Any builder knows it’s best to expect the unexpected– unforeseen costs are normal in construction. But it also means financial planning is not exactly easy.
Planning for the unexpected
Finance team leaders in construction don’t have the simplest job in the world as a result. They need to plan for unpredictable costs, while also allowing construction teams to make important purchases. Add in the problem of labour shortages, and it’s clear that cashflow management has become more of a headache than ever.
Plus, there are usually multiple projects across various sites, all with different teams who need different things. Money is flying in and out in unpredictable amounts, and it can be hard to keep track – and easy for costs to spiral.
Is digital the answer?
So it’s easy to see why digitisation might be high on finance team leaders’ to-do lists. Tracking something this complex manually is a pain, and mistakes are common. Cashflow management is challenging, and endless hours are lost processing payments or providing admin support on an inefficient process.
But digitising payments requires a large-scale, expensive digital transformation, right?
Another way to do it
Not necessarily. While the general wisdom is that digitised payments require a total re-hash of company systems – one that’s expensive, time consuming and difficult – payments can actually be digitised simply. There are easy-to-implement changes that can solve firms’ biggest payment-related problems of spend visibility, cashflow management and inefficiency.
Allstar Plus digitises payments without the need for an IT overhaul. A 2-in-1 expense and fuel card, it tracks every payment and gives finance teams an at-a-glance view of all spend via an online portal, helping them to speed up their accounting processes and spot potential anomalies or unnecessary spending.
Better cash management
This bird’s eye view of spend makes it easy to spot the costs that can be reduced and helps finance teams remove inefficiencies. Teams can run financial reports quickly and easily on the platform and carry out in-depth analysis of spend via a customisable dashboard in the online portal.
Allstar Plus introduces greater flexibility to a construction team’s finances, as well. It offers up to 44 days interest-free credit, helping finance teams to manage cashflow more easily – particularly crucial when they or construction team need to bulk buy materials to deal with shortages, or pay suppliers.
The digital system minimises paperwork, reducing the finance team’s workload and the chance of mistakes. And, it allows the team to set controls on spending, as well as stipulating what types of purchases, for example on parking, restaurants or hotels, individuals can make – helping to prevent costs spiralling.
Find out more about how Allstar Plus can digitise your finance department without the need for large-scale digital transformation. Apply now.
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