BuildCATBuildCAT

Purpose built Job and Business Administration for

Australian and New Zealand Construction Companies

By Construction People for Construction PeopleBy Construction People for Construction People

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INTRODUCTION

BuildCAT is a consolidated job and business administration system which has been specifically designed for construction companies. BuildCAT is the solution for contractors that don't fit in the typical main contractor / subcontractor or commercial / residential categories but are a mixture of both and do jobbing and maintenance works as well as major contracts.

BuildCAT will streamline your organisation and provide systems and structure for your staff so they are better equipped to do their day to day job.

BuildCAT deals with every aspect of job and business administration from inception through to completion and documents through to dollars.

BuildCAT provides an excellent balance between traditionally good record keeping and the electronic age we now operate within.

BuildCAT can assist with many of the challenges that trade contractors face with how best to manage the administration of jobs and clients.

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Project Establishment

Project DocumentationOperations

Diary

Purchasingand Stock

Project Communication

Service and MaintenanceWork Stream

Variationsand Claims

Plant and EquipmentTime Keeping

and Productivity

Accounts ProcessingProject

ReportingContact Information

BuildCAT MODULES

Contact Information

Project Documentation

Time Keeping and Productivity

Purchasingand Stock

Plant and Equipment

Project Reporting

Project Establishment

Variations and Claims

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Project Communication

Service and MaintenanceWork Stream

Operations Diary

Accounts Processing

Contact Data Base which synchronises with Outlook and Accounts

2 Job StreamsLead ManagementEstimatingQuote PresentationProject BudgetTrade Letting

Drawing Revision and DistributionCommunication (not job related)Incoming Communication LogFile NotesMeeting MinutesConcrete RegisterPlant Hire RegisterFinishes Schedule

Track Delays Transfer PlantDaily Specific DiaryJob Specific Diary

Purchase OrdersStanding OrdersStock Control Price BookElectronic Approval

Client CommunicationSubcontractor CommunicationConsultant Communication

Our VariationsOur Claim SetupOur ClaimsRaise an InvoiceSubcontractor SetupSubcontractor VariationsSubcontractor ClaimsSubcontractor Claim Approvals

Pending and in ProgressWork ScheduleSites and EquipmentWritten CommunicationCompleted Job Look UpInvoicing

Add New and ManageTransfer PlantPlant and Equipment Register

Time Entry for Wage StaffSalary Allocation

Process Creditor InvoicesPetty CashOverview Debtor InvoicesInvoice Prompt (jobs with costs)Export to AccountingTrouble Shoot Orders

Committed Costs ScheduleService Job PerformanceRisk and OpportunityCash Flow ForecastRetention Tracking

BuildCATBuildCAT

Consolidated, Affordable &Purpose Built for Construction

Contractors

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The main menu is logically laid out and easy to follow, the module graphic is present throughout the module making it easier to navigate.

MAIN MENU

[your company name]

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One central database for all your contact information. This information feeds all other modules and synchronises with Outlook and accounts, enter it only once.

CONTACT INFORMATION

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The project establishment module has excellent prospect management and provides good tools for each work stream and an estimating system that is really versatile.

PROJECT ESTABLISHMENT

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Manage all your prospective clients and jobs. Track where leads come and your conversion rates. This information is excellent for tracking performance of individual estimators. Get a broad brush forecast of potential forward work load.

LEAD MANAGEMENT

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Estimating tools are for setting up default text and look up values.

ESTIMATING TOOLS

Overview all of your recipes

Default Estimating Check List

Manage quote defaults such as validity periods

Build estimating recipes include plant labour and materials.

Looks up the latest rate in you price

book Set up paragraphs for quote presentation so

its always spelt right and grammatically correct

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Within Estimating Tools set up a template check list to use as the default for each estimate. Add all the items you want the estimator to check on each job from pre estimate through to the pre letting meeting and contract award. Avoid repetitive and costly mistakes.

ESTIMATING CHECK LIST

Add options to your estimate where an alternative method or material may offer the client a cost or time saving. Tenders are won and lost on options. The options created will show on your quote presentation. On completion of your estimate review the quote summary cross check against the forecast. Print out an estimate summary for approval - either print by area or by activity.

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BUILD AN ESTIMATE

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“Y” indicates the trade has

had invites

Tick to Invite

Click to Print Full Individual Invite

Click to email Invitees

Select the Trade

The tender invitation module offers you the flexibility of organising your tender invitations individually, by trade or by job as a whole if you are using an online document distribution system. The email interface is excellent and overall your administration of this process is vastly reduced. All invitations have three schedules. 1 = Conditions of Subcontract 2 = Trade Specific Scope 3 = Form of Tender. Include a scope of works where relevant.

TENDER INVITATIONS Set up the trade letting master

Click to Print Cover Letter Only

Create Templates for Trade Specific Scopes and

Append to an Invitation

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Issue NTT quickly and efficiently. Simply type the information and select the individual or trade that the NTT is to go to then bulk email the document or you can print and send if you do things traditionally.

NOTICE TO TENDERERS

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When the subcontractor price comes in, add the value including any tags. Tick the preferred price for use with your estimate and this value and associated tags will be added to the estimate.

TENDER PRICING

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Generate a subcontractor recommendation form for approval. On confirmation of subcontractor acceptance the subcontractor is added to the project team, the set up for payment claim is done and a letter of acceptance with a customisable subcontract agreement is generated (optional).

TRADE LETTING

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There are several options for quote presentation from lump sum to a full breakdown and you can nominate which options you present. All quotes are well presented on your letterhead, include your signature and can be sent by email. The email option turns the quote into a pdf, names it appropriately and takes you through to Outlook with the correct email address for the recipient.

PRESENT A QUOTATION

On the click of a button the quote is nicely

titled, turned into a pdf and sent through to

Outlook with the recipients email address

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If the project is successful then add programme information, contract information, nominate the retention calculation and add your authorised personnel. On status change to successful the budget for the project will be set up. If the job is minor then print a job card otherwise print a handover sheet for the site manager and material schedule.

FIXED PRICE PROJECTS MASTER

For small jobs add work instruction here and produce a job card, whereas for bigger

jobs add handover information for the site

manager

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The project budget is set up (based on the estimate) when you change the status of a job to successful or if preferred you can configure this manually. Transfer money between codes with audit trail. Note that all items with labour have been added as hours to form the base value for productivity management.

PROJECT BUDGET

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Project communication running through a database is great, its transparent, well presented, has a great email interface and is automatically scheduled against the job. Send in form style or on formal letterhead complete with electronic signatures. The schedules can be filtered to suit your output requirement and you can track responses too.

PROJECT COMMUNICATION (all work streams)

Data dump pre set blurb

to save on typing time

Filtered for a specific recipient PDF title that is

relevant to the project and document

number

Title that is relevant to the project and document number

Recipients email address

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The fixed price work streams is flexible and allows for the administration of all sizes of job whether it is a progress claimed high-rise or a small quote, do and bill job.

VARIATIONS AND CLAIMS

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Variations are well presented and automatically added to your progress claim whether they are approved or not. Add as much detail to the pricing as you want the client to see. Get a report that shows performance and margin on each variation.

VARIATIONS

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Progress claims can be appended from your budget with or without margin back spread or set up manually to suit a specific project. Send the breakdown to your client at the beginning of the project so you are both on the same page as to how you are going to claim the job.

SETUP A PROGRESS CLAIM

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Very quickly create a well presented monthly progress claim that is construction act compliant. Notice how variations have been added at the bottom section of the claim. The claim is email friendly and operations people can quickly preview all claim history on a project. Keep notes on any items that are knocked back by the client and where possible get the clients signature.

PROGRESS CLAIM

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Convert your claim to an invoice including retention values. For smaller jobs that are going to be invoiced instead of progress claimed then click on the original quote popup and add values as quoted either by area or by activity. Invoices can be prepared by operations people where the knowledge lies.

RAISE AN INVOICE

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Base information including values, head contract retention calculation, contacts and coding is auto added on contract acceptance. Other information to be added includes insurance, contract sent and received dates and documentation requirements.

SUBCONTRACTOR SET UP

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ATS Variations have excellent tracking and are automatically added to subcontractor payment schedules and the project committed cost schedule proving you with forecasts that are up to date daily. Variations can be linked to Client Variations and all schedules are automated.

SUBCONTRACTOR VARIATIONS

SUBCONTRACTOR CLAIMS

Subcontractor Claims are efficient and compliant whether you are using a recipient generated invoice method or accepting invoices. You can either work on percentage complete or on dollar values that back calculate the percentage. Retentions are calculated based on the calculation method selected in contract set up and you can add reasons for variance. Retention tracking is excellent.

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SUBCONTRACTOR CLAIM APPROVAL

All progress claims need to be approved by both the project manager and the contract administrator before they are released to accounts for processing for payment. Electronic approvals are a big step forward in efficiency.

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The service stream is really flexible and can be used for: planned maintenance, reactive maintenance, minor capital which is additional to an existing contract, scheduled work that needs approval first and one off minor jobs. This module will really strip administration time.

SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE

Multiple sites per contract or use as multiple clients on one job for separate billing. You

can even record plant on specific sites and part numbers

The work schedule for all service work.

Look up old jobs with full detail

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Set up the master information for the job including scheduled and unscheduled rates. On the example used this has been set up for a service contract with multiple sites. Add sites including any protocol information plus details on parking, check in and any other notes for your installer.

SERVICE MASTER (service contract)Service Contract

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Set up the master information for the job including scheduled and unscheduled rates. On the example used this has been set up for tagging for multiple clients. Add known sites or add clients and sites on the fly in the work screen.

SERVICE MASTER (multiple clients)

Add parts and part numbers for specific equipment or maybe

the style of finish

Multiple Clients

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The pending and in progress screen is where jobs are raised and jobs are closed out for billing. All jobs that are approved move onto the work schedule. Firstly lets look at service contracts. You would load planned work annually in advance and reactive work on the fly. The installer and the estimated hours can be added here or from the work schedule. The values in the activity combo come from the contract set up master but you can type something in that is not in the list.

PENDING AND IN PROGRESS (service contracts)

Three different types of job card, from plain to cards that

include plant and history

Print a schedule of equipment on site including parts detail

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The example shown is done under a tagging master job but has multiple clients you can add client sites on the fly, this is great as it saves having to do a job set up for minor works. If this was a regular client with multiple sites you would set up the job in a similar way. These jobs can be charge up, based on rates or a mixture of both. You can even send a quote.

PENDING AND IN PROGRESS (minor works)

Send a quote with rates for

approval

Or send a quote with more detail and with totals

Place for the client to sign and return on acceptance

Schedule of all jobs waiting approval

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The work schedule brings together all service work within a date range so that you can manage work allocation, hours estimates and workload generally. Filter and sort the screen and reports by job, by installer or by date.

SERVICE JOBS WORK SCHEDULE

Add estimated hours and the installer

Review work allocation for an installer and modify if required

Print a run of job cards for a period, or print one at a time

Print a work schedule for a date range, filter by installer and view estimated hours

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When a job is complete up date the work done from the completed job card and add relevant item notes and completion notes, this information becomes supporting documentation for billing. When you add a finish date this will send the job through to billing.

PENDING AND IN PROGRESS (closing out)

materials purchased for this job card,

double click to view

Make sure all materials or stock transfer are captured for the job card,

don’t miss a billing opportunity

Keep an eye on unbilled works

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Invoicing service work is really simple. Simply start a new invoice and tick the jobs to be included and they are automatically added to the invoice. You can have multiple jobs per invoice or just one. Invoices can be printed with details inserted or with supporting documentation attached. Invoices are well presented and include your direct credit details.

SERVICE INVOICING

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Quickly find details of completed work and get history reports on contracts and sites. History reports give the client valuable information about his sites and equipment and its accurate!. Service history can also be important for your installers / technicians.

COMPLETED JOB LOOK UP

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BuildCAT has a variety of documentation modules

PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

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File notes are a great alternative to bits of paper or important information being buried in personal diaries. Whether it’s a lead note, a telephone conversation record or just an observation then add it here where everyone can share information.

FILE NOTES

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Meeting minutes are progressive which is great as it allows you to get consolidated meeting minutes for a project for each meeting type which is invaluable when you have a time claim and are having to research history. Great for staff meetings too, when an item is actioned it drops off the list.

ACTION PLAN / MEETING MINUTES

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The drawing register can be used to track all client issued drawings or just for managing the shop drawing process. Add the documents here and then…….

DOCUMENT CONTROL – ADD DOCUMENTS

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Track the revision and distribution of documents here and produce document transmittals.

DOCUMENT CONTROL - REVISIONS

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Whether you are registering and distributing project drawings for your suppliers or managing shop drawings this module is great.

DOCUMENT CONTROL - DISTRIBUTION

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Track finishes on projects so you have a record for maintenance purposes

FINISHES SCHEDULE

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General communication is for any written communication that is not job related. You could also use this for any pre contact communication. As with all external documentation there is a friendly email interface. Produce in form or formal style.

COMMUNICATION (not job specific)

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Incoming communication can be added on the fly. All documents logged can be hyperlinked to the document stored on the server.

INCOMING COMMUNICATION

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Standard letter templates are where you can set up hundreds of data dumps for common communication which can then be modified if required, saves a lot of typing.

STANDARD LETTER TEMPLATES

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Manage and track your valuable equipment and track compliance for power tools, vehicles and measuring equipment. All transfers between staff are done through the daily site diary so you always know where things are.

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

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Add and edit plant and equipment and set initial compliance dates (these will be updated by the operations team). This information sets the foundations for your asset register and for the plant and equipment register and the vehicle register.

ADD NEW AND MANAGE PLANT AND EQUPIMENT

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The store is the default location when an item of plant and equipment is not allocated.

TRANSFER PLANT FROM THE STORE

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Know where any item of plant is at any time. Operations staff can update compliance dates here and there is colour coding to highlight items that have expired or are coming due for action.

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT REGISTER

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The daily operations diary facilitates good over view of what is happening out there for the management and creates a job specific diary record when needed. All plant is transferred during this process so your plant and equipment register is always up to date. You can even track delays.

OPERATIONS DIARY

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Time keeping is split into salaried and wage staff

TIME KEEPING

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Time entry is simple and is charged to the project at the recovery rate nominated for each person or you can use a composite position rate. There is a period report for summary entry to payroll or export depending on which software you are using. Hours can be linked to client variations where relevant and there is a budget versus actual report.

TIME ENTRY - WAGE STAFF

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Weekly salary allocation is for salaried staff so that recovery costs are allocated to projects or overhead as relevant. A simple percentage allocation which are recharged as hours. Much simpler for salaried staff that are on repetitive tasks or jobs.

WEEKLY SALARY ALLOCATION

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PURCHASING AND STOCK

Electronic purchasing saves a large volume of time and gets your staff thinking about what they are spending. Every purchase or stock transfer is immediately committed to the job to ensure your job costing is always up to date.

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Raising a purchase order is simple, you can select items from your price book or use free form entry. You can set up your own auto text for items like safety notes and you can customise the conditions of order. There is also a field for adding a note such as back order. Click to print preview then email to the supplier with the document and the subject line appropriately titled.

RAISE A PURCHASE ORDER

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Set up standing orders for the project for items such as concrete, toilets, waste bins, building supplies, hire equipment and anything else that you have an agreed set of rates. Your operations staff can now phone order against the standing order so they can spend more time getting the job done. Track your expenditure against a standing order.

SETUP A STANDING ORDER

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Buying into stock is the same process as raising a purchase order but instead of being purchased against a job you are buying into stock and then transferring as required. This module can also be used for van stock where relevant.

BUY INTO STOCK

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Transferring stock is quick and simple. Select the location you are transferring from and to then select an item and add a quantity. No unnecessary administration and immediately job costed.

STOCK TRANSFER

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Adjust stock for pilferage or damage with audit trail on all adjustments

STOCK ADJUSTMENT

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For most trades having a price book is a real bonus, this information is available for estimating and purchasing and saves a lot of time. There is an import function so you can import supplier price books to ensure your information is always up to date.

MANAGE YOUR PRICE BOOK

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This module is for the processing and payment approvals of creditors and debtors. There is a good range of reports and some great trouble shooting tools.

ACCOUNTS PROCESSING

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Invoices can be processed by creditor, it is quick, simply enter the invoice no and invoice date. Orders can be adjusted if there is a minor discrepancy like a delivery charge. They are added as unmatched items that do not affect original order value and require approval before processing for payment. See a list of all invoices awaiting approval by operations staff and a budget v actual on standing orders.

PROCESS CREDITOR INVOICES

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Process invoices that have no Purchase Order, you can also change this screen to data sheet view and use to load recurring payments such as the rent and lease payments.

INVOICE WITH NO PURCHASE ORDER

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Project Managers and Contract Administrators can electronically approve orders, invoices don’t need to leave the accounts office. Great schedules to assist with forecasting. Approval schedule for accounting records. Unmatched invoices are highlighted for review, can be corrected and approved or returned to supplier for credit.

APPROVE CREDITOR INVOICES

List of all invoices waiting approval so it is transparent as to who is

holding up the process

Operations people can return an invoice to the supplier if it does

not match their order. Managed by the people with the knowledge

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Once creditor invoices are approved for payment they appear on this screen ready for upload to accounting. The payment of the invoice will then go through the usual process within accounting. No double entry and no concerns for accounting staff about unapproved transactions. This process really streamlines administration.

EXPORT CREDITOR INVOICES

Approval is the demarcation between job cost and accounting. Once an invoice is approved it is exported to MoneyWorks Accounting. This process streamlines this

process and removes duplication of effort.

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Debtor invoices from all work streams are consolidated here and you can look up or re-print any old invoice and print out invoice reports for any date range. There is also an invoice prompt that provides a list of jobs that have had costs in the last 30 days.

OVERVIEW DEBTOR INVOICES

This report assist in ensuring no invoices

are missed.

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Once debtor invoices are approved and finalised they appear on this screen ready for upload to accounting. Payments received will be receipted in accounting. This process really streamlines administration and retentions are handled beautifully. Retentions held will sit on your balance sheet as a current asset and as they get paid out this account will adjust accordingly.

EXPORT DEBTOR INVOICES

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PROJECT REPORTING

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The committed cost schedule gives you a real time view of committed costs for a project at any point in time. This schedule is exceptionally good and allows management to quickly overview and drill down where necessary. There is a great range of reports.

COMMITTED COST SCHEDULE

Performance summary of all current jobs grouped

by departmentThe history report

shows every transaction on the job for both documents

and dollars, a fantastic snapshot.

A snap shot of all financial transactions

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The service job performance report gives you that micro management of job cards without the administration. This report is sorted by site, great for reviewing contract performance or overview of grouped minor jobs.

SERVICE JOBS PERFORMANCE

Includes the installers name and an estimated versus actual of hours

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The objective is to keep the committed cost schedule clean and actual. The risk and opportunity process is where you can factor in provisions and contingencies. A very powerful process for the Project Team to review each month. The assessed RO factors into the committed cost schedule forecast margin. An essential for those bigger projects, it really gets staff thinking about the job.

RISK AND OPPORTUNITY

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This schedule shows all creditor and contractor values for a nominated period regardless of status so that you have an on going view of payments due in the following month. The chances are if you ordered it this month you will have to pay for it next month. Receipts show also so that any over or under claims are very apparent.

CASH FLOW FORECAST

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System administration is where you set up foundation information and libraries.

SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION

You are in control of your business system

Full set of post codes added for the country

Decide who can have access to each

module

Purchase order conditions and delivery options

Communication pick lists and data dumps

Staff information including contact info , safety and

licences

Set up departments including separate logo’s if desired. Each job is assigned to a

department

Pick lists for standardisation and minimising typingCompany information

including branding

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JOB COST VERSUS ACCOUNTING

Every construction business needs two types of management tools so there are effective tools for staff to perform their day to day job efficiently, A trade Contractor needs tools for: -

• the people who make the money and • the people who count the money

The BuildCAT and MoneyWorks team provides tools for both parties that are both independent yet integrated saving a significant amount of administration time. Core Accounting functions continue to be done in the accounting system by Accounting Staff in a summarised form of the traditional way. All transactions approved by operations staff are pushed through from BuildCAT so there is no duplication of data entry. Job costing and other administrative functions that were traditionally done in the accounting system can now be done, on site and off site in your CAT system. The split up of which things are done in the accounting system and which things are done in CAT is defined, almost exactly, by where the people sit.

Duplication is minimal and the demarcation points are clear. This structure keeps operations people out of the accounting system and vice versa.

MONEYWORKS

After an extensive evaluation of the main accounting systems available in Australia and New Zealand, we came to the conclusion that MoneyWorks was the best for our industry. The added benefit is that MoneyWorks is locally owned and supported and has 18 years history with over 40,000 sites in Australasia which is steadily increasing.

The reasons we recommend MoneyWorks are fairly simple: from a user perspective, MoneyWorks is exceptionally easy to use, is very flexible, very powerful and has great reports. Because it is efficient, we find that it is faster to enter data, with a big saving in staff time. And because of the design of MoneyWorks, we can integrate it with CAT and push transactions into it, so you don't have to enter information twice. From an accountant's point of view, MoneyWorks has a very powerful general ledger, audit trails, excellent reports and the best handling of GST we have seen.

So it comes down as always to a simple cost-benefit analysis. MoneyWorks is faster and easier to use than most accounting systems, plus the direct integration with CAT saves a lot of time and duplication of effort. You can use CAT and stick with your current accounting system and pay your staff to enter things twice. To maximise the time, cost and efficiency benefits that are gained with an integrated system we recommend using CAT with MoneyWorks.

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CAT SUPPORT

CAT Support is awesome, our people are knowledgeable and skilled with both how best to use CAT Software and Services but also in their understanding of the construction industry and how the project administration flow works.

We are Construction People!!

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GETTING CAT SOFTWARE

If you are interested in purchasing BuildCAT or finding out more information please contact us by phone or email.

Auckland: +649 574 5735Victoria: +613 9981 5728Queensland: +617 3175 0559Email: ask@catsoftware.biz Web: www.catsoftware.biz

Thank you for your time in viewing this presentationPlease note that data used in this presentation is test data. Any reference to a job or individual is coincidental

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