Construction Firm Doubles Project Capacity With Workday/Procore Integration & Interim Support

Disconnected Systems Stifle Construction Company Growth

A leading construction company deployed Procore Construction Management software to handle construction project management tasks. They also used Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) and Workday Financial Management (FINS) to manage accounting, HR, payroll and employee data. Because these disparate systems called for duplicate data entry — with manual input — the process was cumbersome and error prone. Month after month.

Workday and Procore operated as separate siloed systems, so workflows were disconnected and information was fragmented. Employees had to go back and forth between the three systems, manually entering data on invoices or payroll, for instance, or new hires or certification status changes. To say the process was inefficient is an understatement, as it resulted in a 60-day monthly close and stifled the company’s scalability.

Workday Integration Opens the Door to Efficiency

The solution was to integrate Procore with Workday for one single source of truth. Company leaders’ ultimate goal was to accelerate the close, make it more efficient and migrate from cash accounting to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for real-time insights.

To oversee the Workday/Procore integration, the company sought a consultant with a strong background in Workday as well as finance and accounting. Armanino fit that bill with a long track record of Workday implementations and the capability to serve as an outsourced interim resource for financial leadership during this major transformation.

Interim Support Helps Cement Long-Term Success

The engagement with Armanino started in 2022 as support, to help the company optimize the Workday/Procore configuration. Armanino, a Workday Services Partner, advised on the integration and also provided crucial technical accounting and back-office support during and after it.

The integration went live with HCM the first year, followed by the FINS side the second year. Armanino augmented the company’s finance and accounting staff, handling the legacy manual input and closing the books in their old system while the in-house team was training on Workday.

As with any transition, there were staff who preferred the old ways of manual entry, which created a small amount of turnover. Knowing this was a possibility with a large-scale implementation, Armanino was prepared and moved quickly to help company leaders back-fill those roles with its interim finance and accounting professionals.

Also adding to the challenge was the company’s impending acquisition by another firm. This put additional stress on the company to get the staff up and running on the integrated system while closing the books for whenever the acquisition went through.

Armanino was ready with the necessary support. What started as four full-time equivalents (FTEs) during configuration and testing, rose to 12 Armanino staff onsite as an interim resource. The Armanino implementation team also ensured that the company was up to speed on day-to-day operations in Workday, leading trainings and creating job aids.

New Process Efficiencies Spur Expansion

The Workday/Procore integration and interim support positioned the construction firm for expansive growth and delivered significant business process improvements, including:

• Cut manual work by 50%. By tagging entries differently in Workday, their general ledger entries dropped from roughly 10,000 to 150 — greatly reducing the risk of errors and saving the company nearly 160 hours each month (one FTE).
• Optimized the back office. Staff are now available for deeper dives on project forecasting. With true analysis, they can close a deal more quickly, get it sold to a property management company and put cash back into the system.
• Centralized and gained ownership of all payroll, benefits and records. With all of their HR and finance data connected, the company now has a single source of truth.
• Doubled project capacity. Due to heavy manual processes and a segmented tech stack, construction project accountants previously could only manage four projects at a time. With the process and tech investments, that number quickly rose to seven to eight projects per accountant.
• Transitioned from cash accounting to industry standard GAAP accounting. With GAAP now in place, the company has an invoicing standard that gives leaders a much clearer picture of the business’s financial status.
• Met goals for acquisition. By training the company’s staff on the new, integrated system while handling accounting/finance functions in the interim, Armanino helped to facilitate a smooth transition during the acquisition.

With over two years in the books, the company has achieved its goals with a faster close, a 100% increase in new projects and GAAP accounting — further strengthening its position as a market leader.

Unlock Scalable Growth With Workday

Whether you’re in construction or another industry, integration and automation are key to expediting processes and maximizing work capacity. Learn how our award-winning Workday experts can seamlessly transition your systems from manual to modern, to help you boost productivity, scalability and revenue.