What Core Construction Functions are Included in the System?

This unified approach provides complete visibility across the entire construction lifecycle, from estimating and bidding to project closeout and service management. The result is a truly connected business where every department operates from the same data foundation, eliminating manual re-entry, reducing errors, and enabling faster, more informed decisions.

Below is an in-depth look at the core construction functions included in Acumatica Construction Edition and how they empower modern contractors, subcontractors, and developers to achieve operational excellence.

1. Project Management

At the heart of every construction business is project management and Acumatica Construction Edition delivers a powerful set of tools to plan, execute, and control projects from start to finish.

Project management in Acumatica is fully integrated with financials, inventory, and payroll, providing real-time visibility into budgets, costs, commitments, and progress. Key capabilities include:

Project and Task Structure: Create detailed work breakdown structures with tasks, phases, and cost codes that align with your company’s project templates.

Change Management: Manage change requests, approvals, and change orders seamlessly. Once approved, changes automatically update budgets and forecasts.

Commitment Tracking: Maintain visibility into subcontracts, purchase orders, and other project commitments to prevent cost overruns.

RFI and Submittal Management: Track requests for information (RFIs), transmittals, and submittals to ensure communication is organized and documented.

Document Control: Attach drawings, photos, and supporting documents directly to project records for easy reference and version control.

With Acumatica, project managers can see real-time data from the field, monitor costs against budgets, and make proactive adjustments to keep projects on track.

2. Job Cost Accounting

Job cost accounting is one of the most essential construction functions and one of Acumatica’s strongest features. Unlike general-purpose accounting systems, Acumatica is designed specifically to handle the complex cost structures and variable billing methods found in construction.

Key capabilities include:

• Detailed Cost Tracking: Monitor costs by project, task, cost code, or type (labor, materials, subcontract, equipment).
• Automatic Cost Allocation: Allocate overhead or indirect costs automatically based on configurable formulas.
• Flexible Billing Options: Support for progress billing, time and materials, fixed-price, cost-plus, and unit-based billing methods.
• Real-Time Profitability Reporting: Instantly see actual versus budgeted costs, percent complete, and projected profitability.
• Integration with General Ledger: Every transaction flows seamlessly into financials, ensuring accurate, up-to-date accounting data.

By giving contractors real-time insight into costs and margins, Acumatica helps prevent budget overruns and ensures that every dollar spent is tracked accurately.

3. Contract and Commitment Management

Construction companies juggle numerous contracts, subcontracts, and purchase orders on each project. Acumatica centralizes these in one place, ensuring compliance and visibility.

Features include:

• Prime Contract Management: Create and manage owner contracts with retainage tracking, billing schedules, and scope details.
• Subcontract Management: Issue subcontracts with change management, commitment tracking, and lien waiver support.
• Purchase Order Integration: Link materials and services directly to project budgets and tasks for accurate cost control.
• Retainage Handling: Automatically calculate, hold, and release retainage according to contract terms.

This comprehensive commitment tracking ensures that every agreement and change is captured, approved, and reflected in the project’s financials.

4. Field Service and Mobile Capabilities

Acumatica’s mobile-first design ensures that construction companies remain connected from the office to the jobsite. The Acumatica mobile app provides full ERP functionality on smartphones and tablets, allowing field workers to capture and access information wherever they are.

Field service functions include:

• Daily Field Reports: Log weather conditions, manpower, equipment usage, and site notes directly from the field.
• Time and Labor Tracking: Record employee and crew time with automatic updates to job costs and payroll.
• Photo and Document Capture: Upload photos or safety documents for instant visibility by office staff.
• Work Orders and Dispatching: For service-based contractors, manage work orders, maintenance schedules, and customer service calls in one place.

By connecting the field and office in real time, Acumatica eliminates delays, reduces miscommunication, and empowers teams to make decisions on the spot.

5. Payroll and Workforce Management

Construction payroll can be one of the most complex back-office tasks, especially when dealing with multiple job sites, unions, pay rates, and compliance requirements. Acumatica simplifies this through its integrated payroll and human resources functionality.

Capabilities include:

• Certified Payroll Reporting: Automatically generate certified payroll reports for government projects.
• Prevailing Wage and Union Tracking: Handle multi-union, multi-state, and multi-rate scenarios with ease.
• Job Cost Integration: Labor costs automatically flow to job cost accounting and project budgets.
• Timecard Management: Field or office employees can submit and approve time electronically, eliminating paper-based timesheets.
• Tax and Compliance Management: Stay compliant with local, state, and federal labor laws through built-in updates.

By automating payroll and linking it directly to job cost and general ledger modules, Acumatica ensures accuracy and saves hours of administrative work every week.

6. Inventory, Materials and Equipment Management

Construction companies often manage materials and equipment across multiple warehouses, job sites, and vendors. Acumatica provides full control over inventory and asset utilization:

• Inventory Control: Track materials by warehouse, lot, serial number, or location.
• Procurement Management: Automate purchase requests, approvals, and receiving workflows.
• Equipment Tracking: Monitor owned or rented equipment usage, maintenance, and depreciation.
• Cost Allocation: Assign material and equipment costs to specific projects or tasks.
• Integration with Project Management: Ensure that materials delivered to the field update project progress and costs instantly.

This visibility prevents stockouts, over-ordering, and misuse of company assets—helping contractors reduce waste and increase profitability.

7. Financial Management and Reporting

Acumatica includes a full suite of financial tools that integrate directly with construction operations. The general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, and project accounting modules all share a single database.

Key functions:

• Multi-Company and Multi-Currency Support: Manage multiple entities, currencies, and tax jurisdictions within one system.
• Automated Revenue Recognition: Align revenue with project progress and accounting standards.
• Budgeting and Forecasting: Adjust budgets dynamically as change orders and costs evolve.
• Consolidated Reporting: Generate company-wide and project-specific financial statements instantly.
• With Acumatica, executives gain real-time visibility into financial health and performance, allowing for faster, more accurate decision-making.

8. Compliance, Safety, and Quality Management

Construction is heavily regulated, and compliance management is essential for avoiding penalties and protecting project integrity. Acumatica provides built-in tools and flexibility to help track compliance and quality metrics.

Capabilities include:

• Lien Waivers and Insurance Tracking: Automatically manage expiration dates and alerts for subcontractor documents.
• Safety Documentation: Store and retrieve OSHA forms, inspections, and incident reports.
• Audit Trail: Every transaction is logged for traceability and accountability.
• Custom Fields: Track any compliance requirement unique to your business or local regulations.

This structured approach helps construction companies maintain safety standards and demonstrate regulatory compliance during audits or inspections.

9. Integration and Extensibility

Acumatica’s open architecture ensures seamless integration with third-party construction applications such as Procore, Autodesk, DocuSign, Microsoft Teams, and Power BI. APIs and web services make it easy to extend functionality without disrupting core processes.

This interoperability ensures that companies can continue using their preferred estimating, design, or collaboration tools, while Acumatica serves as the central hub connecting all business data.

10. Supported by WM Synergy’s Implementation Expertise

While Acumatica provides the software foundation, WM Synergy ensures that every construction company implements it effectively. WM Synergy’s consultants bring decades of ERP and construction industry experience, focusing on aligning the software’s capabilities with real-world business processes.

From process mapping and data migration to training, optimization, and continuous improvement, WM Synergy ensures clients achieve measurable ROI, faster billing cycles, fewer delays, and greater profitability.

Acumatica Construction Edition includes all the core functions a construction business needs, project management, job cost accounting, payroll, contracts, field service, financials, inventory, compliance, and more, within one unified, cloud-based ERP platform.

By centralizing every aspect of construction operations and enabling real-time collaboration between field and office, it eliminates silos, enhances efficiency, and provides the visibility needed to manage projects profitably. Backed by WM Synergy’s implementation expertise, it delivers not just software, but a complete solution for operational excellence in the construction industry.