Roller Coaster Cash Flow: The Importance of Analytics-Based Forecasting

Any executive in the industry knows cash flow in construction is a lot like a roller coaster: there are a lot of ups and downs that make even the most hardened of us nauseous.

Keeping up with every cost on a project requires extreme attention to detail and precision. One minor slip-up exposes the entire company to risk. Given that, it’s not hard to see why managing cash flow is a dizzying task.

Getting hyper-accurate with cash forecasting is one of the most important things any construction company can do. Though it may be complex, doing it well allows construction financial leaders to take calculated risks and take advantage of strategic opportunities that their competitors may not be able to. 

So, how does analytics help you do it better?

Keep track of all your key financial data

For CFOs and controllers that want to make their projects more profitable, data analytics is the solution. Analytics-based forecasting supplants your Excel spreadsheets and replaces the complex math that controllers must track. 

Unlike humans, modern analytics technology never forgets what happens, and is always on the lookout for anomalies in the data. Predictive analytics technology uses your past project experiences to help inform your current and future projects. For example, analytics will remember if payments from a certain client took longer to process so you can plan for that delay in the future. It helps you better plan your cost activities on projects and better understand how much labor will actually be required. It can check your field teams’ forecasts and assist your financial team in knowing what indicators to be paying attention to on certain projects.

Get better cash flow for your business

Now that you have better insight into how cash is flowing through your business, suddenly you have the latitude to make more strategic decisions about the business. Outside investments or strategic joint ventures now become possible. Moving into new markets, taking on more self-perform work, or even acquiring capabilities are all options that data analytics can help you to navigate.

Better cash management also helps manage through uncertain times. If business leaders are more confident in their cash position, it allows them to better prepare for future economic downturns.

At the end of the day, financial leaders in construction can't be expected to keep all the variables regarding cash flow in their heads. They need a modern analytics platform that can store and organize all the data regarding the company's financial position, as well as monitor other external market forces. They need Briq. 

Briq is a financial automation platform designed to bring you all the benefits of analytics, automation, and structured data organization in one software package. Our technology not only helps to make the company more profitable, but ultimately can help the business to think more strategically and prepare for the future, no matter the twists and turns that may await. Contact us here to schedule a Briq demo and see for yourself how you can create better forecasts.