GU IDE

Contract cost management solution for small and medium sized contractors

How to make managing variations easier, faster - and profitable

To find out more about our Construct software, go to www.eque2.co.uk

What is a variation?A variation is any individual change a client asks for that is not included in the original budget. Every time something is added or changed, the project cost is likely to increase, meaning the contractor must send out an application for payment to the client to cover the additional cost.

Variations are an inevitable element of every construction project; that’s why it makes sense to have software that can manage variations with ease and make sure every project runs on time and on budget, whatever happens.

The old methods - and why they don’t work:

• Forecasting and forward planning are key to the success of any project, but the sheer amount, and wide range, of variations make it hard for even the most competent planner to stay on top.

• Manually inserting figures into a spreadsheet before comparing the variations against the original budget is a long-winded and often inaccurate process.

• Checking costs as often as possible may be the most accurate way to manage variations, but it demands time and diligence. Wouldn’t it be easier if it was automated?

Modern software, like Eque2’s Construct for Sage, automates and streamlines many of the processes associated with managing variations. From assigning budgets so you can monitor costs as they accumulate during a project to comparing the original budget with the current budget for each variation, the right software will make your company more efficient and, above all, more profitable.

GU IDE

Contract cost management solution for small and medium sized contractors

To find out more about our Construct software, go to www.eque2.co.uk

With Construct, the process of managing variations is broken down into simple steps that can be tailored to your business:

Create a cost code structure This allows you to analyse each of your contracts, letting you record cost budget and quartered values to your client.

With Construct, you can create up to 999 variations for each contract

Dig into the detail Construct offers an in-depth look at costs on variations, down to transactional and document level, via the Contract Enquiry screen.

It’s near-impossible to predict variations, but with Construct you can react faster and use previous project information to guide you, so you can protect profitability

Generate cumulative valuations and applications Within Client Billing it’s possible to generate cumulative variations or applications either at a high, lump sum level or itemised by cost code and variation.

Entering values by Value, Quantity or Percentage Complete makes it easy to stay on top of even minor deviations from the project plan, giving you complete visibility

Send professional, itemised bills Construct’s Report Design tool creates professional reports in seconds, so you can send bills that are broken down clearly and coherently to your clients.

Automated reports mean less time spent picking apart spreadsheets and entering data into tables and more time focussed on growing your business

Stay up-to-date with project progress Construct’s ICA Excel Reporting Tool helps you stay abreast of the progress of multiple projects - and their variations.

If everyone’s up-to-date with project progress, and on top of developments and/or deviations, it’s much harder for projects to run into trouble

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With Construct for Sage, you can:

• Track changes in your Contract budgets whether they’re additions or deductions • Allocate cost and revenue transactions to individual variation codes

• Generate sales application and invoice layouts to itemise and present variation values to clients

• View the progress of all your contracts on live excel dashboards