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SAGE 100 CONTRACTOR CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE REVIEW BY SHELDON NEEDLE

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SAGE 100 CONTRACTOR CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE REVIEW BY SHELDON NEEDLE

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Overview

Sage 100 Contractor construction business

management software links the four critical areas of

a contractor's business—estimating, production,

accounting, and analysis—into one comprehensive,

easy-to-use business management solution.

Sage 100 offers three editions of estimating

software to suit the needs of most customers:

Estimating Basic, Sage Estimating Standard. and

Extended.

After creating a takeoff, Estimating Basic can be used to:

• Issue customer proposals

• Establish a project budget

• Issue requests for proposals if you are

shopping subcontract or material prices

• Issue purchase orders or subcontracts

• Cost load a schedule

• Feed the change order program

• Estimate service receivable work orders

Estimating Standard and Extended performs the following functions:

• Project Management

• Document Control

• Service Receivables

• Inventory

• Equipment Management

• Accounting

• Analysis

User Experience

Sage 100’s desktop can be customized by each user.

You can highlight and drag any data entry screen or

report menu item to the desktop and create a

shortcut for that item. The program allows you to

set defaults and skip fields so you can enter data

easily and quickly. All data entry screens allow you

to also create notes specific to a particular entry.

There are also user-defined fields in almost every

data entry screen.

On-screen Help (not field-sensitive but menu or

screen-specific) is easily accessible from anywhere

in the system. An on-screen index is also available

to search the Help fields. Help does provide a

detailed discussion of each field and how it is used.

Value

Sage 100 provides a low cost of ownership with

concurrent licensing. With concurrent licensing,

each employee in your business that uses Sage 100,

on a daily basis or only occasionally, can install it

on his/her computer. You only need to purchase

licenses for the number of people accessing the

system at any one time. This gives you the

flexibility to install Sage 100 in your home office,

or other office locations as well. With access from

multiple locations at any time, Sage 100 helps you

keep up with the demands of your business.

Sage 100 Contractor can also be purchased using

several flexible options. You can purchase the core

product, which includes accounting, payroll, and

project management. And if your business needs

require any of the additional modules—Estimating,

Service Receivables, Inventory, Equipment

Management, and Document Control—those can

be purchased separately. Additionally, you can

purchase Sage 100 Contractor using traditional per

user pricing or with subscription pricing, which

offers the product at a low monthly rate.

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Strengths

• Executive Dashboard management tool

• Drill-downs from all reports to source

transactions

• Alerts – can be configured to alert you

when certain conditions are met

• Project Work Center

• Check box to link transaction to

Document Control “Project Hot List”

• Integrated estimating, service

management, inventory, equipment

management, project management, and

document control

• Now runs with SQL database

Limitations

• Help is not field sensitive

• The Sage-supplied report writer is very

basic—more sophisticated reports may

have to be written using SAP Crystal

Reports

• Equipment module is basic but does

include maintenance scheduling,

equipment costing to jobs, limited

depreciation options and equipment

utilization.

Ease of Deployment & Training

For installation of Sage 100 users are assisted by

certified resellers who have extensive training and

experience with the product are tested for

competence by Sage. Much of their revenue comes

from support and training so they have to know

what they are doing in order to be successful.

Further Reading

Executive Summary

Sage 100 Contractor construction business

management software links the four critical areas

of a contractor's business—estimating, production,

accounting, and analysis—into one

comprehensive, easy-to-use business management

solution. This review includes changes for both

version 18 and 19.2 of Sage 100 Contractor.

Released Spring of 2016, version 20.2 introduced

a long awaited SQL version.

Version 18 Highlights

Version 18, a major enhancement, was released in

the spring of 2012. In previous releases Sage moved

the development environment forward from Visual

Basic to Microsoft C# allowing for more use of

current technology within Sage 100. In version 18

we see the first benefits from that extensive

development project. Version 18 includes a

complete change of the user interface. The new

version includes user defined visual workflow, new

application screens and the use of standardized

icons and buttons. Though this new interface should

make learning the system easier for new clients,

Sage has saved several key interfaces for existing

clients based on extensive customer feedback.

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The picture below shows the new role based user

interface.

When users move into a feature they will have a

new entry window. This screen is an example of the

new user paradigm.

Version 18 also saw the addition of an Alerting

system which allows the user to define multiple

business rules and have the software run scheduled

tasks and report any findings via an e-mail to staff

or on the updated Dashboard. The system comes

with multiple alerts and allows the user to define

their own. An example of an alert is for the software

to monitor a job’s cost code budget. When a cost

budget is less than the actual costs accumulated in

the system the alerting software will notify a project

manager via an e-mail.

Version 18 also added an interface to Aatrix as a

part of all annual support plans. Aatrix provides HR

forms, HR alerts, federal reporting forms, state

reporting forms, and e-filing. This service is

updated via the internet and provides a unique

benefit from a leading tax reporting service.

Sage has also updated their Service Receivables

Dispatch Board to support their efforts to better

address the needs of specialty subcontractors. The

new board offers a significant change in set-up

options and workflow.

The last few releases were focused on work flow,

usability, and the technology used within the

application. Some of the key features added are:

Documents can be dragged and dropped into Sage

100. In the case of e-mails, Microsoft Outlook e-

mails can be dropped into Sage 100 and they are

automatically added as attachments on the open

record. Sage 100 will accept this drag and drop

capability for most document types like Microsoft

Excel and Word documents. Other industry

standard types like .pdf are also accepted.

Sage 100 also added the ability to send Sage 100

reports, either PDFs or Excel files, through

Outlook.

Change orders, subcontracts, and purchase orders

are all fully integrated and automatically update

contract, subcontract, budget, and committed cost

amounts.

The Sage 100 report writer was given an upgrade in

its ability to export to Microsoft Excel. This new

version brings data neatly formatted into Excel but

also brings the formulas behind the numbers which

makes a downloaded report an active document.

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RFPs and RFIs can now be assigned numbers by

job and phase.

Most entry grids support cut and paste functionality

so you can grab information captured in Excel and

paste it into entry grids as long as the column

structure matches.

Sage is the developer of the industry-leading

estimating solution Sage Estimating (formerly

known as Sage Timberline Office Estimating).

With the integration of this powerful solution, Sage

100 offers three editions of estimating software to

suit the needs of most customers.

Estimating Basic

Combining the best features of a database and

spreadsheet, Sage 100 Contractor Estimating Basic

helps you create faster, more accurate, and more

profitable estimates in minutes. Estimating Basic is

an easy-to-use assembly-based solution.

After creating a takeoff, Estimating Basic can be used to:

• Issue customer proposals

• Establish a project budget

• Issue requests for proposals if you are

shopping subcontract or material prices

• Issue purchase orders or subcontracts

• Cost load a schedule

• Feed the change order program

• Estimate service receivable work orders

Estimating Basic also offers a sophisticated and

integrated interface to Planswift for takeoff from

digital media.

Sage Estimating Standard and Extended

The Sage Estimating Standard and Extended

editions bring the strength of the industry-leading

estimating solution from Sage Estimating to Sage

100. The time-consuming task of setting up and

building an estimating database has been

streamlined with the Database Builder Wizard,

which walks you through the necessary steps of

establishing your database more quickly and

efficiently, allowing you to take full advantage of

the Estimating software sooner. Integrated with

your Sage 100 system, you’ll get the power you

need to create twice as many estimates compared to

generic spreadsheets—meeting deadlines with ease

while presenting comprehensive, precise estimates.

You can take advantage of RSMeans databases and

industry-specific estimating databases for even

more estimating muscle. Also available are industry

knowledge bases with built-in intelligence that

prompt you for only the data needed to calculate

quantities and costs for a given assembly, such as a

wall or a foundation, for an entire home or

commercial structure.

Better production/project management - With Sage

100, you can start on time, finish on time, and come

in under budget. This construction software offers

powerful, critical path management scheduling

capabilities. You can generate task lists with all

vendors and subcontractors already assigned

directly from your estimate. And, you save time

communicating schedule changes by printing,

faxing, or emailing these notices to subcontractors,

suppliers, and employees at set intervals you select.

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Simplified accounting – Sage 100 is a single,

accrual-based, construction software that can

perform all of your advanced construction

accounting requirements. The accounting module is

fully integrated with Sage 100 estimating, project

management, and analysis functions to give you

complete financial management insight throughout

each phase of your business. With Sage 100

construction software, contractors can more

effectively manage their operations by simplifying

and automating invoice creation, bill paying, and

avoiding overpaying or double-paying bills.

Detailed business analysis - With fully-integrated

Sage 100 construction software, contractors can do

financial analysis for their company as a whole, as

well as project analysis to see where they stand on

each job.

The Executive Dashboard provides a quick and

easy way to check the overall financial health of

your company. From a single location, a user can

pick from dozens of key performance indicators

(KPIs) across key areas of the business and display

them every time they log into the system. These

business metrics can include such critical indicators

as cash balances, cash position, company

profitability, job profitability, change orders, and

much more. The Dashboard has drill-down

capability to detailed reports and even to the

individual record level.

Report Drill-Down

Just like with the Executive Dashboard, you can

drill down multiple levels to record and transaction

detail in the more than 1,000 pre-built reports, as

well as your own customized reports. The reports

become dynamic information portals, allowing you

to navigate to the numbers and background detail in

real time for up-to-the minute analysis.

Sage 100 is fully Windows-compatible, 32-bit

technology. The database structure is a flat-file

database that allows for simple information

retrieval. The company states that there are

currently over 10,000 companies using Sage 100.

Support You Can Count On

Sage 100 offers a nationwide network of local

Business Partners to assist you with installation,

training and business consulting. A broad array of

professionally-instructed, online courses and live

courses are also available to help you learn Sage

100.

The Sage customer support group was the first in

the construction and real estate industries to earn

the Support Center Practices (SCP) certification of

excellence. They also received the Star Award

given by the Software Support Professional

Association (SSPA).

Sage University offers recorded and instructor-led

classes delivered over the internet. Sage

recommends all new customers subscribe to the

New Customer Training package of 12 New

Customer Training courses and eight Accounting

and Bookkeeping recorded courses and five (5)

instructor-led classes. This will reduce consulting

costs to have all employees participate in these

classes. Sage recommends you also consider the

additional use of the over 70 live, instructor-led

classes.

Sage 100 provides a low cost of ownership with

concurrent licensing. With concurrent licensing,

each employee in your business that uses Sage 100,

on a daily basis or only occasionally, can install it

on his/her computer. You only need to purchase

licenses for the number of people accessing the

system at any one time. This gives you the

flexibility to install Sage 100 in your home office,

or other office locations as well. With access from

multiple locations at any time, Sage 100 helps you

keep up with the hard-hitting demands of your

business.

Sage 100 Contractor can also purchased using

several flexible options. You can purchase the core

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product, which includes accounting, payroll, and

project management. And if your business needs

require any of the additional modules—Estimating,

Service Receivables, Inventory, Equipment

Management, and Document Control—those can

be purchased separately. Additionally, you can

purchase Sage 100 Contractor using traditional per

user pricing or with subscription pricing, which

offers the product at a low monthly rate.

System Features

Pros

• Executive Dashboard management tool

• Drill-downs from all reports to source

transactions

• Alerts – can be configured to alert you

when certain conditions are met

• Project Work Center

• Check box to link transaction to

Document Control “Project Hot List”

• Integrated estimating, service

management, inventory, equipment

management, project management, and

document control

• Customizable desktop by roles

• Form and report designer, including a

query functionality—a simplified version

of a report writer available.

• Over 1,000 pre-built reports with drill-

down

• Attach documents to client, vendor,

employee, job records, and transactions

• Add notes and user-defined fields to entry

screens

• Hide fields on entry screens

• Email, fax, and schedule reports

• A new feature allows all reports to be

exported to MS Excel, complete with

formulas and proper formatting.

Cons

• Help is not field sensitive

• The Sage-supplied report writer is very

basic—more sophisticated reports may

have to be written using SAP Crystal

Reports

• Equipment module is basic but does

include maintenance scheduling,

equipment costing to jobs, limited

depreciation options and equipment

utilization.

The program allows you to set defaults and skip

fields so you can enter data easily and quickly. All

data entry screens allow you to also create notes

specific to a particular entry. There are also user-

defined fields in almost every data entry screen.

On-screen Help (not field-sensitive but menu or

screen-specific) is easily accessible from anywhere

in the system. An on-screen index is also available

to search the Help fields. Help does provide a

detailed discussion of each field and how it is used.

An Installation and License Administration Guide

provides an overview of installation procedures as

well as an explanation of system features. The

Product Overview also includes 200-plus pages of

information for setup and operation of the core

program, payroll, project management, and

reporting. The software download includes a 900

page User’s Guide in .pdf format that can be used

as a source document for detailed company specific

procedures guides.

With the exception of Payroll, Sage 100 is a real-

time accounting system. This means that entries

update all files as transactions are accepted. Payroll

can be processed; job costs updated and checks

printed, then posted to the general ledger once you

execute the post function. Reports are available to

verify postings and automatic reverse and re-entry

options allow you to operate with the same level of

efficiency of a batch system.

Because of the modular design and variety of

applications accessible, the menus are grouped

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hierarchically. From the main menu, you select

which module to work in and then the specific

application. Multiple modules can be used

simultaneously in individual windows. All menu

functions can be performed using short cut keys or

the mouse.

Sage 100’s desktop can also be customized by each

user. You can highlight and drag any data entry

screen or report menu item to the desktop and create

a shortcut for that item.

Central License Administration

Sage 100 includes the License Administration tool,

a central "command center" to manage your Sage

100 software and the number of people that can use

the software simultaneously. With password-

protected access for security, the License

Administration tool allows you to:

Efficiently manage users with "uses." Sage 100

allows concurrent “uses” (instead of "seats") to give

users access to the software. The number of product

uses you own determines the number of users that

can simultaneously access the software. Product

uses give you greater freedom in using Sage 100

throughout your business. Part-time and occasional

users can share a single product use, saving you the

cost of buying two licenses or uses. This way, you

only pay for the number of employees who

simultaneously use the system, rather than number

of computers on which the software is installed.

Easily view employee activity. See which users are

logged into the system, as well as the date, time and

duration of their session. This gives you more

control and insight into who is using the software.

You are able to monitor usage for increased security

or reassign product uses for more flexibility.

Sage 100 also helps you efficiently perform time

consuming tasks. Many construction firms set up

multiple companies for large projects to limit

liability exposure. The Copy Company feature

helps you do this by making the process of setting

up a new company faster and easier. Copy

Company allows you to “copy” the same basic

structure and base information, such as the vendor

list of an existing company to set up a new

company, significantly reducing the amount of time

spent and potential for data entry mistakes.

Menu Structure

In addition to program menus, each window

contains a menu bar. The menu bar contains

functions specific to the window like Exit, Save,

Print, and Help. Any function listed on the menu

bar is accessible using the short-cut key or the

mouse. While some functions listed on the menu

execute functions directly, many contain pull-down

menus listing more functions.

Sage 100 can be configured individually by

company. When you save the window defaults the

size, location, and field defaults are saved. For

example, to allow for quicker data entry you can

deactivate fields and columns that are not usually

used for data entry. While the field or column is not

hidden, it is grayed out and entry cannot be made

unless the field or column is specifically selected.

Many screens also allow you to hide columns by

clicking on a button or to change the direction of

your entries from horizontal to vertical by clicking

on another button.

User-defined fields are located in a variety of

windows and can be customized to meet your

needs. The user-defined fields contained in each

window are independent of each other so you can

customize the field to the particular needs of the

window. You can determine the type of data the

field accepts, the description, and the text of the

status bar prompt. The fields can be changed at any

time and may be set to accept word, decimal,

integer, or a date. These customized fields can be

used in reports. In fact, almost every data entry field

can be customized in this way.

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Notes can be attached to transactions and fields

with strong editing capabilities. Other ease-of-use

features available include count (identifying the

number of records) and find with various query

options. You can use one of the dozens of supplied

queries, modify them, or create your own on-the-

fly. All queries have a drill down feature.

Access security is available at the module, screen,

and field level, with a feature to assign certain rights

to users. The rights include the abilities to save new

entries, delete entries, void entries, change the

posting period, and print checks. Field-level rights

include lock after save, require list match, require

unique, skip field, and require field.

The Project Work Center allows you to quickly

view and access important job elements, such as

project management and accounting tasks from a

single screen. It has a customizable menu, a hot list

with drill down to accounting and project

management items, and also job information and

job cost summary.

Job Cost

Pros

• Date fields to track contract information

data

• Integration of budget and change orders

with takeoff

• Flexible report selection

• Compare budget to actual

Cons

• Master cost code list shows for all jobs

• Multi-company requires multiple

databases

Job File

Jobs are set-up in the accounts receivable section.

Sage 100 takes this approach to enable a company

to start tracking information on a customer as soon

as it becomes a lead. A ten-digit field is used for the

job number; the “short name” alpha-numeric job

field has 15 digits. In addition to the standard fields

in the job master file (such as location, default

accounts, job status, etc.), two user-defined fields

and nine date fields are available to track contract

information (e.g. bid date, preliminary notice and

other lien related dates, start and finish dates).

Billing can be performed at the cost code or phase

level. A phase (also known as a sub-job) can also

be used to represent a grouping of cost codes (e.g.

general conditions) or a part of a job (e.g. first

floor). Phases are standalone and do not necessarily

tie to a specific cost code. When using subcontracts,

phases need to be more detailed, since a subcontract

can only correspond to a single phase. Therefore, if

you have a project with 2 phases (first floor &

second floor) you need to divide the subcontract

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appropriately. For example, you would enter a

subcontract for plumbing phase 1 (with the

plumbing cost code(s)) and one for plumbing phase

2 (with the plumbing cost code(s)).

A cost code table can be established to identify

costs on a job. The cost code is a 10-character

numeric field, which can be broken into segments

with three decimal places and also grouped by

division. Cost codes can be set up with groups and

sub groups. For example, the Site Work division

can have a group of cost codes including

Excavation at 20,100.100 and Underground at

20,100.200. Workers' compensation codes can be

associated with a cost code. Within each cost code

there are five system-defined cost types: labor,

material, equipment, subcontract, and other, and

four user-definable types. The cost code table can

be imported as a text file.

After a job is set up you can import cost codes by

bringing in all codes from the table, selecting

specific cost codes or by using a template which can

contain a single or multiple phases.

Budgets can be entered directly, created from a

takeoff, or generated by using a template. Budgets

can also be imported from most outside systems

which provide the ability to cut and paste

information via the Windows clipboard. When

entering a budget, you can enter hours, quantity,

and budgeted costs for each cost type. Original and

working budgets can be created. The working

budget is the original budget plus change orders.

Change orders have the ability to affect the

contract, budget, subcontract, or any combination

of the three, depending on how they are entered and

the desired outcome.

To directly enter a budget, you select the cost code

from a pick list of standard cost codes. If the cost

code had not been previously entered, you can enter

it "on the fly." For each cost code you can enter

estimated hours, cost for each cost type, estimated

units and unit costs. The estimated hours, when

entered, are used to compute the hours to complete

the report. If you have change orders that affect

labor, the budgeted hours can be entered on change

orders. When using unit billing, you enter the type

of units to be billed and the cost per unit. Only one

budget template can be added per job. Importing a

budget template will overwrite any budget fields

previously entered.

Hours can be entered on a change order. A report is

available that compares the budget to the budget

plus change orders.

Gross hours are tracked in Sage 100: budgeted vs.

actual. Hours by rate can be entered in the

Estimating module and on the Payroll timecard, and

then compared through custom reports. Hours are

entered as gross amount in budget (i.e. not by

number of hours per different rates). Overtime and

premium time hours are separately posted into job

cost from payroll. (These are designated as different

“pay types” in the system.) If temporary labor is

used, those hours cannot be picked up because it is

posted as a subcontractor cost type to which hours

cannot be posted. This type of change would be

handled within the Change Order module.

Data Entry

Data is normally posted to job cost from general

ledger, accounts payable, inventory, equipment,

and payroll. For beginning balance purposes, costs

affecting jobs can be entered directly to job cost but

do not post to the general ledger. Direct entry of job

costs is not advisable, because General Ledger and

job cost can then be out of balance. However, you

can enter job cost transactions directly into General

Ledger to keep costs in balance. This feature is

primarily for setup purposes and should be secured

from daily use by the designated “security officer.”

One of the huge benefits of the Sage 100 Contractor

is the integrity of the balances between the sub-

ledgers the general ledger. Sage 100 has an audit

routine that will identify any entries that might

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cause problems with the data and the audit can be

scheduled to run automatically.

Inquiries and Reports

Most input screens allow creating or using existing

queries to create an on-the-fly report that outputs to

a grid on the screen. You can then drill down to

more details.

There are 13 job report menus in the Project

Management module, each with a variety of reports

within. Most reports can be modified or new reports

designed in the Form Design and Report Writer.

However, doing custom reports requires some skill.

There is a wide range of selection criteria available

for most of the reports. Standard reports include:

the Job Status Report (providing a listing of prime

and subcontract and other cost activity), Job Cost

Journal (listing detail job cost transactions), Job

Labor Journal (labor hours and dollars either from

payroll or direct job cost entry), Job Summary

Report (reflecting budget versus actual costs, but

not hours), Current Cost Summary, Job Cost Totals,

Committed Costs, Work-in-Progress Report,

Bonding Report, Budgets, Budget Totals and

Proposals.

With the job review you can graph financial data

(such as gross profit and budget/costs) from both

current and historical job data with mean, standard

deviation, and best-fit statistical analysis built in.

Cost to complete, included in the core system

provides a report that compares your budget with

cost-to-date for each cost code, displaying the

percent complete. The report can be run according

to dollars, hours, and/or units. You can add an

“actual complete” adjustment to calculate more

accurate cost to complete and variance from budget

numbers.

The job proposal for a client is created in Proposals

and can be created from a budget, an estimate, bid

items, cost codes, or a template. Several simple

proposal report types are included and can be used

to print the proposal. If you use a format for a

certain type of job repeatedly, it can be saved as a

template. Using the Export Proposal File command,

you can create the template and recall it at a later

date using the Import Proposal File command. Once

a proposal is completed, you can recap the totals by

cost codes, phases, or bid items. The Cost Codes

recap ignores the distinction between phases, and

summarizes the cost types (material, labor,

equipment, subcontract, and other) in the cost

codes. A total for each cost code is displayed as well

as the total amount for the entire proposal.

Change Orders

With the Change Order function, you can print and

track both internal (budget), prime, and sub-change

orders. For each prime contract change order, you

can associate subcontract changes as well as other

cost code changes that relate to the owner's change.

Approved changes to prime and subcontracts

update billings. Change orders can be directly

entered or generated from the takeoff, and included

with printed reports. Each change order can only

affect one phase but can be distributed to multiple

cost codes.

You can create invoices from change orders by

selecting Invoice from the menu. The Accounts

Receivable Invoices/Credits window appears with

the change order information entered for you. The

information can also be modified prior to saving. If

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you’re billing through Progress Billing, approved

prime change orders can also be pulled into the

current progress billing application, allowing you to

update your schedule of values and bill for the

changes along with the rest of the project.

Subcontracts

With the subcontract module, you can easily track

your subcontracts, including any changes to the

subcontract, what’s been billed, and what still

remains on the subcontract. You can also print and

audit subcontracts. At a glance, you can see what

the current contract amount is and what you have

been billed. You can enter subcontracts directly in

the menu option or export from the Estimating

module. A vendor can be issued more than one

subcontract on a single job. A subcontract can cover

only one phase but multiple cost codes. You can

have multiple cost codes for each subcontract. Once

the data is entered, subcontracts can be printed, with

a user-designed format. Change orders can be

issued to the subcontract through the change order

module.

Reports produced include the Subcontract List (one

line item per subcontract for each job) and the

Subcontract Audit (detail activity by subcontract).

Accounts Payable

Pros • Warnings during invoice entry and

payment

• Joint payee can be entered during invoice

entry

• Flexibility in selecting invoices to be paid

• Audit trail for voided records;

• Transactions tagged with user name and

date

• Multiple payee checks

• Expired certificates tracking

• Integrated with Project Management (will

automatically update POs and

Subcontracts)

• Credit card management and tracking

Cons

• Numeric only vendor setup, but can search

by vendor name or alpha-numeric short

name.

Corrections can be easily made to transactions by

retrieving the transaction that needs correction,

correcting the data and saving the corrected

transaction. The user is warned that a change to a

posted transaction is being made, and the system

automatically creates the reversing entries, leaving

a complete audit trail. Only users with the proper

security authorization can make these changes.

Sage 100 Contractor does not allow any accounting

transactions to be deleted.

Accounts payable posts information to job cost,

general ledger, inventory and equipment cost. It

also integrates with the subcontract and purchase

order modules. Invoices can be cross-checked

according to purchase order, subcontract, and

budget.

Vendor master file

The vendor master file accommodates up to ten-

digit vendors and contains a variety of set-up

information. Expiration dates can be established for

workers' compensation, general liability,

contractors’ license number, and many others.

These dates are verified during invoice entry and

payment, with warnings issued if the dates are

exceeded. Other fields include default general

ledger and job cost codes. Also, fields are available

to note type of vendor (supplier, subcontractor,

professional) and whether or not a 1099 is to be

issued for that vendor. Activity and account

balances are also tracked. If your company's fiscal

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year is not the calendar year, YTD and 1099

balances are tracked separately.

There are two user-defined fields in the master file

available to track other vendor-related information.

Invoice Entry

The invoice header contains fields to enter

subcontract or purchase order data. In addition,

there are two user-defined fields to track other

invoice information. Several joint payees can be

entered at the invoice level and checks can be

printed along with lien waivers.

When entering a subcontract number in accounts

payable, the system will fill in the phase, vendor,

job, cost code and cost type on the invoice entry

screen. The amount entered is compared against the

contract amount and if the user requests, a warning

is given if the invoice exceeds the remaining

contract amount. Warnings are also available if the

invoice exceeds the budget or if the subcontractor’s

workers compensation or liability insurance has

expired.

When you enter a purchase order number in

accounts payable, the screen is pre-filled with the

remaining quantities and prices on the purchase

order. In accounts payable, you can alter the

quantities and prices to reflect the actual invoice

amount. Upon accepting the invoice information,

purchase orders are updated with to-date and

balance remaining information. You also have the

ability to access the window in the parts database to

pick line items included on vendor invoices. Sage

100 supports partial payments to multiple payees on

the same invoice.

Cash Disbursements

Sage 100 has an extremely flexible payment

selection process. You can select the type of

invoices (job-related invoices, non-job invoices,

select to pay, discount only, open, review, or

dispute) you want to view, how you want to sort

your selections, and select invoices to pay by job,

due date, discount date, vendor or pick list. You can

also sort for only vendors who use ACH. Several

payment options are available including overriding

the discount, payment of retention and skip paying

subcontractors with expired workers'

compensation, general liability or license. After

determining your selections, a grid is populated

with the appropriate invoices. An amount that

differs from the default from the Payable Invoice

screen can be entered in the To Pay column. After

making your selections you can print checks, lien

waivers, and vouchers. You can also pay vendors

by ACH and credit card.

Reporting

Open payable reports can be run for a defined

period of time and with a variety of other selection

criteria. A vendor list is available by a variety of

selection criteria. There are seven different report

types (including short form, long form, landscape

form, aging, aging wide, cost distribution and

general ledger distribution) each with eight

different sort options available for the payable

invoice list. Other reports include a payable journal,

payable ledger, vendor payment journal (paid

vendor history), and vendor documents (i.e. letters,

mailing labels and other user-defined documents).

You can modify many of these reports with the

internal Report Writer and “save as” a new version,

right within the module.

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General Ledger

Pros • Drill-downs to source transactions

• Financial review report options

• Month-end audit verifying GL to sub

ledgers

• All 12 accounting periods for the year as

well as the 12th period of the prior year

are available for posting with individual

control by period

Cons

• Limited budgeting capabilities

Release 19 of Sage 100 Contractor allows the user

to continue posting to a future year without closing

the current year. (It is no longer necessary to

archive general ledger data and all general ledger

detail from the previous year is available for

reporting.) .If it becomes necessary to post to a

closed year, a user with proper security may do so,

and retained earnings and all beginning balances for

the affected year are properly recalculated and

brought forward to the new year.

Accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll,

inventory, service receivables, and equipment

management all make entries to the general ledger.

Job cost posting normally comes automatically

from various modules to the General Ledger and

then to Job Cost. There is one screen where job cost

information can be updated manually. This is just

for a “repair” function, not normally used. General

ledger transactions can be posted to job cost.

General ledger also provides the ability to enter

recurring journal entries as well as a bank

reconciliation option.

Chart of Accounts

The system ships with several recommended charts

of accounts: Up to 10 digits numbering.

The ledger account numbering is created in the

ledger setup menu, which defines the number range

for accounts. System-wide default accounts are also

entered during system set-up.

In ledger accounts, you can rename, renumber, or

create altogether new accounts. If you are using a

recommended chart of accounts, the ledger

accounts can be further customized. Sub-accounts

can be entered for each main account. The short

name is used in accounting reports and window

displays while the long name is used in the balance

sheet, income statement, and financial reports.

The ledger account window displays the current

year and last year's balances. For permanent

accounts, the accumulated balances are displayed

for all fiscal periods. Budgets must be entered

monthly.

Data Entry

When entering journal entries, you can tie them to

a customer’s purchase order or to a vendor (if you

are entering checks through general ledger

transactions). Over the course of a year, the

balances for each fiscal period are accumulated. At

the end of each period, it is necessary to audit and

close the books. This menu selection verifies that

all balances are supported by valid transactions.

During the audit, the system verifies that the

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subsidiary ledgers (accounts payable, accounts

receivable, service receivables and equipment) are

in balance with the general ledger.

There is an automatic “verify date in period”

function for normal invoice entry. Transactions can

also be posted to any accounting period within the

current year as well as the prior year. The system

stores the current period and uses it as the posting

period. When you need to, you can change a posting

period in any entry window that has the Period

Button or you can change the default posting period

in the General Ledger Setup. Changing the default

posting period allows you to make entries to the

indicated period.

General ledger detail transactions are available for

all previous years in the archive file for that year;

job costs are also available. If the Job Status is not

closed, the detail will be available in the current

data set. If the Job Status is closed, the detail is still

accessible in the archive data set.

Inquiries and Reports

General Ledger includes 11 standard accounting

reports. In addition to the standard balance sheet,

income statement, trial balance, journals and

ledgers, the system provides a statement of cash

flow. If the supplied financial forms do not meet all

of your needs, they can be edited in Form Design.

Using Form Design to edit reports does not allow

the user to define his own column headings or

calculations. Customized financial statements can

be created with 3rd party report writers. Combined

financial statements can be produced as long as the

combining companies have the same chart of

accounts structure.

Financial review provides graphs of financial trends

and ratios from both current and historical

accounting data with mean, standard deviation, and

best fit statistical analysis built-in.

Payroll

Pros

• Flexibility in defining pay and fringe

calculations

• Payroll audit

• Daily payroll entry grid with ability to

record equipment used

• Supports fully burdened labor

• Mobile time collection through Sage

Construction Anywhere.

Cons

• No user-definable pay types

• Only two User Defined Fields are

Available

• Several steps necessary in order to post

payroll

You may use a different pay rate for each line of

your timecards and enter up to 999 deductions,

calculate multi-state payrolls and figure local taxes.

The system supports magnetic media reporting of

W-2 as well as printing them on W-2 forms. You

can use the pay group function for variable rate

payroll with benefit packages built-in.

Through the integrated Aatrix payroll forms, e-file

is also available for W-2s as well as state and

federal tax forms (941s, Certified Payroll reports,

etc.)

Payroll set-up revolves around the calculations file.

Here you define the general calculations for

deductions and benefits used in payroll. For each

calculation method, you can determine the type of

tax and how the calculation is computed. There are

five different calculation types available: deducted

from gross, added to gross, accrued cost (employer

paid), add/deduct (taxable) and accrue hours. There

are 13 different calculation methods including %

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gross pay, % taxable wages, % of regular pay only,

% of net pay, per hour, regular hours, and premium

hours are available. You can set-up calculations for

advances, garnishments, tool purchases, per diem

expenses, 401k contributions, cafeteria plans, etc.

Pay rate types are defined by the system and include

regular, overtime, premium, sick, vacation, holiday,

piece work, per diem and miscellaneous. Fully

burdened labor is posted to job cost.

Employee Master File

All information about an employee is entered on a

single entry screen. In addition to the standard

fields found in most systems, Sage 100 maintains

two user-defined fields in the master file. Accrued

sick and vacation pay can be computed with

separate rates and calculation methods. Employee

positions can be defined for posting and reporting.

Default workers comp and equipment codes can

also be established in the employee file.

Quarterly and year-to-date information is

maintained for all calculations (benefits and

deductions) assigned to the employee, providing a

nice summary of benefits and deductions by

employee.

Payroll Processing

Payroll can be entered in multiple ways. It can be

entered daily in the daily payroll window, which

also supports tracking equipment used on jobs.

Payroll can also be collected in the field on mobile

devices through Sage Construction Anywhere.

Once reviewed and approved in Sage Construction

Anywhere, time is transferred to Sage 100

Contractor and will appear in the daily payroll

window. Once daily payroll is in the system, the

timecards can be created. Lastly, payroll can be

entered directly into the payroll records window, if

entering by pay period instead of by day. In the

header of the entry screen you enter information

regarding the pay period as well as the state.

The detail lines require information related to job

cost posting and workers' comp code. All

information to be entered does not show on the

screen at the same time unless the user hides some

of the columns. When entering timecard

information, you have to scroll across the line to

enter data. In addition, overtime and premium hours

must be entered on a separate line. Multiple states

and/or local tax districts may be designated by line

in payroll entry. To speed data entry, part or all of a

payroll timecard grid can be copied and pasted into

other timecards.

After timecards are entered, payroll can be

processed. During processing, job cost is updated.

If you use daily payroll (included with the core

program), you can obtain daily payroll reports.

Updating the general ledger with payroll

transactions is performed after the payroll checks

are processed. Equipment costs are posted as soon

as daily payroll is sent into timecards, but job costs

are not posted until timecards are computed. The

program supports direct deposit.

The Daily Field Report option allows a job

supervisor to enter daily payroll activities for a job.

This data can be imported into the Daily Payroll

grid or directly to the individual time cards. Daily

Payroll function allows you to enter worksheets for

one day by either job or employee. Equipment use

on jobs can be allocated on an operated, idle, and

standby basis.

The daily entries are saved until the end of the pay

period when you create timecards. You can also

enter equipment costs and repairs in daily payroll

for equipment cost recovery. Using the daily

payroll function you can obtain a field report,

equipment report and labor report as well as enter

payroll remotely. Although this function does not

actually post daily time to job cost, you can obtain

job cost reports that include daily labor (gross

dollars) and an estimated labor burden amount.

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Once the daily payroll is sent to timecards and the

timecards are computed, the detailed job costs will

be posted.

A payroll audit program is available to compare

detail transactions with quarter-to-date totals. This

report can be run quarterly to make sure that the

detail transactions agree with the information being

used for the payroll tax reports.

In addition to computing workers compensation by

state and using the experience modification factor,

the system will also compute and accrue for general

liability insurance if it is based upon the same

payroll classifications as the workers comp code.

Worker’s compensation rates can be tagged to cost

codes. So the same employee working at different

tasks can accrue charges at different rates

depending on the rate for that specific task.

Inquiries and Reporting

Reports generated by the program include

employee lists, payroll check register, Federal tax

reports, state tax reports, workers' comp report,

union reports, YTD & QTD reports, employee

documents, and job hour’s reports. The program

also supports magnetic media reporting.

With the certified payroll function, you can

complete certified reporting. You can also run a

minority report to figure percentages of quotas met.

Through the integration with Aatrix, you can print

or e-file the DOL WH-347 certified payroll report

and many state certified reports. You can also

generate many HR forms such as COBRA

enrollment forms, FMLA request forms, and

mileage reimbursement requests, to name a few.

Choose from preassembled packages (like a new

hire packet), or any of the 70 or so available forms.

Accounts Receivable

Pros

• Client file tracks sales and marketing

information

• Contract balance window

• Customer is available for quotes, jobs, and

service work

Cons

• Cash receipts for non-receivable

transactions must be entered through the

general ledger.

• Numeric only customer setup, (but you

can search by alpha-numeric short name).

Accounts receivable includes invoice history for all

payments, and as of aging so you can get balances

as of any prior accounting period. Accounts

receivable allows you to set up user-defined

defaults for account, cost code, type, and invoice

status. Standard invoices and credits memos are

easily handled in this part of the core system. A

number of other billing methods—Progress Billing,

Loan Draws, Unitary Billing, and Time and

Materials—are also available in the core accounting

product.

Customer Master File

The client file is designed to serve as sales and

marketing database as well as a source of

information for jobs under construction. Sales-

related information such as lead source, mailing

lists and salesperson can be entered and tracked for

prospects. Two user-defined fields are also

available in the master file. The customer master

file in accounts receivable is also used by service

receivables, keeping all your billings in one place.

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Invoice Entry

There are two types that can be entered in accounts

receivable. Contract invoices and credit memos

update billings in accounts receivable, while a

memo type invoice does not update the billed to

date amount on a job contract. Both invoice types

are posted to the general ledger. Discounts, sales

taxes, and retention can all be processed at this

point. Sales tax is computed at the line-item level

and a table of tax districts can be established to

identify tax rates. Retention and discounts are

computed for the entire invoice.

Cash Receipts

Cash Receipts is used to post receipts, discounts,

and credits to receivable invoices. Cash receipts for

non-receivable transactions must be entered

through the general ledger. Credit memos can also

be applied to specific invoices during invoice entry.

Inquiries and Reports

Accounts receivable includes a number of standard

reports. The receivable journal is available in four

different formats (short, long, aging, and landscape

aging) each with four different sort options

available. Other reports include the receivables list,

receivables journal, receivables ledger, receivables

call sheet, client list, client documents, job

documents, overdue reminders, pre-lien notices,

and sales tax report.

Progress Billing

You can bill a job, using bid items, cost codes or

divisions with respective bid amounts, based on

percentage completed. You can calculate the

current amount due from a percent complete

column or from actual job costs. When you update

Progress Billing from cost data, the percentage

completed automatically computes and compares

the costs to the budget. Progress Billings can be

submitted without posting and then posted when

accepted. Progress Billing posts directly to general

ledger and updates job billings. A contract balance

window displaying the original contract amount,

change orders and previous billings facilitates the

billing process.

Retention is computed on a line-by-line basis and

also can be partially or fully relieved line-by-line.

If using Change Orders, you can bring in approved

change orders at the time of billing and have the

change orders update schedule of value lines or

have each change order be its own line.

You use Progress Billing to create a schedule of

work completed in a percentage format. The

progress bill can be printed on the AIA G702/G703

Certificate or on a generic form design. Once a

progress bill is completed, it is posted to accounts

receivable.

Unitary Billing

The systems lets you bill based on number of units

completed (rather than % complete) on a line-by-

line basis. The unit billing can be based upon the

job takeoff or the proposal. Retention is calculated

on each line in unitary billing. In unitary billing, the

original units and unit price, previous billed units

and dollars and changes are reflected on the input

screen. You only have to enter the current number

of units put in place to complete the billing.

Time & Materials (T & M) Billing

With T & M Billing, you set up a chart for each job

according to the chosen mark-ups for labor,

material, sub, equipment, and other. Invoices then

show details and total the markup, along with

overhead and profit as desired. Use this function to

bill jobs on a cost-plus contract basis using the job

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cost records. When billing by time and materials,

you can adjust the costs by a percentage rate. Time

and Materials Billing allows you to set the

overhead, profit, and tax rates as well as the hidden

and shown mark-ups for each of the job cost types:

material, labor, equipment, subcontract, and other,

plus four user-defined types. It allows you to bill

employees and equipment at a specified hourly rate.

Labor and equipment billing can be either flat rate

or cost-plus.

Loan Draw Request

You can create draw requests for the bank on a line-

item basis, similar to progress billing, but tailored

to loan draws for lenders supplying funds on a

construction project rather than contract billings.

Loan Draw Request is used to generate and print

standard loan draw request forms. Lenders often

require a loan draw request that indicates the

percentage completed for individual cost codes and

the current amount requested. The form is

generated for either speculative jobs or contract

jobs where the lenders require a loan draw request

before issuing funds to the contractor.

Service Receivables

Pros

• Shares parts database with other modules

• Profitability reporting

• New Dispatch board offers more options

for display

Cons

• No PDA capability without 3rd party;

however, two 3rd party programs—hh2

and IFS Core—provide this functionality

for Sage 100 Contractor.

Service management functionality is integrated

throughout Sage 100 accounting, inventory, and

estimating. It includes service contracts, service

routes, service dispatch, on-call work orders,

quotes, point-of-sale, and billing of service work

and materials.

To better meet the needs of your business, Service

Receivables add-on module is offered on a per

company basis. This means that all your Sage 100

users are able to use the module’s features and

functionality. Additionally, for your convenience,

the related functionality of Inventory and Service

Receivables modules are sold together. When you

purchase Service Receivables, the Inventory

module comes with it. Or, if you company does not

need the Service Receivables module, you can

purchase the Inventory module separately.

The Service Receivable add-on module lets you

manage on-call, point-of-sale, and maintenance

contract work. You can track the entire sales cycle

from prospect lead to after-sale wrap-up. Service

Receivables also give you extensive productivity

reporting and user-defined work order and client

types. You can build in separate locations for one

client, and keep track of client equipment and the

date of the last service. You can also create invoices

with detail from assemblies and a parts list. If using

this level of detail (parts and/or assemblies), the

quantities on hand will automatically get updated in

the Inventory module.

The Service module uses the same parts and

assemblies as the estimating module and it can also

use flat rate billing and produce a service price

book.

Service Receivables is not a standalone module;

you would still need the core system to use it. You

can “job cost” service work orders and run analysis

reports to check profitability by type of service.

Service also integrates with Accounts Receivable.

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Service Dispatch Board

The updated Service Dispatch Board offers a user-

friendly interface to help manage multiple

technicians and status of calls in either a one-day or

5-day format. You have setup controls to modify

your list of technicians or subcontractors/vendors

and display them only by status and the ability to

zoom in or out on the board. In the new preference

setting, you can control what fields show up in the

work order and the size of a one hour block on the

board. The dispatch board uses color coding to

display the type of work order, priority, and

location of the service area. Travel time can be

easily added to work orders and shows on the

dispatch board to ensure technicians are on-time to

each appointment.

While scheduling, you are notified of potential

overbookings through pop-up messages. You can

also schedule technicians’ personal appointments,

such as lunch and doctor’s appointments, to

optimize your service scheduling. And, to make

sure all technicians stay on top of the details, you

can email technicians directly from the board.

Choose to email specific work orders, email all

technicians the first work order of the day, or all

work orders for the entire day. Lastly, once a work

order has been billed, the font on the dispatch board

changes to italic to help you stay on top of service

billings.

Work Orders/Invoices/Credits Screen

The tabbed pages detail specific invoice data such

as location, dispatch, billing, invoice details, and

insurance information as well as allowing you to

schedule employees and dispatch jobs. You can

assign one of five priority levels to a work order

when the Dispatch tab page is displayed. You can

drag and drop appointments onto the Dispatch

Board and drill down to the appointment detail with

just a click.

Reporting

Available reports are the Client List, the Service

Invoice List, the Service Journal, and the Service

ledger, the Service Call Sheet, Sales Tax Report and

Employee Report. Lead Source tracking is

available just by entering the source of the lead

selected from the Source list box and tracked with

the Advertising Report. The Service Tax Report can

automatically create Overdue Reminders.

Equipment Management

Pros

• Assistance in computing equipment cost

recovery rate

• Equipment loan payment and tracking

Cons

• Limited to straight-line depreciation

• Limited preventative maintenance

tracking

With the Equipment Management module you can

track the use, time, and cost of your equipment.

Built-in features include both location tracking and

charge-out or billing rates. Operated, idle, and

standby are the three billing rates used in

conjunction with time and materials billing. The

Sage 100 Equipment Management module is also

used to track equipment use on jobs, including cost

and financial information, such as depreciation and

loan payments. You can indicate the rate of

depreciation for equipment and the account it

posted to in the equipment window. Depreciation is

automatically posted (using the straight-line

method) until the equipment capital balance equals

the depreciation balance.

When setting up a piece of equipment, you have

options in setting up a lender and payment

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schedule. Checks for equipment loans can be

generated by entering the loan details in the

equipment window. The payment date or amount

does not need to be entered, since the program

updates the field every time a check is printed in the

equipment payment part of this module. The

program computes the interest for the month from

the remaining loan balance, posts the interest to the

expense account for equipment interest, and posts

the principal to the equipment loan account. When

the loan balance reaches $0, the program stops

creating checks.

Using equipment location you can track the

location of your equipment using the last location

field. Equipment use is entered through the daily

payroll or the equipment cost allocation.

Equipment Entry

By entering information relating to resource

consumption, ownership costs, estimated usage and

operating costs, the system will compute your cost

recovery rate. This is the rate that can be used to bill

equipment cost to the job. When posting equipment

costs to job cost, the cost of construction account is

debited and an allocated equipment cost is credited.

These default accounts are established during

general ledger setup. Cost Rates are used to post the

cost of equipment to jobs and revenue in the

equipment cost file. By knowing the cost to own

and operate equipment, you are assured of an

accurate cost recovery.

Reporting

Available reports include Equipment List,

Equipment Costs, Equipment Shop Report,

Management Report, Maintenance Report,

Equipment Documents, Journal, and Ledger.

Inventory

Pros

• Uses same parts database as other modules

• Easy to follow allocation entry screen

• LIFO, FIFO, and Average costing

Cons

• Locations are numeric only, but you can

search by location name.

The Inventory parts database is used with

estimating to build takeoffs, with Service

Receivable billings, and purchase orders. To better

meet the needs of your business, Inventory add-on

module is offered on a per company basis. This

means that all your Sage 100 users are able to use a

module’s features and functionality. Additionally,

for your convenience, the related functionality of

Inventory and Service Receivables modules are

now sold together. Inventory can also be purchased

separately if your company does not perform

service work but tracks inventory.

Inventory allocation function is used to move

inventory between locations, transfer inventory to

jobs or equipment or service, revalue inventory, or

adjust inventory for shrinkage. Sage 100 Inventory

enables you to set up and track inventory at multiple

locations. Inventory includes a receiving function.

There are two ways to receive items into inventory.

For AP clerks performing the task, you would pull

up an AP invoice screen, enter the PO number,

which would prefill the PO information, then enter

the quantities received. This would create the AP

invoice, post to the ledger, create job costs (if job-

related materials), and put the items into inventory.

For warehouse employees performing the receiving

task, pull up a Purchase Order Receipts screen

(located in the Inventory module), enter the PO

number, then simply enter the quantities received.

This also creates an AP invoice, posts to the GL,

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creates job cost (if job-related), and puts items into

inventory, but without going into the AP module.

Parts Master

Part numbers can be assigned both a numeric and

alphanumeric number. In this database you can set

up preferred vendors, billing amount (default

billing rate for service receivables), whether the

item is a stock item (regularly carried in inventory)

and minimum and maximum reorder quantities.

Inventory items can be set as serialized, requiring

serial numbers to be entered whenever these parts

are received, transferred, shipped, or consumed.

Additional information such as beginning quantity,

quantity on hand, and average quantity are also

maintained. In addition, the system keeps track of a

variety of transaction dates for each inventory item

(last stocked, last picked, last counted and last

purchased).

Inventory Allocation

When inventory is moved between locations,

consumed by the company, revalued, or adjusted

for shrinkage, the transaction is entered in

Inventory Allocation. All transactions except

transfer of inventory between locations update the

general ledger. When moving inventory to a job

you simply enter the job, phase, and cost code that

the material is transferred to. A separate input

screen is available for transferring inventory to

equipment.

During Inventory allocation items are assigned a

status to indicate condition. A status of open

indicates that the inventory is available. A review

status indicates that the inventory order is to be

reviewed before shipping. Hold stock lets you

reserve inventory for a job or work order (used in

service receivables). When inventory is assigned a

status of shipped the quantity on hand and the

quantities available are reduced. The final status is

void.

Inquiries and Reports

Sage 100 provides a number of inventory reports

including inventory allocation (with a wide range

of selection criteria available), allocation list

(which can be printed with transaction or individual

line item notes), quantity on hand, inventory ledger

and inventory journal.

Purchase Orders

Pros

• Integration with estimating, service,

inventory, and accounts payable

• User-modifiable purchase order form

• Shares item database with estimating,

service receivables, and inventory

• The user can setup Purchase Order types,

including ‘Variance Purchase Orders”.

Cons

• Unable to process multiple jobs on a

single purchase order

The purchase order module features line item cost

control, master/sub purchase orders and automatic

invoicing. Purchase orders integrates with accounts

payable and shares a common database with

estimating, service receivables, inventory and

accounts payable.

The parts database includes a 15-digit numeric field

for part number. Part classes can be used to

categorize parts within the database. In addition,

parts can be assigned a task, which integrates with

the CPM schedule. Cost codes and cost types can

be entered for use in integrating estimating with job

cost. A billing field as well as a grid for pricing by

volume is used by service receivable. Sage 100

allows the importation of external databases such as

Excel, comma delimited and dbf files from outside

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sources such as vendors or parts’ pricing services.

Several vendor prices can be stored for each part.

Purchase Order Entry

Six PO statuses are available – open, review,

dispute, closed, void and Master. You can have up

to 99 user-defined purchase order types. Purchase

orders can be entered manually or exported from

the estimating module (including specification

notes). Purchase Orders can also be created from

system generated RFQs that are emailed from the

system and returned to the user. In addition,

purchase orders, subcontracts, and noncomputed

payroll (optional setting when printing) are the

basis for committed cost reports. When you create

a master PO, subsidiary purchase orders are then

used to control the ordering and arrival schedule of

the ordered material. Two user-defined fields are

available on the purchase order header. There is a

user-defined column and unlimited notes per line

item. Entry of PO receipts is not required.

Reporting

Available reports are the Purchase Order List, the

Committed Cost Report, the Purchase Order Audit,

and the Purchase Order Material list.

Scheduling

Pros

• Integrated with Estimating Basic and

purchase orders

• Cash requirements report

Cons

• No resource leveling

Scheduling features CPM (Critical Path

Management) scheduling. You can create and

manage complex schedules and make changes and

additions, or see where equipment and employees

are scheduled on a time-line. This can be for a

specific job or group of jobs. You can also print

Gantt Charts and time-line CPM Schedules.

Reports include task list, subcontract notices, job

wall calendar, resource report, subcontract call

sheet, Gantt chart, original/actual, scheduled cash

flow, and critical path. The scheduled cash flow

report reads the project costs from estimating, the

timing from the schedule, and computes project

costs per day, week, or month by cost type.

Estimating

Pros

• Templates for repeat jobs

• Bid items and phases

• Integrated with project management and

accounting

• Update part pricing feature

• Quick takeoff, item takeoff, and Smart

Assemblies

Database Builder Wizard

• Point and click, drag and drop technology

• Sort estimates by estimator, bid date, job

type with Explorer management tool

• Model estimating, an advanced conceptual

estimating tool

• Industry databases and Knowledgebases

• RS Means pricing database

• Advanced Assembly Databases

• Digitizer support with Standard and

Extended

• eTakeoff / ePlan Takeoff / Planswift

Estimating Basic

You can create assembly-based, detailed estimates

with global and local variables and formula

capability. Your assemblies automatically calculate

based on the particular job you are doing.

Additionally, the integration of Estimating Basic

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with Planswift will allow you to create detailed

estimates (or takeoffs) from digital plans.

Prices are updated by interfacing with most existing

price services or from a generic vendor file. There

is also a database update function for the user to

update a class of parts by a factor: eg.. increase the

price of all framing lumber by 10%.

When you look at your take-off, a summary page

will appear, showing you a breakdown of take-off

costs according to bid item, phase, vendor, task, and

cost code. You can automatically create purchase

orders, subcontracts, budgets, proposals, change

orders, RFPs, and service work orders from takeoff.

With the project plans and the parts and assemblies

databases, a takeoff can be created. The takeoff not

only provides you the ability to determine project

costs, but create proposals and budgets. With user-

created formulas, part quantities are determined,

and purchase orders can be created. You can even

create templates to speed the process of creating

takeoffs for your most common types of jobs.

Estimating Standard and Extended

These estimating modules offer many optional

databases. Get industry standard data and regional

based pricing with RS Means. Also available are

industry-specific Knowledgebases, Advanced

Assembly databases.

With Estimating Standard and Extended

spreadsheet, everything you need to build an

estimate is available with the click of a mouse. It’s

easy to analyze and fine-tune your estimates. You

can rename and move columns around. Open and

compare several estimates at once. Even drag items

from one spreadsheet into another for quick

creation of new or alternate estimates.

Numerous productivity tools such as Database

Builder Wizard, Estimating Explorer, and

conceptual model estimating are available.

The add-on Estimating Standard and Extended

modules comes with a digitizer interface to ePlan

Takeoff. You can generate counts and quantity

takeoffs directly from electronic drawings for

instant use in your estimates. ePlan Takeoff helps

you quickly transfer takeoff quantities and

dimensions including lengths, areas, and volumes

directly to your estimating spreadsheet.

Exporting

All three modules allow you to export from

estimating to budgets, change orders, purchase

orders, subcontractors, and template and grid files

for use in building future estimates.

Document Control

Pros

• Integrated with accounting

• Email and/or fax

Cons

• No meeting scheduling function

• Limited logs capabilities

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Document control is an add-on module purchased

separately. Managing project documents is critical

to running a construction business. You can now

scan in documents and attach them to almost any

record in Sage 100 Contractor. This can include

emails, photos, and most file types. However there

is no document lookup using a search capability.

You can only find them by going to the location or

record to which it was attached. You will be able to

create and track responses to project documents,

including requests for information (RFIs),

transmittals and submittals, plan records, daily field

reports, and punch lists. You can email or fax

documents directly from the program.

Financial Review

This application will automatically show you trends

and ratios with a few mouse clicks.

Among the many graphs available are Current

Ratio, Quick Ratio, Gross Profit/Sales, Net

Profit/Sales, and Overhead to Direct Expense. In

addition, trend graphs are available for Cash, A/R,

A/P, Sales, Gross Profit, Net Profit, Break Even and

Working Capital.

All of these can be viewed or printed as line, bar, or

3D bar charts for the current fiscal year, 12 months

or 12 rolling months.

About Sheldon Needle

A former CFO, consultant and software designer,

Sheldon Needle has authored or co-authored more

than 20 books on software selection and has

contributed articles to major publications, including

the Journal of Accountancy and Nation’s Business.

CTSGuides.com has the distinction of being the

very first company to do hands-on, independent

evaluations of software for the middle market.

Sheldon speaks with business owners and managers

every day about software selection and makes

personalized recommendations based on their

needs and budget. He is widely known and

respected throughout the business software

community for his independence, integrity and

expertise.

As part of registering for our free software selection

kit, you receive a 15-minute consult with Sheldon.

Sheldon understands financial and business issues

and speaks your language.

He knows the leading software companies—how

they compare, their strengths and weaknesses,

where they fit into the market and which ones

would be suitable for your business.