Article is a guest post on the Viewpoint blog

There are tax incentives construction firms can take advantage of that could add thousands of dollars to the bottom line.

The voluminous changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) leave taxpayers uncertain about the future on tax credits and deductions. Typically creating unforeseen obstacles, there are now unprecedented opportunities for many taxpayers as it relates to R&D tax credits. The two most power tax incentives we’ll discuss here are the R&D Tax Credit and 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction.

R&D Tax Credits for Construction

Whether you are a general contractor or specialty subcontractor, you could be eligible for significant R&D tax credits. Check out this video for more on how to qualify. It’s common for our mid-sized construction clients to see $50,000 or more per year in net federal credits.

Article written by Andy Holtmann and appears on the Viewpoint blog

Save money on your construction projects with these six cost-saving methods that use technology.

If there’s one thing all contractors are interested in, it’s cutting costs. Construction projects all too easily run over budget and behind schedule, and in an industry with thin profit margins, that can be a big problem. Luckily, the construction industry is beginning to innovate by introducing new technologies which help increase productivity, reduce costs and provide sound ROI.

Find out how your construction contracting business can benefit from today’s popular and up-and-coming technology tools with these cost saving ideas for construction companies.

1. Improve Project Planning and Execution with BIM

Building information modeling (BIM) is growing increasingly popular in construction, and for good reason. This 3D modeling tool establishes one master design for everyone to work from, all the way from the planning stages of a project through execution. BIM can even help building owners with maintenance down the road.

Article written by Andy Holtmann and appears on the Viewpoint blog

Practical tips for hiring construction workers who will stick around, plus advice for employee retention

We’ve been discussing the construction labor shortage here at Surveyor for a while now. Many contractors are struggling to find skilled workers, which is especially challenging during a time when there’s no shortage of work to do. Construction also faces high turnover rates, so even when contractors do find good workers, retaining them isn’t always easy.

So how do you make your company stand out to attract good workers? We’ve compiled a list of tips for hiring and keeping the best construction employees.

Article written by Andy Holtmann and appears on the Viewpoint blog

Find out how to centralize your construction document management system and make it easily accessible to your teams.

Document management might not sound glamorous, but effective document management is critical to the success of construction projects. As contractors move from pen and paper to digital, paperless operating environments, they have found a variety of solutions for document management available to them, some more sophisticated than others.

Still, many contractors use a mix of paper and digital documents, and even if they’ve gone fully digital, they may rely on a mix of software applications. A survey of the Viewpoint community found many contractors still rely on basic digital tools like spreadsheets to manage their projects. (Last year’s Construction Technology Report from JBKnowledge reported similar findings).

Article written by Andy Holtmann and appears on the Viewpoint blog

One of the biggest hurdles to successful construction projects is the disconnect between the workers in the field and those in the back office. Not having the most up to date project information in the field can mean miscommunication, mistakes, delays and added costs. Meanwhile, the project can suffer in the back office as data needed from the field can be hard to collect or incomplete, leading to delays or errors in billing, inaccurate cost accounting and a disconnect over actual job progress. Plus, contractors’ back office staff can be buried in paperwork and manual processes like re-entering data into different systems, taking valuable time away from more important tasks or forcing extra labor overhead costs.

Article written by Andy Holtmann and appears on the Viewpoint blog

Mobile technology doesn’t just benefit the field. See the 5 ways it will help your entire construction organization

Mobile technology touches pretty much all parts of our lives these days, so it’s no surprise mobile has begun to play a significant role on construction jobsites. As we’ve discussed on Viewpoint Surveyor in the past, JBKnowledge’s Construction Technology Report from 2017 found that 83.1 percent of construction contractors surveyed believe mobile technology is important or very important for their business.

While many contractors recognize mobile technology’s important role, many still have a long way to go to make the most of mobile. Tablets, smartphones and other mobile technology can significantly improve the day-to-day tasks of employees in the field. What contractors may not realize is how adopting mobile can benefit an entire organization from the field all the way to the back office. Here are five ways mobile technology can improve your business:

What are the hot trends for selling design and construction services?

Original article written by Scott D. Butcher FSMPS CPSM

I was recently asked to share my thoughts about current trends related to the way architecture, engineering, and construction firms are approaching business development. Marketing trends, high levels of client sophistication, changing buying models, and technology have all impacted design and construction firm thinking about the sales process. Here’s a macro view of some of the trends happening in the market space right now.

And Why a Robust ERP Technology Solution is a Must

More and more, contractors are facing increasingly complex projects and financials. It’s time for contractors to embrace and prepare for new GAAP revenue recognition standards developed by FASB. The new standards promise quicker payments and better cash flow—but only if contractors have the proper framework in place to capture and properly communicate the critical data.

Is your organization ready? Download our eBook to discover the five steps contractors need to follow to properly adhere to new revenue recognition standards, the overriding principles behind them, and how an ERP technology solution can help.

We’re thankful we made the transition to Viewpoint. With this solution, we can be more efficient and informed as well as more strategic for continued growth and increased revenue.

Article written by Stacey Holsinger and Mark Drury for Constructor Magazine

Across many industries in the U.S., there is a decline in educated, skilled and experienced personnel as the largest generation in history moves out of the workforce and into retirement. As a result, it’s become a war for talent, and construction companies are on the front line.

This comes at a critically important time for the construction industry as the current volume of work already exceeds the human capital resource capacity. Furthermore, between natural disasters, a growing economy and a crumbling infrastructure, the demand for increasing the industry’s production capacity is at an all-time high.

Article written by Joe DelRossi, Global Value Selling Program Director, Oracle, and appears the Oracle Construction and Engineering blog.

Organizations face increasing pressure to shrink technology budgets and get more out of smaller investments. Technology initiatives are now just another initiative to be evaluated like every other, whether a new building, product or service offering; employee development; or any other core investment.

To navigate through this new landscape for getting technology initiatives launched, it is important to associate your effort with your organization’s objectives. Ideally, you target objectives that will be more readily achieved by executing your initiative. And these objectives, when accomplished, will deliver some combination of increased revenue, optimized capital, reduced costs, and mitigated risks. These objectives transcend every organization size as well as industry, including not-for-profit and government organizations.