Quickbooks Alternative for Contractors
As a contractor, you need real job costing to track your expenses. A-Systems is the right tool for the job.
A-Systems software is built for contractors. It has the construction-specific features that can be lacking in general accounting software.
- Job Costing - Track project expenses in detail. Job costing data is automatically sent to all relevant parts of the software.
- Job Cost Reports - There are many reports to keep everyone up to date on critical info: Estimated vs. Actual Expenses, Cost of Labor & Materials, Profitability, Work in Progress, and more. A custom report writer is also available to meet your specific needs.
- Construction Payroll - Certified Payroll (prevailing wage / Davis-Bacon wage), Union, and Multi-State payroll.
- Billing / Invoicing
- Import Estimates
- Change Orders - Quick & easy; saving you time.
- and more, including AIA draws, Inventory, Customer Management, etc.
About A-Systems
A-Systems Corp has made accounting software for contractors since 1978. Our focus has always been on the construction industry, and it shows in our software.
In our 46 years of experience, we've received a lot of great feedback from our clients. As they've shared their suggestions, we've improved our software year after year.
A-Systems has helped many people move from Quickbooks into our contractor-specific software. We're here to help you through the whole process, and we make it as easy as possible. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 800-365-6790. We look forward to hearing from you.
Importing Your Data from Quickbooks
This only takes a few minutes. You can import your employees, customers, vendors, inventory items, and general ledger accounts.
Step 1: - Export an .iif file from Quickbooks. This file will include everything you need to get started on A-Systems software. When you export the file, make sure you include the Chart of Accounts, customer, vendors, employees, and items.
Step 2: - Import the .iif file into A-Systems software. Go to the Setup Menu and select Import from Quickbooks. An import window will pop up, and you can select your .iif file. Click the Import button, and you're good to go.
That's it. It's very straightforward.
When Should I Upgrade?
The short answer is, as soon as you want better software.
Some companies know they want to switch software, due to inadequacies in their current program, but they aren't sure when to make the change. Often, they'll choose to end out the year on their old software, and begin the new fiscal period with the new software. This can work just fine, if that's how you'd like to organize things. However, that can lead to problems. What we've seen fairly often is that companies who wait until the end of the year end up getting swamped with year-end accounting. This can be an overwhelming and may lead them to not switch software at all. "We'll look into it next year." As a result, bookkeepers are forced to continue working with inefficient software.
We recommend changing software when you're ready to have new software—even if that's midway through the year. If you have questions about the process of switching software, we can help you through the process. Just give us a call at 800-365-6790.
Software Training
A-Systems software is easy to learn. We offer training sessions to get you up to speed quickly. If you ever want to review any of the training, you also have the option of viewing our online training videos. The videos demonstrate each part of the software in detail.
Job Costing - Learn how to import an estimate (to be used as a budget), setup a new job, and print job cost reports. Also, see how to edit cost codes, to customize them for your company's needs.
Accounts Payable (AP) - Learn how to enter new accounts, enter subcontract invoices and trade invoices, pay accounts payable and print checks.
Accounts Receivable (AR) - Learn how to enter trade invoices and progress billings. Also see how to process receipts and contractor draw requests.
General Ledger (GL) - See how to set up general ledger accounts and record transactions. Work with financial statements, including multi-company statements. Learn how to work with fiscal periods, fixed assets & depreciation, and reconcile bank statements.
Payroll - Learn how to enter employee data and work with timesheets. See tips and commissions are managed, and how to print paychecks.
Sales Orders - Manage your quotes and sales orders, as well as customer contact info.
Purchase Orders - Enter and print your purchase orders. Learn how to reconcile your purchase orders with AP invoices.
Equipment Costing - Learn how to enter company equipment, as well as set up equipment cost categories. See how to keep equipment usage logs.
Inventory - Enter inventory items and locations. Manage processing adjustments and pick tickets.
Support
The support at A-Systems is excellent. It is also based in the U.S, where our customers are.
Contractor Accounting
The construction industry is a unique one. Because of the many expenses—both in labor & materials—costs can get out of hand quickly. It can be easy to lose track of them if they aren't being tracked meticulously, and in real-time.
When a construction company isn't closely watching expenses, they don't know their financial situation until after the job is completed. After the project ends and everything is added up, contractors may find a terrible surprise. If their costs were bigger than anticipated, they may discover their profit is gone. At that point, it's too late to fix the problems. The expenses are already made, and that money is gone.
Some small contractors use spreadsheets to keep track of their costs. This can work on a small scale, but it takes a lot of effort to tailor the spreadsheet to a construction company. Spreadsheets can be great for tracking a single job, but it's not as easy to track multiple jobs, keeping costs and revenue separate from one another. A better alternative is accounting software that's made for contractors, like A-Systems. A-Systems software is based on job costing, which tracks finances by job and allows you to run a number of reports.
Good reporting can save a construction company from financial ruin. It allows decision-makers to see progress in real-time. If there is a cost overrun, they will know about it right away. This allows them to correct budget miscalculations early on, instead of being suprised by it later.
Reports can also help a general contractor see important trends. They may find, for example, that every time they get involved in electrical work, they lose profit. Maybe they will save money by subbing that part out to an electrician. These are decisions that are best made after seeing accurate financial data. The numbers can tell an important story about your business that you may not have otherwise discovered.
Cloud Hosting
Having access to your accounting data is critical for construction projects. Hosting your accounting software in the cloud allows that information to be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection.
A-Systems offers cloud-hosting, and many companies are finding it to be a great option. It frees them up to do accounting from multiple locations, whether that's on a job site or on a personal computer at home.
If you'd like to talk about getting your company setup with hosted accounting software, give us a call at 800-365-6790.