A construction company is not one business. It is several sites, each with its own budget, suppliers, workers and sometimes investors, all running at once on one set of accounts. Ordinary accounting software was designed for a shop or an office, so it hides the one thing a contractor needs to see: how each site is doing against its plan. This guide lists what to look for when you choose construction accounting software in Pakistan.
Why general accounting software falls short on sites
Most contractors start with a general package and a spreadsheet beside it. The problems appear quickly:
- Costs are mixed together. Cement for Site A and Site B go into one expense account.
- The budget lives in Excel. Nobody checks a bill against it until the month is over.
- Overspending is found late. The report arrives after the money has gone.
- Investor money is tracked by hand. Who put in what, and what share each owns, sits in a separate file.
- Instalment sales are chased from a notebook. This hurts developers who sell plots or units.
Seven things to check
1. Sites as projects
Every cost and every receipt should be tagged to a site, with a way to split a site into cost codes (such as excavation, steel, finishing) and zones (such as block A, block B).
2. A budget for each site
A real budget by site, cost code and zone, not one total for the company.
3. A check before the bill posts
The most valuable control is a stop at entry: a bill that would take a cost code over its budget should be stopped while it can still be discussed. A report after the fact can only describe the damage.
4. Budget against actual
A report with budget, actual and variance side by side for every line, which opens into the transactions behind it.
5. Procurement control
Purchase orders that are approved before money is committed, and a link from the order to the supplier bill and the payment.
6. Investors and capital
A record of each investor's share of each site, the capital they put in, and a clean separation between capital and profit share.
7. Instalment sales, for developers
If you sell plots or units, you need bookings, an advance, a schedule of instalments, and a way to apply each payment and see what is overdue.
Questions to ask a vendor
- Can I set a separate budget for each site and cost code?
- Does the system stop a bill that exceeds the budget, or only report it afterwards?
- Can I trace a figure in a report back to the bill?
- How are investors' shares held, and what happens when a share is edited?
- What does the system do about withholding tax when I pay a supplier?
- Can I try it with my own site for ten days?
Common mistakes when choosing
- Buying on the demo, not on your workflow. Enter one real site, with real cost codes, before you decide.
- Ignoring approval. Purchase orders without approval are just paperwork.
- Choosing the cheapest. Price matters less than whether the system stops overspending.
- Skipping the opening balances. Wrong opening balances make every report wrong.
How OneAccounts approaches it
OneAccounts sets each site up as a project with its cost codes and zones. Budgets are set by site, cost code and zone, and every bill and invoice is validated against the budget before it posts. The Budget vs Actual report shows budget, actual and variance for each line and opens into the spending detail. Investors are assigned to sites by percentage, with the total held at 100 percent, and their capital contributions are recorded separately from profit share.
With add-ons you can add purchase orders with approval, fixed assets, material management with gate passes, and withholding tax. Developers can book plots and units on instalments, with a schedule and payments applied to the oldest unpaid instalment first. See Construction accounting software and the guide on site budget vs actual.
Frequently asked questions
Is construction accounting different from normal accounting?
The accounting rules are the same. What differs is the control you need: costs tracked by site and cost code, budgets checked at entry, and investor and instalment tracking.
Do I need a separate system for each site?
No. One company holds all the sites, and each site is a project with its own budget, so you can compare them.
Can a small contractor use it?
Yes. A company with one or two sites gets the same budget check and reports. You add modules only when you need them.
What does it cost?
Construction plans are priced in rupees per user per month, with a ten-day free trial. See the pricing page for current figures.