Aspire Solutions manages our systems, optimising cash flow and providing robust analysis
Company: Premier Roofing Wellington
Industry: Commercial Roofing
Interviewee: Craig Lawn, General Manager
Premier Roofing’s cash flow was being adversely affected because their accounting system struggled to keep track of when key contractor payments fell due. But with help from Aspire Solutions, they now have customised systems that provide the information they need to follow up these payments in a timely manner.
Premier Roofing operates in the construction sector where sub-contractor claims attract a retention value and they often wait several months after the job completion to receive the full value of the contract from the main contractor.
“Our main contractors hold onto 10 percent of our invoice payment for three to six months to ensure our work is defect-free,” says Premier Roofing General Manager Craig Lawn. “It’s our liability period and while eventually we always got paid, due dates would pass without us knowing. We didn’t have a good system or process in place to track our outstanding retentions or claims.”
Premier Roofing (Wgtn) Ltd was established in 1985 and is a leading commercial roofing company in Wellington. With 22 staff and dozens of jobs, they are a thriving company that have specific accounting needs.
Aspire Solutions have greatly improved their MYOB accounting system and have tailored Premier Roofing’s retention management system and monthly financial reports – Now General Manager Craig Lawn always knows when payments are outstanding and if costs have gone over budget!
How Aspire Solutions made getting paid on time easy
- Looked at the current processes and worked with an external accountant (BDO Spicers) to identify a best practice for how the retention and claim processes should work, for reporting, GST and Income tax purposes
- Assessed the financial system capability to determine which was the simplest and most effective solution.
- Implemented a retention management software which integrated with Premier Roofing’s accounting system (MYOB). This enabled simple management of claims; particularly where the amount approved differed from what was claimed.
- Created retention reporting to track when and how much is due.
- Saved months of chasing, reduced errors, and helped get the money sooner!
“Our sub-contracting process isn’t the same as in other industries and out of the box accounting software didn’t allow us to tailor our retention process how we needed it”, said Craig. “When Aspire Solutions came up with solutions which were exactly what we needed, it was very exciting”.
“Now I know everything. Aspire Solutions provides us with reporting each month and I can see the outstanding retentions and don’t carry on without being paid. It’s given me an accurate tool to follow up payments and reduced misunderstandings or incorrect invoices going out – it’s fantastic!”
Other challenges Aspire Solutions has helped Premier Roofing solve…
- Margin Analysis – ‘Awakened us to cost blowouts” – “Aspire Solutions and Jo both work with Premier Roofing on a regular basis. For tax and cash flow planning purposes it is critical to match costs with revenue on a monthly basis. Aspire Solutions provides us with monthly financial reporting and when I look at previous months in hard figures it was really awakening because you can see lost margin easily” said Craig. “It always creates questions and I can direct the questions to my staff and find out why the forecast and actual figures don’t match.”
- Cashflow optimisation – Aspire Solutions complete several tasks every month to ensure cashflow is optimised. They have implemented several processes to enhance the financial system. This helps Craig and the team focus on what they do best, “I love knowing there won’t be any nasty surprises, Aspire Solutions have me covered”
“I would definitely recommend Aspire Solutions. The personal service is great and they show a geniune interest in the business, even though it’s not their money they are looking after, they make it feel as though it is”.
Helping your business…
Every step of the way Aspire Solutions has kept the business goals of Premier Roofing in mind and used their expertise to implement tailored business management solutions.
Talk to Aspire Solutions today about your accounting system challenges – enquire now!