Helping contractors build their tech stack

There’s a common misconception that the construction industry is behind in technology adoption. More than ever before, forward-looking contractors are using software to better understand and run their businesses. Leanne Gelinas, one of the accounting professionals at Argento CPA, discovered one such contractor when transitioning them to her firm for bookkeeping services. During Leanne’s initial assessment of the new client, she learned that they already had a project management solution in place – Knowify.

Like many firms advising contractors, Argento is focused on finding tech solutions for their clients which meet their unique needs. While many contractors are using software already, some have difficulty navigating the wide variety of solutions in the market and end up with tools that aren’t designed for them, or that won’t scale with their business.

A crucial piece of advising construction clients involves being their trusted partner through a digital transformation – being that person who helps with choosing, setting up, and managing software and change within the organization. Recognizing the value Knowify brought to her client, Leanne reached out to the Knowify team, and became certified on the platform through our advisor program. Today, Argento recommends implementing Knowify for nearly all of their clients in construction.

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A partnership built on collaboration and growth

Much of Argento CPA’s success can be attributed to the strong values they adhere to – values they embed in all the work they do and in every client interaction.

In understanding Argento’s values, it becomes clear why Knowify has been so successful for their clients. Two of their core principles, collaboration and Kaizen (a Japanese term for businesses that refers to constant improvement), are deeply embedded in the value Knowify brings contractors.

For Argento’s new clients, Leanne starts by allocating time for a discovery call. Here, she asks questions that help her get the full picture of the business. Oftentimes she discovers business owners lack clear processes, have no way properly manage their cashflow and are so consumed by their day-to-day work, that accounting work suffers – sometimes to the point where the business is financially in danger.

For existing clients, regular checkups help Argento fine tune the system they designed together with their clients. Working with trade contractors regularly, Leanne understands how administrative-intensive and paper-based this industry is. In their attempt to digitize processes and get quick access to info, many clients end up doing a lot of duplicate work.

Leanne gives the example of one client who was manually entering bills and expenses in one platform while she was re-entering the same data into their accounting software. This kind of manual, double data entry led to errors and made reconciliations a nightmare. Thanks to Knowify’s integration with QuickBooks, Argento was able to set their client up with a seamless, one-touch data flow. They enter expenses and bills into Dext, those documents automatically flow into QuickBooks Online, and from there they sync with Knowify. In this way, everyone in the process, from accountants to project managers, have the same visibility and understanding on project status.

Implementing and adapting to software can also require some onboarding and explanation, which is why Knowify’s expert support team works hand-in-hand with advisors like Leanne to help their clients be successful. In Leanne’s words: “you always look into problems right away and explain the issues clearly to our team.”

Leveraging software to better advise clients

When providing advisory services, having a defined tech stack where you have demonstrated expertise goes a long way with clients. For Leanne, being Knowify certified and having it in her construction tech stack has helped build more solid relationships with her clients. “I’m not just their accountant, I’m part of their team. We structure process so that we’re in constant communication.”

Argento CPA’s tech stack allows advisors like Leanne to be better business advisors, and to deliver exceptional service to their clients. Knowify’s cloud-based solution aligns perfectly with their vision of online, automated accounting, where real-time, accessible, data empowers them to help their clients anywhere and anytime.

Continuously improving processes and workflows is key to growing any business. Take it from Leanne: “A solid tech stack lets clients focus on their business, and scale it with confidence.” Knowify’s platform and Leanne’s expert advisory services means that for Argento CPA clients, profitability is no a happy accident – it’s the result of clearly understanding cost structure and how much money is made at the project level. With real-time data, Leanne’s clients can validate essential things, like ensuring that markups are correct or appropriately adjusting bids so they can win more business, and take in more profit.

For all those advisors looking to offer world-class service to their clients, Leanne has one key takeaway: “Listen to your clients; hearing what they have to say makes a huge difference in the way you help them and their business”.

We couldn’t agree more.

Learn more about Knowify’s Advisor Program

Looking for new ways to empower your construction clients and strengthen your advisory services? Join thousands of financial professionals worldwide in becoming Knowify’s certified, and start passing on incredible benefits to your clients.

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