More and more accounting and business consulting professionals are specializing. In other words they are developing a niche practice. This year, there are some sponsors at "Scaling New Heights" that fit into areas of specialization that are so specialized we could only group them together by creating a category called Niche App Sponsors. Here are a couple of them, with more to come in a future segment.
Knowify was one of the first apps designed for small construction clients when they started integrating with QuickBooks. Over the years, its construction clients have evolved in terms of the work being performed and the size of its construction companies has grown.
Knowify developers also identified the need to not only expand and enhance their offerings, but also bring on board additional features and tools for contractors. That’s why they changed from just offering Knowify for QuickBooks Online to also offering it for QuickBooks Desktop.
Knowify offers these key features, among many more, for construction companies or their advisors:
- CRM and proposals including lead management and quoting with custom templates
- Project costing for materials, labor (via time tracking), subcontractors and equipment, as well as related profitability reporting
- Integrates with QuickBooks Time (formerly known as TSheets), along with several other third-party apps and software solutions
- Project management, including scheduling, Gannt charts, purchasing, subcontractor mgmt., document management, submittals and RFIs, change orders, and more
- Mobile communication, including field/office interaction with geo-location tools
- Flexible and robust invoicing methods, including progress invoicing, pay apps for commercial work, schedule of values, and more. Whether you bill fixed price or time and materials, Knowify can handle it.
Here's a full list of the Knowify features and the industries they support.
We have only given you a synopsis of a really great product for both advisors supporting and businesses within the construction industry. But Knowify offers so much more. That is why you need to head over to the Knowify booth in the exhibit hall. For more information, you also can point your browser to the Knowify website.
You might guess from the name that Plate IQ is software designed for the restaurant and hospitality industry. I mean Plate kind of gives it away, right?
Plate IQ helps process and pay invoices by automating and streamlining the AP workflow of these specialized types of businesses. This software also helps provide insights into what's going on within a restaurant or hospitality business, especially as it relates to the information that can be gleaned from the invoices submitted by vendors.
With Plate IQ you will:
- Process, approve and pay all your company's spend from anywhere
- Earn competitive cashback on Bill Pay when using Plate IQ card to pay eligible vendors
- Link and sync corporate cards to get real-time visibility on your spend
- Control spend in real-time with virtual and physical cards you issue with set spend limits and categories
- Make use of AP automation that scales with your organization; streamline your invoice processing, from upload to bill pay
- Plate IQ automates the entire invoice lifecycle, from digitizing invoices to paying vendors and surfacing statement anomalies that reconcile your books faster
- Designed with the hospitality industry in mind with hundreds of related integrations
- Plate IQ extracts line-item data from each invoice and uses it to create powerful insights you actually will use. As a result, discover new savings opportunities and control your costs.
Stop by the Plate IQ booth in the exhibit hall to see how restaurant accounting not only impacts the bottom line, but also impacts guest experience. Or, point your browser to the Plate IQ website for more information.
Specializing in a trade contracting niche allows you to market yourself to a lucrative and sizable group of prospects typically with straightforward—and similar—accounting needs. Trade contractors perform activities, including, but not limited to, electrical work, plumbing, HVAC services, data networking, roofing, painting, carpentry and sheet metal work.
To work in this niche, you will need to consistently build your knowledge of the industry. You will need to know what the various contractors do, their key players and challenges, the specific terms related to their trade or industry, as well as understand the solutions that those trade contractors need to ensure business success.
One such solution is simPRO, which helps organize and automate processes to maximize profitability for trade contractors.
With web-based solutions for the office and mobile devices for your employees in the field, simPRO will help you manage job costing, scheduling, dispatching, time and material tracking, billing, payment processing and reporting.
simPro was designed by trade contractors for trade contractors. This service management solution is packed with features to help any trade business. Whether you are in plumbing, electrical, security, data networking, solar or HVAC, you will find a simPRO solution to meet your specific requirements.
Field service contracting firms with specific workflows and methods of operation probably are geared for simPRO Field Service Management. This solution is designed to be deployed as a platform that will integrate with your existing systems and support your business to achieve its strategic goals.
Features include:
- Estimating and quotes
- Simplified scheduling
- Invoicing and payment collection
- Custom-tailored portals for customers, staff and contractors
- Inventory management
- Fleet management
- Intelligent reporting
- Accounting integration
- simPro Mobile for access by field staff
simPRO Enterprise is a powerful solution for complex maintenance and multi-stage project-based businesses. It features estimating, job costing, recurring and preventative maintenance, and project management. It also is designed to handle the complexities of:
- Companies that share some information, but not all information
- Companies that require separation for accounting purposes
- Companies that have different workflows or job requirements
- Companies that need to maintain brand identity while sharing key information
- Integrating with your current software solutions via simPro’s open API
With simPRO Enterprise, contractors can take control of their businesses and maximize their profitability, while maintaining essential segregation of business enterprises.
simPRO integrates with QuickBooks to give you access to your crucial business data anywhere, any time. All your customers, suppliers and transactions will be synchronized with QuickBooks to prevent duplicate data entry.
Stop by the simPro booth in the exhibit hall to find out how it can help you maximize your clients’ business potential. You also can point your browser to the simPRO website for more details.
Acknowledgements and Disclosures:
Portions of this feature, including graphical artwork contained therein, have been adapted from content used from the vendor (sponsor) websites (or other related sources) of the various sponsors (vendors) discussed within this feature. All such source materials within this feature by Insightful Accountant were adapted and are furnished solely for educational purposes.
As used herein, QuickBooks refers to one or more registered trademarks of Intuit Inc., a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in Mountain View, California. Intuit QuickBooks and the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program are proud sponsors of Insightful Accountant's 2022 Top 100 ProAdvisor and the ProAdvisor of the Year Awards.
"Scaling New Heights" is a registered trade name of Woodard Events LLC of Canton, Georgia. "Scaling New Heights" is a proud sponsor of Insightful Accountant's 2022 Top 100 ProAdvisor and the ProAdvisor of the Year Awards.
Any other trade names used herein, including those of the sponsors (vendors) featured within this article, refer to products that may be registered, trademarked, or otherwise held by their respective owners; they are referenced for informational and educational purposes only.
This is an editorial feature, not sponsored content. None of the vendors within this article have paid Insightful Accountant or the author any form of remuneration to be included within this feature. The article is provided solely for informational and educational purposes.
The publication of this article, nor the inclusion of this product within the related series, does not represent any endorsement by either the author or Insightful Accountant.
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