Masonry Magazine February 2004 Page. 29
Accounting
Keeping up-to-date with the latest office aids may mean the difference between getting ahead or just simply getting by.
OF COURSE, no business is complete without some form of accounting program. The value of the assistance you receive from this type of software is often dependent on the size of your business.
"If you have under 20 employees and you're running one or two jobs at the same time, then I would tell you to buy Peachtree Accounting or QuickBooks Pro. They are fine for that size of a company," states Jim Meidl, President of J. Meidl Systems, Inc., and developer of TUT Software. "Over time, businesses grow and continue using the same generic software up until their office becomes overloaded with paper work. Now with the office overloaded, they begin to find themselves passing up opportunities to bid additional business. "We just can't handle another job right now, they'll say. Their lack of efficiency in the office has begun to limit the potential of the business."
The best scenario for accounting staff is fewer are better, and one full or part-timer is best. This aids in consistency, keeps confusion at a minimum, and lowers your overhead. But what happens when there's just too much work?
"The solution is to make that person more efficient," says Meidl. "We can bring our software into the picture and increase efficiency by 150 to 200% and either reduce the hours required to very manageable levels or allow further growth. These companies are also much more profitable because office overhead has remained unchanged. What has quietly happened is that the office staff now has the advanced tools necessary to be more efficient."
Although there are several generic accounting packages available, Meidl's TUT Software was developed by integrating specific feature requests from its over 150 mason contractor users.
Estimating Software
ESTIMATES ARE an integral and complex task for every mason contractor. Estimates need to be as exact and precise as possible - financially, there is little margin for error. There are several advantages to letting an estimating software package assist you in this very important task.
"One advantage for mason contractors using estimating software, of course, is time," says Bill Pacetti, President and