WCP), based in the Seattle area. And in 2007, a Portland area branch office, (OCP), was added.
The acquisition gave Dave's company a great Pacific coast presence, but adding multi-state operations presented an accounting challenge. Although Dave had been using Construction Partner software for several years, WCP and OCP were using QuickBooks®. Consolidating financials from all operations was vital to Dave, who is a very hands-on business owner.
"We tried to continue running WCP and OCP using QuickBooks, but it was pretty apparent that we needed a centralized accounting system to eliminate the entry of information multiple times." - David T., President and CEO
The Solution
After six months of operating three different companies on two different software systems, Dave decided to convert WCP and OCP to Construction Partner and manage all companies from the Livermore location using a central server with remote user access.
"The conversion went great, because everybody in California already knew Construction Partner. The system's multi-company processing capabilities made separate data entry for each company fast and easy." - David T.
Today, about 30 of Dave's 175 employees across all locations use Construction Partner's various modules, including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Job Costing, Payroll, Service Billing, Equipment Management and the General Ledger. And WPC now handles accounting functions like Payroll in-house for the Northwest companies.
"Having a centralized accounting system gives me a complete picture of my business. I can run financial reports for each individual company or consolidate the financials for an overall look." - David T.
The Results
Terminal Server Deployment
"I can have 20 or 30 people logged into Construction Partner at one time. My group in Washington can print reports, post payroll – do anything. Construction Partner is very fast in a Terminal Server environment."
Data Security
"Our Construction Partner data is very well protected. Throughout the years, we've never had a security glitch."
Simple yet Sophisticated
"Construction Partner is incredibly simple to use, yet it's sophisticated enough to provide detailed audit trails and accurate, timely data. I can teach people very quickly how to do what they need to do."
Greater Efficiencies
"Completing our 401(k) compliance reporting used to take about 40 hours. But standard functionality in Construction Partner allowed us to complete this same task in about two hours."
Key Benefits Achieved
Centralized Management
Construction Partner is deployed using Microsoft Terminal Server, with software installed on a California server and accessible to authorized users from any Internet connection.
Scalable Growth
The system includes multi-company processing and unlimited networked users, with no per-user license fees. This ensures Construction Partner will support continued expansion.
Detailed Reporting
Month-end reporting, including work-in-progress (WIP) reporting, helps keep finger on the pulse of company profitability and catch trouble spots early.
Low Cost of Ownership
Construction Partner delivers low cost of ownership with a fixed pricing structure that can grow as new companies and users are brought on board without adding cost.
Bottom Line
"I've used a lot of different accounting systems over the years, but nothing compares to Construction Partner. The system is very user friendly, extremely accurate and has great security measures. I wouldn't want to use anything besides Construction Partner to manage my business." - David T., President and CEO
With this commercial painting company's revenues expected to reach $20M in 2008 (up from $16M in 2007), Construction Partner will continue to be a valuable financial management tool as the business grows.
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