Industry
Construction
ERP and project controls for construction and contracting businesses.
Construction companies need strong job costing, procurement, and financial control. We help implement ERP solutions that support project delivery and profitability.
Common challenges
- Job costing complexity
- Procurement delays
- Cash flow uncertainty
How N1ERP helps
- Project-centric ERP setup
- Procurement workflows
- Financial controls
The problem
Job profitability is known too late
Contractors often discover a job lost money only after it is finished. Costs are committed on site through purchase orders, subcontractors and labour that reach the office weeks later, while progress billing is prepared in spreadsheets.
Without a timely view of committed cost against budget, project managers cannot act, and finance struggles to forecast cash across many jobs at different stages.
We configure Business Central around the job: budgets by phase and cost type, purchase commitments recorded against the job, approval workflows for site purchases, and progress billing — so margin and cash position are visible while there is still time to act.
Scope
What's included for Construction
Job structure
Jobs, phases and cost codes aligned with how you estimate and track work.
Budgets and commitments
Job budgets with purchase commitments visible against them before invoices arrive.
Procurement approvals
Approval workflows for site purchase requests and subcontractor orders.
Progress billing
Milestone or percentage-of-completion billing configured with retention where required.
Cash and margin reporting
Job-level and portfolio reports on cost to complete, margin and expected cash.
Typical timeline
How the work is phased
Indicative ranges. We confirm a plan for your scope at the end of discovery.
01 · 2–3 weeks
Discovery
Estimating, procurement and billing processes reviewed.
02 · 5–8 weeks
Configure
Jobs, budgets, procurement and billing set up.
03 · 2–4 weeks
Pilot
One or two live jobs run in Business Central.
04 · 2–3 weeks
Go-live
Remaining active jobs migrated with opening positions.
Deliverables
Sample deliverables
- Job and cost-code structure
- Budget template
- Procurement approval workflow
- Progress billing setup
- Job margin and cash report
- Active job migration plan
Ecosystem
Systems we integrate with
- Dynamics 365 Business CentralERP
- Power AppsMicrosoft
- Power AutomateMicrosoft
- SharePointDocuments
- Power BIData & Reporting
- Excel & legacy spreadsheetsMicrosoft
Case study
Related work
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Business Central used in construction?
Yes, particularly by small and mid-sized contractors using the Projects module for job costing. Specialist needs such as complex retention or subcontract valuations may call for an add-on, which we assess during discovery.
Can site teams raise purchase requests?
Yes. Site teams can submit requests through a simple app or Business Central itself, routed for approval before an order is placed.
How do we see committed costs?
Purchase orders and subcontracts linked to a job show as commitments against the budget, so cost-to-complete reflects what has been ordered, not only what has been invoiced.
Can we handle retention on invoices?
Retention can be handled through configuration or a small extension depending on your contract terms. We confirm the approach during design.
Can we track subcontractor costs per job?
Yes. Subcontract orders are raised against the job and phase, so their cost appears as a commitment when ordered and as actual cost when invoiced, alongside labour and materials.
How do we migrate jobs that are already in progress?
We migrate active jobs with their budgets, costs to date and amounts already invoiced as opening positions, so reporting is correct from the first day in Business Central.
Business Central for Construction
Tell us about your systems and goals. We'll help you define the right next step.