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FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE REVIEW BY SHELDON NEEDLE

FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE REVIEW • CTSGUIDES.COM • PAGE 2

Overview

Base modules include Job Costing, General Ledger,

Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll,

Purchase Orders/Subcontracts, the CPA

Audit/Review dashboard and DataGenie™ custom

report designers. Optional additional modules

include Project Management, Scheduling,

Inventory, Equipment, Time & Material, Unit Price

Billing, Fixed Assets and Service Dispatch, as well

as the Executive Dashboard and Consolidated

General Ledger for multi-company financial

reporting. FOUNDATION mobile® also fully

integrates with FOUNDATION as a field application

for remote access via tablet, laptop or smartphone,

and eAccess is a convenient and secure online

portal where employees can access their pay stub

information at any time from anywhere.

FOUNDATION is available as an on-premise package

or “on the cloud” as FOUNDATION SaaS (“software

as a service”). Additionally, FOUNDATION

integrates with various third-party estimating,

timecard-entry and inventory-tracking systems.

User Experience

The FOUNDATION menu system is based on the

module in which you are working. Each of the

module menus provides three options: daily,

maintenance and reports. In addition to standard

toolbar selections (e.g., retrieve, save, duplicate, list

and find), numerous keyboard shortcuts are

available. Data entry and navigation can be done

using either a mouse or the keyboard.

General ease-of-use features include a calculator,

user defined fields, notes and pop-up reminders.

Date-sensitive notes can be attached to any master

file record (e.g., vendors) or to daily transactions

(e.g., invoices).

FOUNDATION uses an HTML help system, enabling

users to work offline or link to the company’s

website to access a FOUNDATION knowledge base

for quick-help guides and FAQs.

Value

Pricing is set by module and number of concurrent

logins, and is based on a single-user base system

(see base modules above). A single-user base

system with up to 30 hours of free, online training

may sell from $10,000 plus. In addition to remote

training, clients may purchase training at their site

or at Foundation’s corporate headquarters.

With its powerful payroll features, FOUNDATION is

best suited for the small- to medium-sized labor-

intensive contractor, although the system is also

used by much larger construction businesses.

FOUNDATION users generally range as widely as 10

and 1,500 employees, with $1 million to $250

million in annual revenue.

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Pros

• Audit trails – fully date sensitive,

transaction based

• Timecard designer

• Powerful and flexible report writer

• Ability to pay by invoice line item

• Multi-state payroll

Cons

• Hosted cloud solution requires Citrix for

access

• Cannot key in an invoice for line items not

in original budget, must first adjust the

budget and then enter the invoice

• No intercompany transactions

• Batch oriented data entry and posting

requires 3 steps: data entry, printing batch

report, then posting transactions in order

to update records

Ease of Deployment & Training

FOUNDATION is available as on-premise

software or hosted as a service (cloud) called

FOUNDATION SaaS.

Sales, training and support are handled directly by

Foundation Software, never through third-party

dealers, VARS or consultants. Unlimited, toll-free

telephone support is included in the price of the

base package for the first six months. In addition,

Foundation clients have access to a "Clients Only"

area within Foundation’s website, which gives

users the opportunity to access conveniently the

information they need. This includes access to

quick-help guides, answers to FAQs, software

updates, documentation and client alerts.

Foundation Software’s inclusive six-month

maintenance program includes regular system

updates, year-end updates, tax law updates, W-2

changes and discounts on additional products and

services.

Further Reading

Executive Summary

Foundation Software, Inc., headquartered in

Cleveland, Ohio, was founded in 1985 by Fred Ode

with the goal of developing a better, more efficient

accounting software for the construction industry.

The company’s first product was written for Wang

mini-computers and released in January 1987. In

1991 the company introduced a DOS-based

program. Foundation introduced its current

Windows®-based application, FOUNDATION®, in

2000 as a complete, ground-up re-write of the

software. This was a unique move at the time when

compared with its competitors, and the result today

has been a more efficient, flexible and user-friendly

program for the Windows operating environment.

FOUNDATION is written in PowerBuilder® with

Microsoft® SQL Server® as the back-end database.

Of the total number of FOUNDATION users,

approximately 80% are trade contractors (including

heavy/highway) and 20% general contractors who

self-perform.

Base modules include Job Costing, General Ledger,

Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll,

Purchase Orders/Subcontracts, the CPA

Audit/Review dashboard and DataGenie™ custom

report designers. Optional additional modules

include Project Management, Scheduling,

Inventory, Equipment, Time & Material, Unit Price

Billing, Fixed Assets and Service Dispatch, as well

as the Executive Dashboard and Consolidated

General Ledger for multi-company financial

reporting. FOUNDATION mobile® also fully

integrates with FOUNDATION as a field application

for remote access via tablet, laptop or smartphone,

and eAccess is a convenient and secure online

portal where employees can access their pay stub



information at any time from anywhere.

FOUNDATION is available as an on-premise package

or “on the cloud” as FOUNDATION SaaS (“software

as a service”). Additionally, FOUNDATION

integrates with various third-party estimating,

timecard-entry and inventory-tracking systems.

FOUNDATION can operate in both 32-bit and 64-bit

environments and requires Windows® 7 or later.

Stand-alone, peer-to-peer and dedicated server

environments are all supported with Windows

Server 2008 or later if installed onto a dedicated

server.

FOUNDATION’s open architecture allows the user to

attach the database directly to all Microsoft Office

products and all third-party packages (such as

Crystal Reports®) that access SQL Server.

With its powerful payroll features, FOUNDATION is

best suited for the small- to medium-sized labor-

intensive contractor, although the system is also

used by much larger construction businesses.

FOUNDATION users generally range as widely as 10

and 1,500 employees, with $1 million to $250

million in annual revenue.

Sales, training and support are handled directly by

Foundation Software, never through third-party

dealers, VARS or consultants. Unlimited, toll-free

telephone support is included in the price of the

base package for the first six months. In addition,

Foundation clients have access to a "Clients Only"

area within Foundation’s website, which gives

users the opportunity to access conveniently the

information they need. This includes access to

quick-help guides, answers to FAQs, software

updates, documentation and client alerts.

Foundation Software’s inclusive six-month

maintenance program includes regular system

updates, year-end updates, tax law updates, W-2

changes and discounts on additional products and

services. Pricing is set by module and number of

concurrent logins, and is based on a single-user

base system (see base modules above). A single-

user base system with up to 30 hours of free, online

training may sell from $10,000 plus. In addition to

remote training, clients may purchase training at

their site or at Foundation’s corporate headquarters.

Additional Products and Services

FOUNDATION SaaS

FOUNDATION construction accounting software is

also available on the cloud. FOUNDATION SaaS

(which stands for “Software as a Service”) offers

the same powerful job cost accounting capabilities

as FOUNDATION on-premise software.

Contractors log on anywhere through a secure

connection from any device with Internet access.

Foundation Software handles all backups, system

updates and data security. Data are warehoused at

multiple secure off-site locations.

FOUNDATION mobile

FOUNDATION has added a convenient set of

field-log features to its mobile application,

FOUNDATION mobile®, which now includes

timecard entry and approval processes, equipment

usage, field and weather notes, materials transfers,

and more. Data can entered on almost any mobile

device, even in off-line mode, and sent to

FOUNDATION in the office for automatically

updated job costing.

Service Dispatch mobile

FOUNDATION’s Service Dispatch Module now

extends its reach into the field with almost any

smartphone, tablet or ruggedized laptop. Service

Dispatch mobile™ is a Web-based app that allows

service technicians to view their dispatch



assignments, enter labor hours, record materials

used and send notes back to the office.

eAccess

Foundation Software's eAccess online payroll

portal allows employees to log in to a secure

website to view their payroll information,

deductions, taxes and vacation accruals, as well as

review and print pay stubs.

Payroll4Construction.com

FOUNDATION seamlessly integrates with

Payroll4Construction.com, a processing and

reporting service designed just for contractors.

Payroll4Construction.com is powered by

FOUNDATION, which means that it offers all of the

functionality and flexibility of FOUNDATION’s

Payroll Module in order to simplify the most

complex construction payroll. Its benefits include:

• Free certified payroll and construction

reporting

• Multi-state, multi-locality, multi-job and

multi-pay-rate tracking

• Integration with FOUNDATION,

QuickBooks® and other accounting

programs

• Complete payroll services such as checks

and direct deposit, tax filings, taxable

fringes, W-2s, and third-party sick pay

• Support from construction payroll experts

To see more benefits, call 800-949-9620 or visit

www.Payroll4Construction.com.

System Features

Pros

• Audit trails – fully date-sensitive and

transaction-based

• Links to context-sensitive help system and

online knowledge base for support

• Executive Dashboard

• DataGenie report designers

• Timecard designer

• Timecard import tool

• Job estimate/budget import tool

• Unit-price bid import tool

• Purchase order/subcontract import tool

• Inventory usage import tool

• Direct deposit (ACH) export tool

• A/R invoice designer

• Purchase order/subcontract designer

• Microsoft SQL Server database

• Unlimited user-defined fields (UDF)

• Green Buttons that encourage eco-

friendly, electronic file sharing by

simplifying the saving of reports to a

single step.

Cons

• Hosted cloud solution requires Citrix for

acccess

The FOUNDATION menu system is based on the

module in which you are working. Each of the

module menus provides three options: daily,

maintenance and reports. In addition to standard

toolbar selections (e.g., retrieve, save, duplicate, list

and find), numerous keyboard shortcuts are

available. Data entry and navigation can be done

using either a mouse or the keyboard.

General ease-of-use features include a calculator,

user defined fields, notes and pop-up reminders.

Date-sensitive notes can be attached to any master

file record (e.g., vendors) or to daily transactions

(e.g., invoices).

FOUNDATION uses an HTML help system, enabling

users to work offline or link to the company’s

website to access a FOUNDATION knowledge base

for quick-help guides and FAQs.

Security settings can be controlled per user, down

to individual screens and data tables. The system


http://www.payroll4construction.com/


includes a hierarchical menu structure that enables

the administrator to select who can view and access

which parts of FOUNDATION.

Over 300 reports come standard. FOUNDATION also

features powerful report designers (“DataGenies”)

within the Job Costing and General Ledger

Modules. DataGenies use “capsules” to simplify

report creation. Capsules represent predefined

types of data within the database. These capsules

allow the user to easily select the information they

want to see in various columns via a drag-and-drop

interface. Reports can be created for any desired

period, and after the report is built, it is easy to

change headings, resize fields, or add, move or

remove columns.

Additional report writing capabilities are available

using third-party SQL Server-compatible report

writers such as Crystal Reports or SQL Server data

links such as Microsoft Excel®, Word® or Access®.

An SQL query tool is also built in to pull records

based on selective criteria (e.g., all employees that

live in Cleveland and were hired after June 5,

2010).

Posted transactions are date-sensitive, not period-

driven. FOUNDATION also provides optional close

procedures in each module, which allows the

administrator to establish a range of dates outside

of which transactions cannot be entered.

FOUNDATION also provides extensive audit trails.

Users have the ability to extract activity by system

date, and audit reports will also include a user ID

stamp. Item entry screens also show the user ID and

system time entered. Transactions edited in

“Modify” mode provide a user, date and time

stamps from the original transaction.

UDFs are available throughout the system. Fields

can be formatted as alphanumeric, date, integer,

attachment and even custom dropdown values.

Job Costing (J/C)

Pros

• Powerful and flexible report designers

• Bonding, over/under and WIP reporting

• Unlimited user-defined phases and cost

codes

• Controls to ensure J/C and G/L balance

• Change order processing with pending,

approved, internal and estimate statuses

• Track actual vs. estimate costs, hours and

quantities

• Production reporting and unit-cost

reporting

• Automated overhead and labor burden

allocations

• Automate % of completion adjustment

• Custom change order designer

• Integrates with estimating programs

Cons

• Limited in processing negative change

orders

Job Costing is thoroughly integrated with the other

modules in FOUNDATION, eliminating duplicate

entry. Vendor and subcontractor invoices are

posted to Job Costing from Accounts Payable and

job billings from Accounts Receivable. The user

may optionally distribute billings to the cost code

level. Purchase orders instantly update committed

costs on reports. Employee hours (regular and

overtime), gross pay and labor burden are posted to

the cost code and cost class level (phases optional)

automatically through timecard entry.

Job file

A 10-character alphanumeric field identifies each

job. The structure of the cost distribution is defined

by the user by including an optional “phase” code

to represent a broad area of job costs, a cost



category (“cost code”) and a cost type (“cost

class”). Each job costing level is user-defined and

unlimited in number, so users never have to

accommodate to someone else’s job costing

structure. Cost code groups also provide a flexible

way to add an additional level of organization to job

costing. At the cost-code level the system will also

track quantities (e.g., cubic yards), which in turn

can be used to track production (e.g., cubic yards

per man hour).

FOUNDATION allows the defining of an extensive

array of attributes for each job file, including cost

basis (unit cost or lump sum), budgeted or non-

budgeted, sales tax and payroll tax authorities,

overhead-allocation rates, project manager,

geographic location, and job status. Additional

summary information includes the original contract

amount, bid amount and cost estimate.

Users can alternate between lump-sum and unit-

cost methods of cost tracking within a given job.

When viewing variances and cost over/under-runs,

lump-sum cost codes and unit-cost codes will be

computed independently, simplifying the

evaluation of job progress and profitability in

instances where a job is paid on both cost bases.

Budgets can be copied from an existing job to a new

one by copying either the cost codes only or cost

codes plus budgeted dollars and labor hours, and

you can even select which ones to transfer over. A

customizable job cost importer also allows budgets

to be imported into FOUNDATION from an

estimating application, CSV file or spreadsheet.

Adjusting entries to a job can be accomplished

directly through a job journals. While most entries

should be performed as transactions or posted

through the General Ledger Module, Job Costing

lets users easily transfer job costs that may bypass

the general ledger. With each journal entry, the

system maintains a detailed audit trail.

FOUNDATION allows the allocation of overhead

costs using a weighted formula, defined by cost

type or account. In addition to distributing overhead

cost, actual labor burden such as payroll taxes and

union or prevailing wage fringes can be applied

directly to a job through the Payroll Module. The

user can also add an estimated burden amount based

upon either a percentage of gross wages or an

hourly rate. Labor burden can be posted to a

specific cost code and cost class.

FOUNDATION also provides for comprehensive

tracking of change orders. Change order status can

be tracked as approved, pending, cancelled,

internal or estimate. Date-sensitive notes and

reminders can be attached to each change order.

Distribution of change order amounts can be

performed across any number of cost codes and cost

classes or simply as a lump sum amount. Approved

and estimate change orders are reflected in all

appropriate job cost reports as well as WIP, percent

complete and bonding reports. Additionally,

custom reports can be designed easily to reflect

change orders by status, allowing users to see, for

example, how internal or pending change orders

will affect their gross-profit margin before they

ever become approved.

Job Costing Reports

FOUNDATION provides numerous job cost reports:

• History Detail, showing all transactions

• Estimated vs. Actual Costs

• Estimated vs. Actual Labor Hours

• Contract Status

• Committed Costs

• Production

• Unit Cost

• Projected Cost to Complete

• Projected Hours at Completion

• Over/Under Billing

• Percent Complete by Cost Code



• Cash Flow by Job

In addition, with the DataGenie report designers,

users can easily modify existing reports and create

their own custom job cost reports with an intuitive

drag-and-drop interface.

Project manager security settings allow the

administrator to define which jobs a project

manager can access and view on reports.

FOUNDATION’s complete integration means that

data in reports is always connected to more data in

the system. The Executive Dashboard includes

drill-down capabilities that encompass all modules

within the software, so owners can start with a high-

altitude overview and dig into details as desired.

DataGenie reports also allow user-defined drill-

down paths that can lead to related reports and to

transaction-level detail.

FOUNDATION includes numerous productivity

reports showing unit-cost and production

information. With the DataGenie, production

reports can be developed using user-defined

formulas that show the production index a

contractor considers most meaningful for

evaluating jobs.

Percent complete can be entered into FOUNDATION

several different ways. Users can manually enter a

percentage or projected cost by cost code and cost

class, enter quantities by cost code for a system-

calculated percentage, record percent complete by

job, or add user-defined formulas in the DataGenie.

FOUNDATION also includes numerous bonding or

WIP reports and can even automatically post

over/under billings adjustments to the General

Ledger Module with a single click.

Accounts Payable (A/P)

Pros

• Recurring invoices

• Flexible selection of invoices for payment

• Check voids, adjustments and credit

memos

• Automatic lien waivers

• Sales and use tax tracking

• Subcontractor retainage tracking

• Printable and electronic 1099s

• Extensive validation and error checking

• Quick-check printing

• Direct deposit and positive pay

Cons

• No warning if invoice distribution exceeds

job cost code estimate

• Cannot enter an invoice for cost codes not

in the job budget; users must first modify

the budget before entering the invoice.

The Accounts Payable Module handles invoice and

cash-disbursement processing as well as many

essential utilities to assist in such tasks as bid

selection, 1099 reporting and expense distribution.

Data automatically flows from A/P into the Job

Costing, General Ledger, Equipment, Inventory

and PO/Subcontract Modules.

Vendor File

The vendor file includes a number of standard fields

as well as any number of UDFs. System vendor

fields include minority status, credit limit, pay class

(a selection criteria in payment processing),

certificate expiration dates, area and supply codes,

and more. Based on user-defined A/P area codes

and supply codes, vendors can be conveniently

selected for bidding requests and other purposes.

Certificate expiration dates can be used either to

warn against or to prevent invoicing or payment.

An “Inquiry” tab in the vendor file provides an

instant, detailed history of invoice and payment

transactions, each linked to an A/P Invoice Detail

Report for drill-down detail.



Invoice Processing

Vendor invoice entry is designed to provide for all

necessary information and verification with

minimal data entry. Much of the information can be

set up to default automatically to values within the

vendor, job and PO/Sub files. An invoice can be

entered just by typing in the vendor number,

invoice date and amount, letting the rest default.

Any of the defaults are easily overridden, so setting

and using A/P defaults comes with no risk.

Among the other fields contained in each invoice

are job number, PO/Sub number, change order

number, voucher type, payment status, pay class

and tax authority. If the invoice is applied against a

PO/subcontract, the system can automatically

verify the correct cost distribution either for exact

amounts or within a user-defined margin.

Users are able to enter the job in the invoice header

and use distribution lines to cost an invoice to any

number of jobs, cost codes, cost classes, equipment

items and G/L accounts. Inventory receipts can be

entered through PO receiving or directly with the

invoice.

Extensive error checking within the system

prevents overpayments, invalid distributions and

distributions that would put Job Costing and

General Ledger out of balance.

Sales and use taxes are tracked as separate costs for

convenient reporting. FOUNDATION also

automatically calculates make-up tax as the rate

difference where materials were paid for and where

materials are used.

Finally, errors are easily corrected and adjustments

cleanly made with Job Costing’s “Quick Reversal”

feature, which reverses invoices and pre-fills a new

invoice in a single step, all while maintaining a

secure audit trail.

Payment Processing

Accounts Payable allows for payment through a

flexible combination of invoice dates and due dates,

discount eligibility, vendor range, job range,

PO/subcontracts, user range and payment class. In

addition, users can include or exclude held

invoices, select only particular line items within an

invoice, or automatically select invoices just for

retainage payment. The system also supports joint

checks and multiple checks per vendor. Any

number of invoices may appear on a check, and any

number of partial payments can be made against a

single invoice.

The Cash Requirements Report helps to analyze

outstanding invoices, and a pre-payment register

lets users see the impact of check printing before

posting any transactions.

FOUNDATION also allows for manual and prepaid

checks, entry of credit card transactions, and

posting of EFT payments.

Check printing in FOUNDATION allows rapid and

easy correction of any problems with a check run,

from printer jams to last-minute adjustments.

Check registers generate automatically after

printing and posting, and individual or combined

check registers can be reprinted at any time.

Accounts Payable provides efficient methods for

correcting invoices, voiding checks and generating

credit memos. To void a check, users simply

specify the cash account and check number; the

system will post an offsetting amount for the G/L

transaction, reopen the relevant invoices and

provide an audit trail for future reference. Because

FOUNDATION is fully integrated, all adjusting

entries will automatically correct the appropriate

entries in the G/L, PO/Subcontract, J/C, I/N, E/Q

and A/P Modules.



Accounts Payable Reports

Accounts Payable’s stock of reports includes:

• A/P Aging

• Cash Requirements

• Invoice History

• General Ledger Analysis

• 1099

• Sales Tax Detail/Liability

• Sworn Statement

Accounts Payable invoice reports can be generated,

searched and sorted by date, vendor, job, project

manager and more. User-defined aging terms are

available, as well as future- and prior-date aging

reports.

General Ledger (G/L)

Pros

• Flexible financial statement designer

• G/L account budgets

• G/L by job reporting

• Overhead allocation

• Automatic bank reconciliation

• Divisionalized accounting optional

• Recurring journal entries

• Simple year-end closes (no hard closes)

• Consolidated and multi-company financial

reporting with Consolidated G/L Module

Cons

• No intercompany transactions

• Multicompany consolidations requires

extra cost module

Chart of Accounts

Accounts are identified with a user-defined 10-

character numeric field and description. Users can

create a virtually unlimited number of accounts and

define each account’s statement category, so

companies are free to use their own unique accounts

structure.

In FOUNDATION job numbers are attached to all

income and expense transactions, allowing for the

extraction of G/L data by job and the printing of

income statements by job. Direct burden, such as

FICA, workers' compensation and union fringes, is

pro-rated among jobs, and indirect burden is

allocated with a user-defined formula.

The system allows budgeting of any account for

any user-defined periods. Budgets are entered in

the same manner as journal entries, and budget

revisions can be made as an adjusting entry, with

the description field allowing room to record the

reason for the revision. By entering the number of

months, users can set whether they want the

monthly budget amount distributed evenly or

defined per each month. Budget reports are

available for past, present and future periods.

The system also provides for user-defined journals.

Types include budget, regular, accrual, recurring

amounts and recurring accounts.

General Ledger Reports

Like the Job Costing report designer, the financial

statements designer uses drag-and-drop capsules to

build a report with a custom range or individual

selection of accounts, headings and totals. Columns

can be set to include balance, activity or budget

figures, based on year-to-date, monthly or quarterly

periods.

The G/L Module offers a variety of reports:

• Trial Balance

• Balance Sheet

• Income Statements

• Job G/L Activity

• Activity Summary

• Statement of Cash Flows

• Bank Reconciliation History



• G/L History Detail

• G/L Budget

• Overhead Allocation

• Over/Under Billing

• Statement Support Schedule

• Post Log

Check Reconciliation Check reconciliation allows multiple bank

accounts to stay in balance with the system.

Clearing outstanding checks and deposits is a

simple matter of "checking off" outstanding items

listed on the screen. Any errors can be corrected just

as easily, and a reconciliation report within the

system can quickly determine if the accounts are in

balance. When out of balance, an analysis report

can identify the source of reconciliation error. Bank

reconciliation also includes an import function for

financial institutions that provide cleared

transactions via .csv or .txt formats.

Payroll (P/R)

Pros

• Certified payroll in multiple federal, state

and agency formats, print and electronic

• Prevailing wage reduction factors

• Workers’ compensation and other burden

• Customizable timecard entry screen

• Multiple jobs, states, localities and pay

rates

• Multiple unions, including home/away

logic

• Executive payroll security

• Accrued time-off tracking

• Easy check voids and adjustments

• Print and magnetic W-2s

• Minority, federal and state tax reporting

• ACA reporting

Cons

• Default check no. sequence cannot be

reset

Payroll is one of FOUNDATION’s major strengths,

and the module is built to satisfy the complex

requirements of labor-intensive contractors.

Information flows automatically from Payroll into

the General Ledger, Job Costing and Equipment

Modules. Labor hours, dollars, union fringes and

benefits, equipment usage, quantities, and burden

automatically flow into Job Costing.

In a single payroll run, an employee may work on

any number of jobs in multiple states and localities,

resulting in different rates, taxes and fringes. P/R

allows for crossing union boundaries, varying trade

classifications, and changing pay rates and tax

authorities. Even with these numerous complex

variables, FOUNDATION accurately computes

earnings, taxes, burden, deductions and fringes.

Any number of payroll runs may be entered and

computed concurrently, even with the same or

different pay periods. The system keeps data

separate for the purposes of entering time, proofing,

computing and printing checks, so concurrent

payrolls won’t affect each other.

FOUNDATION provides extensive flexibility within

the P/R Control File, including user-defined

sequencing, which sets the rules for how the system

gathers information when it computes payroll.

Users can customize stub information and define

labor burden, minority groups, deductions, pay

periods, payment groups and more.

The Employee File

The employee file includes tabs for extensive entry

of information and defaults, such as tax and

deductions values, pay rates, time-off accruals, and



UDFs. Some human resources fields are available,

while many can be created.

Users can define any number of earning types, such

as regular pay, time and a half, double time,

bonuses, premium time, per diem, sick pay,

vacation pay, accrued vacation time, unpaid leave,

reimbursable and non-reimbursable travel pay, and

taxable fringes. Custom overtime factors, whether

1.75 or 2.245, can also be set up.

Union earnings, fringes and deductions can be

calculated based on hourly rates with or without

overtime factors, as well as percent of gross and

fixed amounts according to your specification. If

applicable, taxable union fringes can be taken into

account. Cross or split home/away union logic is

also possible when an employee from one local

works in another jurisdiction. The system can be set

to determine each wage rate, how deductions and

fringes will be calculated, and to which union they

should be applied.

For prevailing wage payroll, FOUNDATION lets

users set a prevailing wage reduction factor using

multiple benefit types.

Any number of recurring or one-time deductions

can be established in the system, including

garnishments, pay loans, 401(k) plans, HSAs and

Section 125. Miscellaneous deductions are user-

defined and calculated by hourly rates (based upon

either hours worked or hours paid), fixed amounts,

percent of gross or earning code.

General Ledger Allocations

P/R automatically posts to the G/L based on

system-defined and user-defined rules. For

example, the system can allocate FICA expenses

into a single payroll tax account or into different

FICA expense accounts for different departments or

labor types. The system also attaches the job

number to all G/L expense transactions.

FOUNDATION expertly handles taxes involving

multiple authorities. Employees on a job may be

subject to city tax, county school tax and state

income tax. Withholding requests by employees,

are readily managed by the system, and all tax

tables are directly under the control of the user and

may be modified at any time. State and local tax

tables have been specifically designed to meet the

various methods used by different states.

Timecard Entry

FOUNDATION supports a variety of methods for

timecard entry, whether by crew, job, employee or

any combination. Depending on the nature of your

labor reporting, you may use one or more methods.

Multiple standard timecards designs are included

within FOUNDATION and can be modified. Users

easily define additional custom formats through the

TimecardGenie tool.

With the TimecardGenie, users drag and drop

available fields to build a formatted timecard

template. Users also have the ability to protect

specific fields from manual entry. Timecards can be

entered remotely using FOUNDATION mobile or

imported from a third-party mobile app.

Dozens of proofing reports with various sort and

selection options help ensure the accuracy of

timecard data and computed payrolls before

posting. Revisions are easily made.

FOUNDATION also offers ACH direct deposit

reporting. Additionally, the Direct Deposit Genie

allows export files to match the requirements of

your particular bank.

Payroll Reports

Besides proofing registers and tax reports,

FOUNDATION provides comprehensive reporting of

benefits and deductions, union earnings, certified

payroll, workers’ compensation and minority



compliance. Certified payroll and minority

compliance reports have been designed to meet

current governmental regulations on both the state

and federal level and are kept updated. Minority

compliance reporting meets the precise

requirements of various government agencies and

is a tremendous time saver. Certified payroll may

be re-run for prior periods and is instantly updated

after the correction of most errors or omissions

Users have the option to include unposted

timecards in the Job History Detail Report as well

custom reports. History reports can be run for prior

periods, even into closed fiscal periods.

Accounts Receivable (A/R)

Pros

• AIA billing with easy rollback and

printing

• Percent complete billing

• Tracks and releases retainage

• Custom-designed invoices with logo

• Custom proposals and work orders

• Recurring invoices

• Service charges

Cons

• AIA corrections must be “rolled back” to

original date to avoid retainage issues.

Accounts Receivable records and reports income

with complete J/C, I/N and G/L integration.

Customer File

Customer records contain basic data like contact

info, customer type and credit limit, as well as

defaults such as billing cycle, payment type,

category and geographic area. UDFs and history

tables make the customer file even more useful. At

a glance users can see year-to-date receipts, aging

summaries, total due and more.

Invoice Entry

FOUNDATION allows several types of billing,

including standard, AIA, time and material, percent

complete and unit price. Within standard invoicing,

tabs are available to enter the overall invoice

information, G/L distribution, J/C distribution and

details for printable invoices.

The A/R InvoiceGenie tool helps users design any

number of custom printable invoices. Users drag

fields from the selection area into the invoice

header, detail or summary section and can even

include a company logo.

Sales tax is kept as a separate line item on invoices,

and several sales tax reports are available. The

invoice entry screen includes an option to include

the sales tax within the taxable amount on the

invoice, and tax accrual amounts are posted

automatically to the G/L.

AIA billing allows the entry of an amount or

percentage complete by line item on a schedule of

values. Each line item can be assigned to a different

G/L account and cost code. Retainage and stored

material are also entered at the line-item level. An

AIA rollback feature automatically reverses to an

earlier AIA application and schedule of values with

a single step — even after posting; the system

makes the necessary G/L and job cost adjustments.

AIA documents can be printed on an AIA-type

form or on pre-printed G702/703 forms and can

also be reprinted later.

Cash Receipts

Cash receipts can be applied directly against

invoices or as “miscellaneous cash receipts,”

applied directly to a bank account within the chart



of accounts or placed in a G/L holding account until

physical deposits are made at the bank.

Accounts Receivable Reports

A/R features the following reports and more:

• A/R Aging

• Applied History

• Cash Receipt by Account

• Contract Receivables

• Full Invoice Report

• Invoice Transaction Analysis

• Sales Tax

A/R Aging and Applied History Reports may be run

for prior periods, allowing your company to

continue operations into the next fiscal period while

still working to close out the previous period. A

fully detailed audit history is maintained so that an

inquiry into the transaction history of a client or job

can be made at any time.

Most A/R reports can be organized by client or by

job, and numerous options for sorting and

summarizing reports are available.

Purchase Orders/Subcontract (PO/Sub)

Pros

• Supports multiple jobs/cost codes per PO

• Customizable PO/subcontracts printing

• Flexible change order tracking

• Prevents overbilling by vendor

• Reminders of certificate expiration dates

• Committed cost reporting

PO/Subcontract integrates directly with the A/P,

I/N and J/C Modules. Within PO/Subcontract, users

can enter, print and manage purchase orders and

subcontracts, as well as receive related inventory.

The PO/SubGenie can also design basic and

detailed custom PO and subcontract templates to

print from within the system.

PO/Subcontract Reports

Reports can be selected, sorted or generated based

on vendor, job or purchase order/subcontract. A

status report provides the amount authorized on,

billed against and remaining on a PO/subcontract.

Full integration with J/C allows committed costs to

be tracked and analyzed in J/C reports.

Time & Material (T/M)

Pros

• User-defined markups by job, by customer

or global

• Simple to use complex markups

• Add/edit billing from register

• Automatically prevents re-billing

The Time & Material Module allows a wide variety

of markups and billing rates based on job, customer,

cost code or company. Billing rates and markups

work for all activity against a job, including

employees, trades, subcontractors, material

suppliers, inventory and equipment. The T/M

invoice designer allows detailed and summary

invoices based on user preference. Invoiced

transactions are marked as invoiced to prevent

duplicate invoicing. Cost-plus jobs are also readily

handled in T/M.

Unit Price Billing (U/P)

Pros

• Creates estimates for billings

• Quantity or lump sum per item

• Attach subcontractors to each item

• Import line items from estimating

software, spreadsheets and

government/DOT websites



Unit Price Billing enables contractors who

perform work for government agencies to submit

specialized invoice formats. The module follows

standard procedures for most state DOTs, and the

U/P BidGenie gives the ability to import bids from

the different state agency websites.

I/N has the ability to post costs directly to job

history through journal entries, A/P transactions,

purchase order receiving, A/R transactions or

equipment. All posted inventory is retained in an

inventory usage table.

Inventory (I/N)

Pros

• Unlimited stocking locations

• Tracks UPC/DCI codes

• Integration with pricing services

• Integration with PO/Subs

• Integration with bar coding software

• Automatic unit of measure conversion

• Billing integration

• Perpetual inventory with physical count

reconciliation

• Receiving options in Inventory and A/P

The Inventory Module includes detailed tracking of

quantities, types, price levels and locations, with the

option of perpetual quantity tracking or job-costing

only methods. With quantity tracking, the on-hand,

on-order, allocated, back-order and available

quantities are displayed in a simple summary

format. With either method, a detailed cost history

may be posted directly to Job Costing.

Users can define an unlimited number of items, and

flexible, multi-level categorization provides a

powerful look-up function with report filtering.

Different units of measure for purchasing, stocking

and delivery can be used for each item. The system

automatically converts these units based on user-

defined conversion tables.

Multiple pricing levels also offer great flexibility in

reporting. A simple import utility integrates with

major pricing services. Pricing and costs can be

based on average, standard or last cost, and costs

can be maintained by item and vendor.

In addition to the main stocking location, the I/N

Module allows for an unlimited number of

locations, such as warehouses and trucks. I/N also

allows for simple recording of transfers from one

location to another, from location to job, or from

job to location. Integration with bar-coding

software is also available.

I/N has the ability to post costs directly to job

history through journal entries, A/P transactions,

purchase order receiving, A/R transactions or

equipment. All posted inventory is retained in an

inventory usage table.

Inventory Reports

Inventory reports include:

• Inventory Detail

• Item Profitability

• Inventory Job Usage

• Reconciliation History

• Receipts Detail

• Inventory Reorder

Inventory integrates fully with the J/C, G/L, A/P,

PO/Sub, A/R, E/Q and T/M Modules.

Equipment (E/Q)

Pros

• Track usage hours and costs in J/C

• Schedule routine service and maintenance

• Retain service and maintenance history

• Equipment cost history with drill-down

detail

• Printable work orders



• Enter equipment hours through P/R

• Fuel tracking and consumption

The Equipment Module provides for detailed

accounting on equipment usage, cost, location and

condition of your equipment, regardless if it is

owned, rented or leased. The system identifies

equipment items with a unique code and includes

the following information:

• Job costing rates

• Manufacturer

• Category

• New or used

• Owned, rented or leased

• Make, model and year

• Distributor

• Purchase price and date

• Warranty information

• Insured value

• Market value

• Serial number

• Attachments

The E/Q Module can also record more detailed

vehicle information such as use (commercial or

private), gross weight, number of axles, license

plate, etc. It integrates with J/C, P/R, I/N and,

optionally, G/L and A/P.

Costs and usage quantities can be sent

automatically to J/C by cost class. Actual usage and

idle time can be recorded by phase, cost code or cost

class. Variable rates can be recorded by the hour,

day, week or month, and idle and down time can be

costed at different rates.

Equipment hours can be entered through timecards

or through the Equipment Usage Journal, and usage

can be costed by hour, day, month or week. Users

can send equipment costs to the general ledger to

balance G/L and J/C data, and G/L accounts can be

set separately by category, equipment item or

attachment.

Contractors can track equipment usage for idle time

as well as actual use time. A history is accessible by

equipment item, classification, job, cost code and

date range.

Equipment also allows users to define

service/expense codes to facilitate the automation

of scheduled routine maintenance. Work orders can

be automatically generated based on hours of use,

odometer readings or lapse of time. Each equipment

item will maintain a detailed history of all service

and repair.

generated work can be based on hours of use,

odometer readings or lapse of time. Each piece of

equipment will maintain a history of all service and

repair.

Fixed Assets (F/A)

Pros

• Unlimited depreciation methods

• Automatic depreciation calculation

• Powerful reporting

Fixed Assets allows the user to track the

acquisition, depreciation and retirement of fixed

assets in accordance with current law and sound

accounting principles. It accommodates an

unlimited number of depreciation types and

methods, allowing different depreciation for

internal, tax and other purposes. It fully integrates

with the E/Q and G/L Modules.

Fixed Assets Reports

Module reports include the Depreciation History

Report, Market/Insurance Valuation, Personal

Property Tax Valuation and Schedule of

Depreciation.



Executive Dashboard (E/D)

Pros

• Instantly view job cost and financial data

• Interactive, colorful graphics and charts

• Drill down into transaction-level detail

The Executive Dashboard provides owners and

project managers with convenient, high-altitude job

performance reporting that drills all the way down

to transaction-level detail. Users can access a range

of information including contract data, profit, to-

date billings, costs and gross margin. Extensive

drill down capabilities access details on job cost

totals (from jobs to cost codes to cost class and all

underlying details), A/P aging, A/R aging and cash

balance analysis.

Project Management (P/M)

Pros

• RFC, RFP, RFI and submittal tracking

• Punch lists, meeting agendas and field

logs

• RFI and Submittal Logs

• Correspondence Log

• Integration with Microsoft Outlook®

Project Management allows FOUNDATION users to

control projects and manage their documents

through the centralized Job Center.

In the Job Center, contractors can see real-time

document statuses and create and track submittals,

transmittals, requests for proposals (RFPs),

requests for information (RFIs), requests for change

orders (RFCs), purchase orders, subcontracts, and

more. Job Center field logs record weather and site

conditions, delays, tasks completed, employees on

site, materials received, equipment mobilization,

and miscellaneous notes. Project Management also

features punch-list tracking, custom status creation

and Outlook integration that copies project-related

emails into FOUNDATION when sent.

Project Management allows additional document

management through logs and image attachments.

Users can also create and print meeting agendas and

notes from information stored in the system, make

custom forms, and link documents, creating a

complete communication trail.

The P/M quick copy feature allows users to copy

document formats. For example, an entire

submittal package can be copied from one job to

another, saving substantial time and effort

Scheduling

Pros

• Interactive Gantt charts

• Allocation of resources to tasks

• Assign predecessors to tasks

• Integrates with job budgets

• Assign resources like equipment,

employees and subcontractors

• Lead-time and lag-time tracking

The Scheduling Module helps contractors track

tasks and resources to keep jobs on schedule. Users

can set up, track and view project schedules for

budgeted and non-budgeted jobs, pinpoint exact

resource requirements of each project with Gantt

charts, and change the time frame and order of tasks

with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Resources

such as employees, subcontractors, equipment,

materials and more can be assigned to tasks or

reassigned to resolve misallocation. Assigning

predecessor or successor relationships can help

assure the correct sequence of work, and the

Detailed Schedule and Summary Schedule Reports

make it easy to analyze project data.



Service Dispatch (S/D)

Pros

• Graphical, drag-and-drop dispatch board

• User-defined time and technician options

• Technician messaging, mapping and

routing

• Document scanning

• Tracks service contracts and expiration

dates

• Equipment warranty tracking

• Inventory handling and quantity tracking

• Create invoices to bill for equipment

installed, new contracts sold, labor and

material costs

• Optional recurring billings and dispatches

• Track profit by location, service type,

technician and customer

• View billed vs. unbilled jobs

• Track and manage daily schedules, types

of service and unassigned dispatches

• Color coding by priority, technician or

status

• Integration with Service Dispatch mobile

FOUNDATION’s Service Dispatch Module is

specifically designed to handle the daily demands

of service contracting. Service Dispatch features a

color-coded, drag-and-drop dispatch board that’s

easy to read even at a glance and provides a

comprehensive view of all service jobs and each

technician’s workday.

As the dispatch operator navigates the board, he or

she can easily schedule and assign new calls, extend

or cancel appointments, change technicians, send

messages, provide maps and routing information,

track time, and perform various other activities.

As the call progresses and closes, the billing

process can begin. A/R and I/N are automatically

updated with information from Service Dispatch,

ensuring seamless, timely management of

receivables.



About Sheldon Needle

A former CFO, consultant and software designer, Sheldon Needle has authored or co-

authored more than 20 books on software selection and has contributed articles to major

publications, including the Journal of Accountancy and Nation’s Business. CTSGuides.com

has the distinction of being the very first company to do hands-on, independent evaluations

of software for the middle market.

Sheldon speaks with business owners and managers every day about software selection and

makes personalized recommendations based on their needs and budget. He is widely known

and respected throughout the business software community for his independence, integrity and expertise.

As part of registering for our free software selection kit, you receive a 15-minute consult with Sheldon. Sheldon

understands financial and business issues and speaks your language.

He knows the leading software companies—how they compare, their strengths and weaknesses, where they fit into

the market and which ones would be suitable for your business.


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