Job Costing and Accounting for custom home builders is unique and complex, AND how those are handled can make or break your reputation and affect your bottom line. Being able to monitor where job costs and resulting estimated profits are headed for each unique job, even before bills for them are posted, is critical for a custom home builder, and can be an overwhelming task. Conquering that task in
stantly on a daily basis, WITHOUT creating massive Excel spreadsheets, was one of my main goals in developing Custom Homebuilders' Solutions (aka CHS), a job costing, full accounting, and profit management software that IS a SOLUTION. To do this, I used my accounting degree and years of working with builders to develop a full accounting program that would instantly combine the actual job costs from accounting with the builder's job budgets/estimates, change orders, and purchase orders to quickly calculate today's 'estimated costs at completion' for every cost center for each job
I want to make it clear how much CHS does for custom home builders, and why our builders say CHS is their 'BEST KEPT SECRET'. Many of our customers have told me that if they had known how much CHS does for them, they would have started using it much sooner. Over the years of working closely with many builders to include their 'wish lists' in CHS, we have also gotten rid of the need to create spreadsheets for things like:
Figuring out where job costs are headed (as previously mentioned)
Gathering costs for costs plus DRAW REQUESTS and marking costs that have been prior drawn
Preparing Percent Complete draw requests
Tracking CHANGE ORDERS and payments received for them
Tracking whether home buyers have gone over their authorized ALLWANCES (or Options)
TRACKING CASH BY JOB and comparing each job's cash balance to payables due for the job. Tracking how much money is still due in versus how much is OUTSTANDING TO PAY for each job. Gathering data for the PERCENTAGE OF COMPLETION accounting method (IF you use that)
Gathering data required by INSURANCE AUDITORS
Tracking the trades' insurance and other VENDOR EXPIRATIONS
Preparing a list of trades and suppliers TO USE or USED on a job
Preparing and tracking WAIVERS OF LIEN based on payments made
AND SO MUCH MORE....
CHS IS a full featured accounting program that includes everything I always wished I had, over and above printing checks and producing financials. However, CHS is ALSO designed to be a HANDS ON program for the builder/owner and project managers, in ADDITION to the bookkeeper/accountant. For example, I often get calls from builders thanking me because 'They got the sale!' due to the professional job budget proposals they produced in CHS. I have also become very aware of how valuable using Purchase Orders or Work Orders can be for streamlining communications between trades, suppliers, AND between the field and the back office. You might be able to quit routing around all those job cost bills for project managers to code and approve. You might even realize that CHS gives you ways to go 'paperless'! I invite you to take some time to review CHS on our site and to set aside some time to watch our introductory videos. Even if you are not looking for a new software program right now, there are tips and tutorials on the site that should be helpful to any home builder and their staff. Based on our customers' testimonials and continued patronage for years, I can assure you that CHS will have a positive impact on your time, accountability, profitability, and peace of mind. We are all about increasing your reputation as a professional home builder. I think you will be surprised at how much CHS includes for you. And, nice surprise, as I was writing this, I received this voluntary email from the bookkeeper for a CHS customer:
"Carol, Thanks for all your work creating this accounting system. Because you are so excellent at what you do, you make me look like I know what I'm doing!"
I do want those bookkeepers, accountants, and project managers to have the tools to become heroes to you. King
Developer of Custom Homebuilders' Solutions (CHS)
