From the July 2009 Review of Construction/Contractor
Accounting Systems
The
Job/Project Costing program offered by CYMA is an optional module that works
with CYMA’s Financial Management System, a business management and accounting
suite that includes core GL, AP and AR functions, along with bank reconciliation,
inventory, payroll, and sales and purchase order management. As an optional
module, the Job/Project Costing system integrates thoroughly with the other
areas of the CYMA system, providing small and mid-sized construction firms with
greater control over labor, materials, equipment and indirect costs, progress
and status overviews, scheduling and budgeting. The CYMA system is offered on
a per-module basis, with core modules starting at $645 each. CYMA also offers
a nonprofit accounting program and a professional write-up system.
LEARNING CURVE/EASE OF USE:
The CYMA program makes use of a consistent interface throughout its modules,
with a home screen that offers pull-down menus for key task areas and for searching
client and vendor lists, employee data, departments, locations and banking features.
The primary interface within the Job Cost module is the Maintain Jobs screen,
which offers data-entry and overview screens with multi-tabbed views of jobs
and associated information, allowing users to quickly bring up or edit data
relating to tasks, contacts, invoicing, labor, activity, products and GL accounts.
A financial overview section provides at-a-glance reference to contract amount,
budget, actual and invoiced figures. Additional budget tools enable tracking
of detailed cost per item and period, and summary tracking by cost type and
user-defined cost codes.
The Maintain Jobs screen also provides a notes section for entering miscellaneous
information, and offers the ability to attach any file to a job record, such
as blueprints, photos, contracts, invoices and other documents. Users also have
the option of creating a customized tab for tracking other data. When entering
a new job, the system guides the user through many tasks, and since the forms
offer multiple lookups and selection lists, most processes are easy to use.
KEY MODULES & MANAGEMENT TOOLS:
Along with all of the core modules available in the main CYMA accounting package
(GL, AP, AR, payroll, inventory, etc.), the system’s Job Cost module provides
several key features for construction firms, including the ability to manage
government projects and track various project benchmarks, including percent
of days or cost complete. Users can also sort and generate subtotals of all
cost activities on jobs by multiple factors, and can quickly drilldown on invoices
to get to specific information. The Job Cost module is also available for CYMA’s
nonprofit edition, which offers grant tracking, various compliance tools and
FASB reporting.
The Job Cost system offers several costing options, including cost type, direct
material, direct labor, subcontractor and cost categories, along with multiple
billing methods, such as fixed price, cost plus, cost plus with fixed fees,
time and material, and completion estimates. Labor costing functions allow applying
labor cost distribution directly to a job without having to process payroll.
The system can also track skill levels with customizable billing rates and gives
management the option to apply different labor overheads and burdened costs
to jobs based on skill performed. Other notable features of the costing module
include the ability to assign specific labor and material rates for different
jobs, the option to apply fringe overhead in addition to labor, and material
costing options that enable building of items from inventory.
CYMA’s payroll module, which can support any number of employees and
employers, offers multiple data-entry methods and also provides options for
direct deposit, accruals and benefits tracking, and support for 401Ks, HSAs
and flexible spending plans. The system generates wage worksheets and reports.
REPORTING:
The CYMA system provides a good selection of customizable reports, including
general financials, departmental reports, summaries and detailed output for
payroll, AR and AP, and job costing options that include job listings, summaries,
budget to actual, job and skill types, and cash flow reports. Reports can be
edited in third-party report writers such as Crystal Reports and F9, or saved
into Word, PDF, HTML, XML, CSV and Excel.
IMPORT/EXPORT/INTEGRATION:
All of CYMA’s modules integrate with each other as necessary, with transactions
automatically posting to appropriate accounts and payroll items updated based
on job labor data. The program, including the Job Costing module, enables import
of data from QuickBooks and other file types, and allows export into the various
formats noted in this review’s Reporting section above.
SUPPORT & TRAINING:
Good assistive features are available within the program, such as smart data-entry
functions and selection lists, along with a traditional Help utility. The vendor’s
support website offers a knowledgebase, program updates and links to additional
resources. Technical support is available on a per-incident basis or through
subscription packages. In addition to digital versions of the program’s
user guides and manuals, full printed versions of these are also shipped with
the software.
RELATIVE VALUE:
The CYMA Accounting for Windows system with the Job Cost module offers good
management tools and tracking for mid-sized construction businesses looking
to better control their client projects. The system includes features often
found in more expensive packages in a system that allows users to select and
pay for only the modules they need.
2009 OVERALL RATING:
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