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I posted this on Sunday and realized, I'm not going to get a lot of views on a Sunday. So, just bringing this back up as a request for some help. Hope everyone is having a great week! ------------------------------ John Killingsworth Ph.D. Associate Professor Colorado State University Wellington CO (970) 556-2557 ------------------------------
We are a specialty concrete sub. We don't own our own equipment, we rent from major national equipment rental companies (United, etc.) I'm interested in learning if anyone uses equipment utilization/ notification software to help in lowering idle equipment rental costs, or if you simply rely on the super, or PM to get unused equipment "off" rental. Please share best practices or any tools/ processes you use to control idle equipment rental costs. ...
Hi Todd, Great question. We accept blanket COI's for all operations and then require a project specific COI when a client has project specific insurance requirements. Whatever the client requires of us, we require of our trade partners. ------------------------------ Linda Luebker Director of Finance/HR CoBuild Construction Services San Leandro CA (510) 909-8540 ------------------------------
Hi, Does anyone have a good source or anything they would be willing to share with me regarding what is expected for 2026 and 2027 construction wages? Any information is appreciated. thanks ------------------------------ Sandra McKenna CFO Dupper Landscape Tempe AZ (602) 380-6852 ------------------------------
Hi David, Thank you for the warm welcome and the information. I will definitely check out the AGC and the HBA! It was most helpful! ------------------------------ Lilianna Stelmach Head of Partnerships Rynoh Virginia Beach VA (737) 330-6095 ------------------------------
David, thank you for the reply. I have yet to go to a Sage Conference so this would be perfect. ------------------------------ Lilianna Stelmach Head of Partnerships Rynoh Virginia Beach VA (737) 330-6095 ------------------------------
Thank you for the link Kyle! I will check them out. I hope Baltimore gives you another equally wonderful 15 years in its city. ------------------------------ Lilianna Stelmach Head of Partnerships Rynoh Virginia Beach VA (737) 330-6095 ------------------------------
Thank you Erika! ------------------------------ Lilianna Stelmach Head of Partnerships Rynoh Virginia Beach VA (737) 330-6095 ------------------------------
You should be able to use "Monitored Resources" which will reduce the Forecast to Complete but based on time and not cost. If your costs are reliably being updated in Procore, then that should get you closer than static forecasts or the need to update forecasts weekly when labor cost hits. Procore also has an Advanced Forecasting module (or else Forecasting is part of the standard budget module). We haven't gotten into using Forecasting but have our ...
Hi Sandrah You shared the file with me but I have never been able to open it. Do you mind sending it again or directly to my email sschneider@waltersandwolf.com Thanks Stacii Schneider ------------------------------ Stacii Schneider Walters & Wolf Freemont CA (341) 465-2040 ------------------------------
Welcome Lilianna, I will add on to the list of organizations already shared. AGC and their events are well done and reasonably represent and support the breadth of the construction industry. AGC is also a CFMA partner, and AGC is one of the leading lobbying organizations on behalf of the construction industry, across all levels of government. From there I think that it depends on the segment of the industry that your firm participates - general ...
Greetings, Can anyone please advise whether you require Certificates of Insurance (COIs) on a per-job basis, or if you accept a blanket COI from a subcontractor that covers multiple jobs? Thank you in advance for your guidance. ------------------------------ Todd Garnier Vice President of Finance & Administration Atlas Building Company of Florida, LLC Sarasota FL (585) 732-9496 ------------------------------
Hi Zach! I am a new member and a little late here but figured I would respond since this process takes a while (years, not weeks). All great answers on this thread as well. Of course financial and legal structure are impeartive to the transition but I can't speak too much to them. But where most family contractors struggle is on the operational side. Is the next generation actually ready to run the business day to day? Are roles clearly defined? ...
Hi Malgorzata, Another question worth asking. What does a "Top Pursuit" project look like? Projects that have the best clients, top profit, etc. How did you find it, who did you know, and how long did that relationship take to build? That is your blueprint. Build a repeatable process around that. In heavy civil the path to more of those jobs runs through relationships with owners and engineers before work ever hits the street. Associations, ...
Hello, one of the best conferences of the year is the Sage TUG 2026 Conference being held in Salt Lake City Utah!. https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/newreg.php?eventid=859082 Eventscloud 2026 TUG National Users Conference View this on Eventscloud > ------------------------------ David Lake Anterra Technology Cedar Park TX (512) 809-9104 ------------------- ...
Joshua - would you be willing to show me (at a very high level) how you are utilizing the SQL queries? I'm assuming out of InfoLink? I took a class from Spectrum which was helpful, but I could really use a visual on real-world application. ------------------------------ Emily Peltier Director of Finance Norrell Construction, Inc Clute TX (254) 709-3189 ------------------------------
I am interested too. Anyone local to Pittsburgh, PA? ------------------------------ Timothy Adams Controller Allison Park Contractors, Inc. Gibsonia PA (724) 714-2618 ------------------------------
Hi Colby, Derrick Jackson and the data science team at ClearPlan are a great resource for PBI. Derrick's also local to Baton Rouge, I'd be happy to set up an intro. Best, Jane Martell ------------------------------ Jane Martell Sr. Manager, Business Operations ClearPlan Consulting Westborough MA (207) 319-5627 ------------------------------
Good Morning, I am seeking peer input regarding marketing expenditures in the heavy civil construction sector. We are a mid-sized, non-union, heavy construction contractor specializing primarily in asphalt and concrete paving. At present, we do not have a structured or long-term marketing strategy in place, and our auditors have expressed concern that our marketing expenses may be disproportionately high. I would value feedback from others ...
ABC is an excellent resource. ------------------------------ Erika Carosi Account Executive Lumber Palo Alto CA (717) 449-1126 ------------------------------
Good morning Lilianna, I spent 15 years in Virginia Beach before moving up to Baltimore, it's an amazing place down there! I've found ABC Baltimore to be a great resource so I'd recommend checking out their Virginia chapter ( Homepage - ABC Virginia ). I can't vouch for it personally but it should be a good place to start. Best of luck, Kyle ------------------------------ Kyle Kovachik Vice President M&T Bank Baltimore MD (410) ...
Colby, We are building Power Bi reports and can teach PowerBi to your team. Here's a recent example. ------------------------------ Sandrah Vittands, PMP MBA MBA - Project Management CEO And Lead Consultant construction101forwomen.com, Llc. dba S&B Systems, LLC AssetTrackforCloud.com 11811 North Freeway, Suite 490 Houston,TX (248) 736-9788 www.sandbsystems.com www.assettrackforcloud.com ------------------------------
We use this IT company who puts on excellent, live, virtual training sessions. Their Excel courses are very highly rated. https://syssrc.com/html/training/index.shtml ------------------------------ Matt Glenn CPA, CCIFP, CITP VP, Finance & IT Gray and Son Inc Timonium MD (717) 858-2442 ------------------------------
Hello CFMA Community, As someone newer to CFMA, I am excited to get more involved this year. I will absolutely be attending as many local and regional CFMA events as possible, along with the Annual Conference. I attended last year in Vegas and truly loved it. Outside of CFMA-hosted events, are there other conferences or industry gatherings that you have found valuable from an accounting, financial management, or technology standpoint? Last ...
Hi @Colby Williams : I should be able to help you. I am a certified "Power BI Data Analyst Associate" and "AI Transformation Leader" by Microsoft. Feel free to schedule a meeting using the link below: https://calendly.com/ashwini-proxsoft/30min ------------------------------ AJ Jain PMP, Certified PowerBI Analyst Founder & CEO Proxsoft Technologies LLC Newark DE (219) 307-0986 ------------------------------
I'm looking for resources for non-accounting staff (PMs, estimators, and other) development in Microsoft Excel and some introduction to Power BI for data analysis and reporting. Is there an affiliated recommended consultant that offers this? ------------------------------ Colby Williams CFO Moore Industries Baton Rouge LA (225) 614-4980 ------------------------------
Our company has been utilizing Infor Construction Management ERP system for the past several months. As we continue to streamline our financial workflows and improve project-level visibility, I want to ensure that I'm fully leveraging the system's capabilities-particularly in areas such as job cost tracking, billing, forecasting, financial reporting, and integration with day‑to‑day operational processes. If available, I'd appreciate any of ...
The application's standard functionality might not suit your needs for numerous reasons. Those tools are designed by the software company as their best guess at how customers generally will want to do forecasts. Sometimes their guesses aren't that good. And they don't typically give you much flexibility in changing their design. If you wish to keep things in Procore, focus on the available Application Program Interfaces (APIs) they provide ...
Tom, We use computer ease as our ERP, although our project management team uses Procore to review job budget for general budget health. I am trying to push the forecast to complete up or down as a method to adjust the estimated cost at complete. As real time job cost to date increases, the estimated cost to complete becomes overstated and our project management team does not have the time to manually forecast everyday. I believe I could push ...
Ben, what ERP are you on? Most of the larger ERP solutions have forecasting tools embedded in their applications. We support Trimble Spectrum Users. For our customers that are unhappy with the standard interface , Trimble provide a nice web service that allows you to develop a custom interface for posting cost-to-complete forecasts back into Spectrum. From there, they have an array of WIP Reports available, and the forecasts show up ...
Over the last year I have had several conversations with contractors who moved away from fully insured health plans expecting cost stability, only to find prescription spend becoming the most unpredictable part of the budget. What has surprised many finance teams is that the issue often is not utilization alone, but contract structure. Data access, rebate handling, and audit rights can materially impact total plan cost and fiduciary exposure, even ...
Hi Byron - I am specifically a bond only agent and may be able to shine some light. You are based in OH which is actually a very unique state. In many OH municipal contracts, the state of Ohio requires a special bid bond form that does automatically convert a bid bond into a Performance and Payment bond upon award. This is dependent on the bond form the municipality is requiring you to submit. In most states, a bid bond does not automatically ...
Byron, These answers combined explain the process very well. I presume the GC or owner wanted to see financial strength and experience. Kind of like verifying your credit score or that a bank trusted you with a LOC. Since the surety would guarantee a P&P bond (or stiff penalty) should you win the job, it tells the GC the size and scope are within your capabilities. *Since you're getting up to speed on bonding, and things seem to be moving ...
I'm working on updating my training course and could use a little help. If there is anyone willing to share some simple statistics with me, I would appreciate it. A dozen or so responses from a variety of contractors would be incredibly helpful - but I certainly won't be disappointed if I get a LOT more! What percentage of your annual revenue do you typically earn each month?, e.g. January, February, March.... November, December. What percentage ...
Thank you, Elizabeth! The information is very helpful. ------------------------------ Erin Johnson Accounting Manager Active Construction, Inc Tacoma WA (253) 248-1430 ------------------------------
Thanks for checking in. The 2026 CFMA Conference App will be available t wo weeks before the conference (same app, Cvent). Watch for communications from the Conference Planning Team, e.g., "Know Before You Go" message that will include App details and other key information to help you maximize your conference experience. See you there! ------------------------------ Elizabeth Lachowicz, Lead Instructional Designer & Facilitator CFMA Education ...
Byron, I'd like to add along with the other responses, GC's typically ask for an actual bid bond to be sure you COULD provide payment and performance bonds, if needed. This ensures the GC of the actual support from the surety for the final bonds. Prequalification letters have language that give the bonding company an 'out' if they don't write the payment and performance bonds. The bid bond shows the GC's that the actual project and amount has ...
Wonderful, thank you everyone! This was very helpful. Stephen Cerruto , CPA, CCIFP Director CBIZ Phone: (631) 414-4522 68 South Service Road, Suite 300 | Melville | NY | 11747 The information in this e-mail message may be privileged, confidential, and protected from disclosure. ...
Stephen, here's a link to Intuit's information on qualified OT reporting. If your client has any payroll types other than standard OT or DT, or if they pay that overtime in any manner other than by FLSA standards, it looks like a completely manual process. Impact of the No Tax on Overtime provision to QuickBooks Payroll ------------------------------ Melissa Doumbia, CCIFP Controller Curb Masters, Inc. South St. Paul, MN ------------------- ...
Stephen, I don't have an answer for you, but I have worked with Fourlane Inc in the past. They are the #1 service provider for QB's. They have a huge Youtube library and they would be a great place to start if you are looking for an expert. Happy to get on a call if you have any further questions. ------------------------------ Benjamin Montgomery MBA Director of Business Development SWK Technologies, Inc. Tucson AZ (520) 955-4951 ------ ...
Our feedback is positive overall as well. As specialty trade contractor, we have hundreds of active jobs at any moment which we both self-perform and sub out the work for. Like the other commenters, our project managers all benefit most from the cost projections and the project reporting granularity that Plexxis offers. We migrated to Plexxis at Q4 of 2024 from Trimble's Spectrum. Our migration went pretty smoothly overall. Before even committing ...
Join us on Monday, 2/23 for CFMA's Member Benefit Series featuring Jason Krankota from Corpay, CFMA's Elite Partner – Member Engagement. In this session, we'll cover practical strategies to help you: • Streamline payments • Automate A/P workflows • Navigate international transactions with confidence If you're looking for ways to optimize your financial operations and reduce manual processes, this program will provide actionable insights you ...
All, We are forecasting our cost to complete in Procore to gather our monthly estimated cost at complete for WIP purposes. The problem we are running into is when we forecast the job to complete in the "forecast to complete" column, the job cost to date increases as the project runs. The forecast to complete does not decrease as job cost to date increases. The estimated cost to complete is overstated by whatever job cost hits until we set the forecast ...
Hi Lisa, at that size you are definitely at that tipping point of needing better systems. But small to invest in one of the large ERPs. It's a tough moment in any business's lifecycle. There are tradeoffs in this decision, whether you build your own or invest in a product. I have a friend who runs an electrical contracting company here in Colorado, roughly the same size company. They are going through the same thought process. I'd be happy to ...
Good information about what bid bonds and P&P bonds cover. Byron it is my understanding that your current agent is correct as Ohio is very unique and the bid bond does convert to the P&P bond as they informed you. Again, Ohio is different. I do not know all of the backstory and legal aspects, but my counterparts have confirmed this over the years. ------------------------------ David McGraw Sr Regional Director Surety Cincinnati Insurance Company ...
Stephen, I am curious if your organization has any non-DOL FLSA overtime (e.g., union requirements). If so, this needs to be tracked separately from qualifying FLSA overtime. At year end, the payroll needs to report the qualified overtime premium earnings separately to your employees. If others in the CFMA community have concerns about this, I would be happy to share info I provided to an ADP client that helped them work out a solution. This ...
Chris, Appreciate the clarification - that makes sense. Just to clarify on our side: all audit trails are fully preserved even though we automate invoice intake via email and use direct read/write APIs with Spectrum. When we write to Spectrum, we do not auto-post . The transaction still goes through Spectrum's native validation controls, and a human ultimately performs the posting step. All standard Spectrum checks and balances remain intact. ...
Hi everyone, I know at last month's meeting we discussed the legality of SB 426. I currently have a GC wanting us to sign a Subcontract Agreement Mod. for this bill and I'm looking for an attorney knowledgable with this bill that might be able to review the mod for me. Thanks in advance! ------------------------------ Nikki Elkins Controller D&R Masonry Restoration Inc. Milwaukie OR (503) 577-9906 ------------------------------
Hey Nikki! A lot of our client use Plexxis and they have a lot of great things to say about them. They are making a lot of really great changes now as well which I hear great things about. Happy to jump on a call and share feedback that we've heard. ------------------------------ Yana Tcharnaia Head of Growth SmartBarrel Miami FL (416) 902-7737 sales@smartbarrel.io ------------------------------