Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
CPA | Manager
Have you ever heard the term “WIP” and wondered what it means? WIP stands for “work in progress” and for construction businesses, it’s a report that shows how a job is doing financially and whether the project is on track. The question is: how much of that work is your accounting software doing and how much is falling on your team’s shoulders? Let’s see why that matters.
What does your monthly WIP reporting look like today?
Let’s take a step back and consider how your monthly close process actually works. As an outside advisor, I often hear clients say things like, “We want our consultants to consult,” or “Is there anything we could be doing better?”
That’s prompted me to approach these conversations a bit differently.
Instead of jumping straight to recommendations, it begins with asking better questions.
For example: does your accounting system generate and keep your WIP up to date on its own? Or does your accounting team still rely on exporting data into Excel—manually updating schedules, recalculating balances, and recording entries after the fact?
If Excel is still where most of this work happens, what does that tell you about the role your system is playing? It might mean your software isn’t being used to its full potential and that your team is doing the work your system could be doing instead.
Which leads to an important question:
Why does updating WIP each month take so much time? Is it simply “the way it’s always been done,” or is something more going on?
Is the system simply unable to handle WIP tracking and calculations?
Or is it capable, but it’s just not set up that way? Somewhere between those answers lies an opportunity. Because every hour spent fixing and double-checking spreadsheets raises a fundamental question:
Should people be doing the work that the software was designed to handle?
From my experience working with contractors, most accounting systems are good at two things: tracking job costs and handling progress billings. As projects change, however, updates to contract values and cost budgets don’t always happen in real time. Instead, they often get handled after data is exported and reworked in Excel.
What would the process look like if those changes were maintained within the system as part of its natural workflow?
Imagine this: instead of exporting data and fixing it in a spreadsheet, your team updates contract values and cost budgets right inside your core accounting system, as part of the natural flow of how information is captured, updated, and maintained over the life of a job.
From there, it’s worth asking:
What processes would need to change to make that possible?
What data would need to be entered differently, or more consistently, to make the system work the way it’s supposed to?
This naturally brings up the role of project managers. They are often the closest to the work and closest to the day-to-day changes like cost updates, job progress, and expectations. Does it make sense to involve them more directly in keeping the job data accurate and current?
What might that look like in practice?
And where is the balance between giving operations more ownership and keeping the right financial checks in place?
All of this comes back to one bigger question:
How is your monthly WIP process built today and how could it look different?
What would it look like to rely less on large, complex spreadsheets and allow the accounting system to carry more of the load?
And if accounting teams weren’t spending hours updating spreadsheets and fixing errors, what could they be doing instead? Probably things like:
And then there’s also the matter of risk.
Spreadsheets are flexible and familiar, which is exactly why so many teams rely on them.
But that flexibility comes with a downside. They depend on formulas, on version control, and on someone entering the right numbers. One small mistake can throw off an entire report.
So the real question is:
Are you actively managing that risk or just quietly accepting it?
At its core, this isn’t just about WIP reporting. It’s about how work gets done, where data lives, and how much your organization relies on people versus systems to keep things accurate and efficient.
The goal isn’t necessarily to eliminate Excel or overhaul everything overnight.
The goal is to start asking better questions:
Just like Steph Curry’s step-back creates an open look, sometimes you have to take a step back before you can take the shot that changes the game.
If this sounds familiar and you aren’t sure where to begin, you don’t have to figure it out alone. The trusted advisors at CK work with contractors to help them make sense of these types of questions and to find practical ways to get more out of the systems they already have. Reach out to us to discuss what your WIP process could look like.
