Keep Closer Tabs on Project Costs with Enhanced Inventory Management

The ever-present need with any project-based organization is the need to track costs. Small and mid-sized professional services companies aren’t an exception. The constant struggle with managing inventory is a balancing act between having too much inventory and having too little. But that also isn’t the complete picture. Many SMBs lack an efficient inventory management system, often relying on spreadsheets that help maintain basic information about available inventory.  

Both deeper insight and tools for optimizing inventory data remain elusive for many organizations, preventing them from finding ways to reduce costs and optimize inventory. Velosio is helping SMBs in the professional services industry get a better handle on their inventory management and NetSuite project costing with Advanced Projects for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. 

Inventory and billing solutions for SMBs

SMBs in the professional services sector can have their accounting and project management work hand in hand. 

Not every SMB thinks the same way, though, when it comes to their inventory management. They might not even call it “inventory.” Regardless of the particulars, the need to track all project-related purchases is essential for accounting associated project costs. But what might be even more important to a company is the ability to track inventory or items against a project so they can cost and price accordingly. 

Unfortunately, many SMBs rely on manual processes or multiple solutions for project accounting and inventory management. 

Advanced Projects for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides robust accounting and project-based business management functionality and features for project planning, estimating, budgeting, and inventory to help businesses plan for profitability from the start. 

How it works 

For organizations looking for detailed tracking, the features in Advanced Projects for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central go beyond keeping tabs on what inventory is purchased and used. Inventory management features include tracking use of inventory across projects, as well as: Lot and Serialized inventory processing – Track individual pieces of inventory by unique Lot and serial numbers  

• Bin tracking – Know where each part of your inventory is located at by bin location within the warehouse 
• Inventory allocation – Assign specific components of inventory to specific projects and create triggers to maintaining minimum and maximum inventory levels  

What it means for the business

With these inventory tracking features, SMBs in the professional services industry will be able to use Advanced Projects for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to accurately account for the items or inventory put toward a project. This insight can help business leaders determine whether money was made or lost on each project. 

All the equipment assigned and consumed by a project is tracked, helping with milestone billing. Additionally, once an item’s details are entered into the company’s catalog once, that data stays in their catalog, allowing them to use consistent information about their inventory items repeatedly and without error. And there are no more silos of information between the accounting software and whatever system was being used for inventory tracking. 

Billing to AIA standard

Advanced Projects for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central also supports the requirements for AIA progress billing. This includes support for defining progress billing, retention, and supporting the lifecycle and changes that will be made to billing through the lifecycle of the project. SMBs can now send bills to their customers in a format that meets industry standards set by the American Institute of Architects. 

The construction industry slowed in 2020 due to the pandemic. Revenue industry-wide dipped more than six percent, according to researchers at IBISWorld. But construction is expected to rebound this year as US economy continues to recover. Contractors, architects and others in the industry can use Advanced Projects to do incremental or progress billing, helping them speed up payments and reduce errors while meeting industry standards.  

Discover more about Advanced Projects for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and how it can help your professional services company with NetSuite project costing, do away with budgeting guesswork and knock down sales and delivery silos.