knowify construction
As you are aware, the accounting/bookkeeping industry is moving in the direction of increased specialization. For accountants, that shift brings both challenges and opportunities. If you’ve just been a generalist to this point, you probably look at the prospect of trying to learn the deep ins and outs of a single industry with dread; at the same time though, the more expertise you can bring to bear in your engagements with clients, the more valuable your services will be. More value for them means more money for you!
We work very closely with accountants at Knowify, and frequently interact with folks who are in the earliest stages of trying to figure out if construction is the right niche for them. This blog post is a brief summation of the lessons we’ve learned over time working in the construction field, and the things we think you should know if you are thinking about being an accountant/bookkeeper specializing in construction.
Pros
Construction is a huge industry. In fact, it’s SO huge (over 1,000,000 businesses in the US!) that you should probably be thinking about specializing in a sub-niche of the construction niche – say, homebuilders, or trades contractors. A huge industry means that you will have ample opportunities to grow your practice over time, if it ends up being a good fit for you.
Construction owners need the help. If you haven’t spent much time in the industry, you probably have no appreciation for just how administratively complex it is. And the central irony of construction is that these guys didn’t go into construction so that they could ride a desk all day! Office work is neither their greatest interest nor their greatest strength. Help them run more efficiently, and they’ll love (and pay) you for it.
The time is right. The industry is hot right now – jobs are pouring in, meaning that owners can afford to pay good advisors. On top of that, there’s pressure coming from all directions for construction companies to improve their use of technology, communications with counterparties, and administrative processes. You can be that hero!
Caveats
Construction is complex. That complexity is both good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that it will take a real commitment in energy and time for you to learn the lingo, understand the processes, etc. BUT – once you’ve done that, you’ll have cleared a relatively high hurdle that will help keep competitors out. Barriers to competitive entry are great when you’re thinking about getting paid (well) for your services.
Cons/Challenges
Construction owners can be demanding. They’re under a lot of pressure to deliver on time, and they have to manage a business with a ton of moving parts (that they often don’t have a great handle on). That means that most construction owners are stressed out and working 12 hour days. If you’re not a solution to their problems, you’re a problem yourself – they just don’t have the bandwidth to manage more things! If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like high-intensity clients, then maybe construction isn’t the right niche for you.
As noted above, each trade in construction is a little bit different. You can still be effective if you just learn the basics that encompass most of the industry – i.e., basic change order management, progress billing, etc. –, but if you want to be a game-changer for your client’s business you will probably need to focus on just a few specific trades/sub-niches at first. Hint: connect with the project manager/estimators and learn the lingo from them!
Author Bio: Dan de Roulet is co-founder of Knowify. de Roulet, who has a long history as an entrepreneur and business developer, strongly believes in the potential of the Knowify software to significantly streamline construction company operations.