CU Jan-Feb 2020

CASEstudy
In association with:
An ERP primer
How do you define an ERP system? EasyBuild, winners of the ERP Solution of the Year award at the
2019 Construction Computing Awards, provide an insight into the requirements of such a solution to
David Chadwick
What exactly is ERP? Widely used
in the construction industry, the
acronym describes Enterprise
Resource Planning - the integrated
management of an enterprises main
business processes.
It's a bit of a fluid term though, as its
capable of being attached to any size of
company - from small contractors to
global institutions - with complex financial
and organisational requirements. The
basic elements remain the same however,
and have one overriding aim in mind,
namely to ensure that maximum efficiency
and profitability is achieved by integrating
all activities that have a bearing on the
way the enterprise is run. This means
going beyond financial control to include
things like employees, materials and
certain aspects of project management,
through to standards and process
compliance.
The requirements of an ERP solution can
also differ according to the focus of the
company involved. EasyBuild, winners of
ERP Solution of the Year at the 2019
Construction Computing Awards, provide
just such a solution to building
contractors, housing developers and
service and maintenance companies.
Each of these have specific and
interesting requirements, especially those
involved in housebuilding, which exemplify
the varied role of any particular company's
ERP solution.
The main requirements of an effective
ERP solution are that it has to be easy to
use, capable of integrating information in
a number of different formats from a
variety of sources, and be able to store its
information in an accessible single silo or
cloud based server. The information held
therein has to be readily accessible to all
authorised users, either office based or
on-site, using mobile devices, delivering
up-to-date information to support critical
decisions.
EasyBuild - THE NEXT STEP
Speaking to EasyBuild’s CEO, Carol
Massay, described the effects of
EasyBuild for a number of new clients,
one of which was SPL, who we know was
victim of the fallout from the Carillion
collapse (which has already been well
documented in this magazine). EasyBuild
helped them to recover by providing an
ERP system that took control of their
financial systems.
Another recent client is in the process of
upgrading from a purely accounts based
solution. The step up from their previous
systems was described as a breath of
fresh air, significantly increasing the
amount and usefulness of information that
the ERP solutions are able to provide.
EasyBuild provides ERP solutions for
three distinct sectors of the construction
industry: building contractors,
housebuilders, service and maintenance.
Operating outside the accounts
department, which handles the financial
ledgers, payroll and other bread and
butter accounting functions, is the quantity
surveyors (QS) department, staffed by
chartered surveyors, whose function is to
evaluate the cost of current progress and
future liabilities of a project. This is
provided, as I am sure you all know, by a
CVR - Cost Value Reconciliation - report
which compares cost to value of a project
according to guidelines issued by the
Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Often ignored by smaller contractors, it is
an important tool in cost management
and forms the basis of statutory accounts.
Used properly, it helps companies identify
problems and the reasons for shortfalls in
the accounts. It also allows contractors to
identify and cost discrepancies in material
delivery and those not identified by a
client's QS, adjustments not recorded,
agreed on-site valuations or contractual
claims for loss or other expenditure.
In order to establish an accurate figure
from the confusion of a busy building site,
a couple of other elements need to be
included to provide a final residual margin
of profit or loss -subcontract liabilities for
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January/February 2020