How Clients of a Top Construction CPA Firm Succeed Using FOUNDATION®
Eide Bailly is a top 20 construction CPA firm in the US, specializing in the commercial, industrial and real estate sectors with financial services offered for projects in government and healthcare.
Since most of their clientele is in construction, Eide Bailly’s CPAs are well-versed in compliance, risk management and growth strategies. They’re also trained to assist clients in the transition from generic accounting solutions to construction accounting products.
Barry Weber, Partner at Eide Bailly, has personally guided dozens of companies over to job costing construction platforms and has seen the benefits of the switch firsthand.
“I tend to see what works and what doesn’t,” Weber said. “So, the advantage our clients have is access to someone that specializes in the industry and understands the challenges of transitioning to a new system.”
When Entry-Level Systems Can’t Keep Up
When new clients outsourced to Eide Bailly, they were frequently using accounting software built for broad industries rather than construction.
While these systems handled bookkeeping, they lacked job costing, WIP reporting, cost code tracking and the project visibility contractors need as they grow.
As projects became more complex, teams relied on spreadsheets and workarounds, making it harder to trust their numbers and make decisions.
“I have clients that are frustrated at not getting what they need, or maybe the system’s not quite doing what they thought it was going to do,” Weber said. “With generic systems, you lose the audit trail.”
Job costing became unreliable, change orders were difficult to track and project managers struggled to see accurate budget information. Small errors turned into six-figure swings in profitability when issues went unnoticed.
“Everything in construction accounting is based on budgets. So, the accuracy of financial data can change your financial information,” Weber detailed.
Additionally, when contractors used general systems, they had to piece together separate tools for payroll, project management and reporting. This lack of integration led to duplicate data entry and inconsistent reports.
This inconsistent and fragmented data can lead to misrepresented financials, such as miscalculated cost codes, ultimately threatening the fiscal stability of the entire project.
“The most common issue I see with people that use generic accounting software is that the costs are all over the place,” Weber stated.
FOUNDATION® is so much more efficient, secure and easier to access than any other construction accounting software, even when using it from home or out in the field.
Barry Weber
Partner
Eide Bailly CPA
FOUNDATION Delivers Accuracy, Control and Confidence
For a more effective accounting experience, Eide Bailly usually recommends that their clients transition from QuickBooks® and NetSuite® to FOUNDATION — the leading job cost accounting software built for construction.
“When our clients get big enough where they need a team around them and they want to grow. I say, now it’s time to look at upgrading that system and I point them to FOUNDATION,” Weber said.
Over the years, Weber and others at Eide Bailly have found that FOUNDATION has been the best construction accounting software on the market due to its detailed job costing and accurate free reporting.
“Most of my clients are looking for something affordable, that’s going to be functional and will give them the necessary features,” Weber said. “And FOUNDATION fits those needs.”
FOUNDATION allows project managers to mirror bids, track changes and update budgets without reworking jobs. By focusing only on what changed, teams can manage projects efficiently and accurately.
If issues occur, FOUNDATION’s CPA audit module allows CPAs like Eide Bailly to go in for direct access to resolve the issue.
“If there are changes in a month that’s already closed, I can look up previous budgetary decisions in FOUNDATION and figure out the fix,” Weber said.
FOUNDATION delivers financial functions contractors need within one platform. With modules designed to work together, data flows across payroll, job costing, A/P, A/R and reporting.
This structure reduces disconnect between departments, eliminates duplicate data entry and keeps information aligned across teams.
“We eliminated 80% of errors that would happen, just by having FOUNDATION’s modules built into our processes,” Weber said.
A Smoother Setup and Consistent Support
For construction companies moving from systems like QuickBooks to FOUNDATION, change can feel intimidating.
From learning a new interface to exploring all new construction-specific accounting tools and templates, FOUNDATION is designed to make the process simple and intuitive.
If confusion arises, FOUNDATION’s training and support teams are always there to assist in onboarding, offer technical expertise and take note of any feedback to help enhance the user experience, valuable attributes for both Eide Bailly’s clients and CPA team.
While the majority of Eide Bailly’s clients have no problem setting up FOUNDATION all by themselves, there are still a few unique cases that Weber notes as requiring his touch.
“You sometimes have somebody speaking software and the other person speaking construction, and I will step in and bridge that communication since I’m so familiar with our clients and their specific needs,” Weber said.
And while Eide Bailly has helped dozens of their clients’ transition to FOUNDATION, not every construction contractor has access to an industry-specific CPA.
FOUNDATION excels in a CPA-led environment, but its intuitive design ensures that any construction business can operate it effectively to gain total financial control, with or without an outside firm.
Eide Bailly illustrates the ideal synergy between software, client and CPA. While not every contractor operates with this level of outside oversight, FOUNDATION® is designed to be intuitive and accessible, providing professional-grade results for any construction business.
Software Meets Strategic Guidance
After helping a client onboard onto a new system, Eide Bailly translates that functionality into financial strategy.
This allows Eide Bailly to help owners understand forecasts, margins, backlog projections and decision-making implications.
Because FOUNDATION allows shared access, Weber’s team can jump into a client’s system to troubleshoot, access reports and walk through financials in real-time.
“We’re big on forecasting for our clients,” Weber said. “We’ll take what’s in the backlog, in the WIP schedule and forecast it out to tell them what they should be making profit-wise. And that information is really only accessible because of FOUNDATION, which tracks all those budgets.”
Building Long-Term Success With Better Information
With Eide Bailly’s construction accounting expertise, paired with FOUNDATION’s support, clients see growth in profitability quickly.
“FOUNDATION really helps bridge the gap between us and our clients, making it easy for me to jump in and help with their reporting and success” Weber said.
Weber and his team at Eide Bailly know it’s not just about producing financial statements; it’s about helping contractors understand their business. And FOUNDATION accounting software offers the path to achieve this.
“When I recommend FOUNDATION to clients, the big reason I’m confident in that recommendation is my experience on the financial side and the construction side of the industry and knowing that FOUNDATION will work in both,” Weber said.
Weber’s story proves that whether working in tandem or independently, FOUNDATION provides the financial clarity both CPAs and contractors need to drive sustainable growth and long-term profitability.
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