Cal Wadsworth Construction deals with several thorny accounting challenges that are typical of the construction industry. Accrual-based, cost-complete accounting requires impeccable timing of payments to keep the books balanced. And because they rely on bonding to bid and win jobs, they have to prove financial viability to bonding companies based on accurate financials—projected profit, earned revenue, and earned profit for every job.
With their business success depending so much on accuracy and timeliness, Cal Wadsworth needed an expense management solution that could give them real-time visibility and control. And they needed automated processes because, as a small business, they had limited human resources available. The answer? BILL Spend & Expense, the all-in-one expense management solution that combines free software with corporate cards.
Cal Wadsworth Construction has grown rapidly over the past two years, expanding headcount from five to 18 employees and increasing annual revenue from $9 to $15 million. Most of their work consists of government projects like parks, campgrounds, infrastructure upgrades, and remodels, and for entities like the State of Utah and Salt Lake City.
Using bank-issued debit cards for expense spending became difficult as the company started to grow. “We were making purchases with debit cards and the home office didn’t know they were happening,” recalls Chris Wadsworth, Operations Manager at Cal Wadsworth Construction. “Our card statements gave us no idea what the transactions were, which job they were purchased for, or any other details. Also, it was difficult to track down receipts for every purchase.”
This was problematic because the company needed every purchase to be coded, either to a project budget, or as a general and administrative expense. “We wanted to give our people the freedom to purchase what they needed and not encumber them with so much administrative work,” says Wadsworth. “But we also needed to keep track of what was being purchased and make sure it was coded to the correct job so that our job budgets were accurate.”
Debit cards also caused a lot of headaches for Wadsworth on the back end. “Our debit card transactions fed into QuickBooks, and then I would have to manually code them as they come in,” he recalls.
BILL immediately made a difference for Wadsworth and the company. “We signed up to BILL Spend & Expense and gave it a shot,” says Wadsworth. “It was pretty apparent from the beginning that BILL was so much easier.”
Having BILL meant no more manual expense management. “It was obvious as we grew that I didn’t have enough time to manually code all those transactions accurately in QuickBooks,” Wadsworth says. “It would be an absolute nightmare. I don't know how other companies do it without a solution like BILL Spend & Expense.”
“I don't know how other companies do it without a solution like BILL Spend & Expense.”
“We're small, but for our size, we make a lot of transactions in BILL every day – hundreds of transactions in the tens of thousands. Time is a huge factor,” Wadsworth continues. “If we didn't have BILL Spend & Expense, we'd likely need a full-time person to be responsible for hounding people for receipts, matching them to transactions, and coding them.”
“Without BILL, It would require a dedicated FTE, to manage all of that,” Wadsworth concludes.
Wadsworth loves the ability to control spending with BILL Spend & Expense. “Being able to instantly set someone's limit on their BILL card is freaking awesome,” he says. “We can give a card to anybody with $200 bucks on it, and if they go rogue, it's not a big risk.”
“Accountability is a huge thing for us because we rely on accurate cost coding, in a timely fashion, so that our financials are correct,” Wadsworth continues. “With BILL, even if someone doesn’t include a receipt, at least they're forced to write a description of what they purchased and code it.”
“BILL is a huge benefit for accountability: it forces team members to code their own transactions which saves time and increases the accuracy of our finances. explains Wadsworth. “Our financial statements are extremely accurate because everything is coded exactly where it's supposed to be in BILL.”
“BILL has helped us grow,” says Wadsworth. “We’re a small company. I’m just one guy doing HR, marketing, helping on projects. Finance and accounting is just part of my job. BILL Spend & Expense has freed up my time to focus more on strategic decisions and growing the business.”
With BILL on board, Wadsworth is making a difference in other parts of the business. “Thanks to BILL, I can get out in the field and spend more time on employee retention, team-building, culture, and goal-setting. And less time counting beans in the corner.”
“BILL Spend & Expense has freed up my time to focus more on strategic decisions and growing the business.”
