If you run several construction companies, you need a Sage Intacct Construction implementation partner that can bring all of them into one structure and produce consolidated numbers. Private equity firms often feel this need most, but any multi-entity contractor faces the same problem.
We sat down with our team to discuss what to ask before you sign with anyone. Audra Speth, Troy Guevara, and Tina Rehberg explain what to look for.
Confirm which Sage Intacct product the partner is proposing
Ask one question in the first meeting: Are you proposing Sage Intacct Construction or standard Sage Intacct?
The distinction is easy to miss because Sage offers several products with similar names. In construction, you may encounter Sage 100 Contractor, Sage 300 CRE, Sage Estimating, and Sage Intacct Construction. Sage Intacct Construction is not the same product as standard Sage Intacct.
This distinction determines whether the system supports construction job costing. It would be very hard to run a construction company on Sage Intacct without the construction product, and some contractors find that out only after implementation. A capable partner explains the difference in the first meeting without being asked.
Focus on how the partner will consolidate multiple entities
A multi-entity construction company needs a common structure that can accommodate every entity it owns or acquires and produce consolidated financial information for ownership.
Whether you're a PE-backed construction firm, an ESOP, or your own privately owned construction firm, there's a very high likelihood that you have multiple entity structures. Those could vary from five to 300 entities. Very few construction companies don't.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistBringing an acquired company into the top-level structure is one of the project's main economic benefits. Without it, every acquisition adds another system, another chart of accounts, and another month-end process for converting local financials into the reports ownership needs.
Three entities is usually the point when this becomes difficult to manage manually, regardless of revenue. With two, an accounting team can usually handle the intercompany work by hand. Add a third and the amount of manual work grows, along with the opportunities for errors. Top-level dashboards and consolidated reporting help keep the close under control.
This is also where legacy systems often begin to frustrate ownership. A private equity firm may want data organized according to its investment reporting structure. An ESOP trustee may need a different view, while a family owner may want another. Meanwhile, each acquired company still reflects the structure of its previous accounting system.
Joint ventures and outside investors raise another question: Who should be able to see each entity? Sage Intacct handles this with standard access controls. A partner should not quote custom reporting to provide this capability.
Intacct can distinguish those, so you can only see the entities you're involved in. I own all of them, I can see everything.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistUse a simple test: Does the partner discuss top-level reporting, consolidation, and intercompany errors before discussing modules?
A partner that starts with features may understand the software. A partner that starts with consolidation also understands the business problem you need to solve.
Make sure the first implementation creates a strong foundation
The first entity requires more than repeating the same work you will do for every later entity. It establishes the structure for every entity that follows. Because later entities should take less work, you need a partner that has an incentive to build the structure correctly the first time.
You've got to have an implementation partner that's not going to take advantage of that, because they can. If we implement you properly, the first implementation gets done and the rest are just built on top of it.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistTroy uses a warehouse analogy to explain why the first implementation takes more work.
It's like if you want to make cookies for a living. You've got to go build the warehouse first. But once the warehouse is built, you can make any kind of cookie you want. We've just got to get it set up first, then you can add as many companies as you want to that structure.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistIn construction terms, the first implementation is similar to pouring the footings. The partner needs to create a foundation that supports the entire multi-entity company, not one that forces the first entity into a standard template that will cause problems later.
Other VARs say if your implementation doesn't fit within this box, we're not going to implement you. Our strength is we say: you're a multi-entity, we're going to build you out right on the first one. The footings and the foundation are there, so each new entity is just building on top of it.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistYou can see the difference in the implementation hours. Troy has worked with multi-entity customers whose first implementation required about 400 hours and whose later entities required around 40. The lower number for later entities reflects the value of setting up the structure correctly. Ask any prospective partner how its hours compare between the first entity and later entities.
The implementation sequence matters as much as the structure. Start with the accounting foundation, then add the other parts of the system in a planned order.
We implement the accounting piece first, and then we can go into operations, payroll, service, CRM, estimating. But we've got to get the accounting piece done first.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistFor Troy, the engagement should improve how the business operates overall: “I don't make their business better by just saying 'here's Sage Intacct Construction.' I make their business better by saying, let's fix the overall functions of your business.”
Ask prospective partners what they plan to include in phase one and what they will deliberately save for phases two and three. If a partner cannot answer, it may be planning to introduce everything at once.
Implement one entity at a time
Ask every prospective partner to walk you through the last acquisition it brought into an existing Sage Intacct environment.
The answer should explain how the partner moved each entity in sequence. Typically, one company is prepared, trained, balanced, and moved before work begins on the next. The remaining companies continue operating in their legacy systems until they are ready.
Guardian Restoration is following this approach. The company has acquired several types of businesses that previously used Sage 300 CRE, QuickBooks, ComputerEase, and other systems. For about two years, the implementation team has been moving those businesses into Sage Intacct one entity at a time.
One of my biggest is Guardian Restoration — a private equity group that came in, purchased multiple different types of companies, and is consolidating them into one console for consolidated financials. They're coming from all different ERPs: Sage 300, QuickBooks, ComputerEase, all kinds of systems. We're still actively implementing entities for them, entity by entity, and have been for about two years. What makes it work is that each company can keep operating in their legacy system while we bring one entity in at a time, train them, get their opening balances in, and get them up to speed — then start the next one. Being able to bring entities in on whatever timeline is convenient, and consolidate each up to the top level, is what makes it easy for a PE group to absorb everything they're buying.
Tina Rehberg · Senior Sage Intacct ConsultantA strong partner will help you plan the sequence for the year. Together, you review the entities, determine which are ready, and build the schedule around their needs. If acquisition priorities change, the plan should change too. Moving one company forward may require deliberately delaying another.
A good partner manages this portfolio-level planning with you.
Consolidation requires a common structure, but the partner still needs to examine how each company works. Even after the core workflows are established, the partner should identify what is different about the next company and account for those differences.
The structure should support consolidation while still allowing each company to use processes that fit its business.
Look for construction industry experience
A construction roll-up may include different trades, operating models, terminology, and accounting systems. Your implementation partner should already understand the language used by your controller and the acquired companies.
The CRE team isn't a group of consultants reading off a guide and checking boxes. We came from a group of users — the construction team here were CFOs, controllers, people who worked in the construction accounting world before coming here. So we understand the language and what the client is looking for. When a client says they need to do compliance for lien waivers, we know what lien waivers are — conditional, unconditional, partial, full. When they say "task," we know that's activities or cost codes depending on the industry. There are three or four different vocabularies depending on which trade you're in, and we already speak them, so the client doesn't have to stop and explain.
Tina Rehberg · Senior Sage Intacct ConsultantListen for that knowledge during the first working session. A partner can rehearse a polished demonstration, but a working conversation will show whether the consultant understands what your team means.
If your controller has to explain what a conditional waiver is or define a cost code, the partner may not have enough experience for a roll-up that includes several types of construction companies. Communication will become more difficult as additional trades and entities enter the system.
Construction experience does not mean one consultant must perform every part of the project. It means one accountable partner understands how all the pieces fit together and brings in the right specialists when needed.
Think of us like a general contractor. A GC doesn't do every trade themselves — they bring in the right experts for concrete, drywall, plumbing, mechanical. Same principle. We coordinate the full implementation, including specialists for things like data migration.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistThe partner should coordinate the complete implementation so your team does not have to translate between specialists or chase different vendors for schedules and updates.
Evaluate the long-term relationship
A multi-entity construction roll-up requires an ongoing plan for adding and supporting companies after the initial implementation.
Your partner may need to support the entities you own today, next year's acquisitions, and companies you have not identified yet. A partner that focuses only on the initial sale may complete the first implementation, but it will not be prepared to support the full roll-up.
A lot of business partners are known to sell and go — turn and burn. That's never been our mentality; we're about longevity and relationship. These large multi-entity accounts have entrusted us with their books knowing we'll still be here in seven years, still flipping their companies over and giving each one individual attention.
Audra Speth · Customer Success ManagerDiscovery Land shows what this long-term commitment looks like. The company began with more than 400 entities across products that included Sage 50, Sage 100, and Sage 300 CRE. Over seven years, those entities have gradually moved into one top-level Sage Intacct Construction account. Only the final few remain.
The partner also needs to pay close attention to how each individual company operates.
Before moving an entity, the partner should review how that company operates and give it individual attention. A template can save time when the business truly matches the template, but it should not override the entity's actual requirements.
You need a partner that can provide consistent attention over several years, one entity at a time.
Assess the partner's honesty during the sales cycle
You can often see how a partner will behave during implementation before you sign the contract. Pay attention to whether the sales team answers your questions directly or simply agrees with everything you request.
There are a lot of companies that will tell you what you want to hear. We don't tell you what you want to hear. We tell you what's going to make you better.
Troy Guevara · Construction TechnologistOne practical way to keep sales commitments realistic is to include an implementation expert during the sales process. At Alta Vista Technology, sales engineer Monica previously worked on the implementation side. She helps prevent the sales team from making commitments the delivery team cannot keep. As Troy puts it: “I can't say something that's out of whack, because she's like, 'Troy, we can't implement that.'”
I try to establish the relationship right during the sales cycle, so the customer knows the sales guys didn't sell them rainbows and sunshine that I then have to make real.
Audra Speth · Customer Success ManagerYou can use two tests to assess a prospective partner.
First, did the sales team explain that a Sage Intacct Construction implementation takes time before the services team had to raise the issue? A responsible partner will clearly explain what belongs in phase one and what should wait. Introducing too much change at once can create confusion, reduce adoption, and add avoidable risk.
Second, did the partner ask whether your accounting department has enough staff to support Sage Intacct Construction, regardless of the company's revenue or the size of the deal?
Revenue does not reliably indicate whether a company is ready for an implementation. A large business may still have an accounting team that lacks the capacity to implement and support a new system. The project and the ongoing operation of Sage Intacct Construction should not depend entirely on one person.
Insufficient staffing is an implementation risk and a common reason projects struggle. A credible partner will identify that risk during the sales process before kickoff.
Sometimes an implementation partner needs to slow the customer down. This can be frustrating at the time, but it often helps the project succeed.
Before choosing a partner, ask these three questions:
- Will you implement Sage Intacct Construction, and not standard Sage Intacct?
- How will you bring in the next acquired entity while the other companies continue operating?
- What will you hold until this entity is ready for a later phase?
You don't have to go tomorrow, you don't have to go yesterday. You go when you're ready, and we'll be able to help you know when you're ready.
Audra Speth · Customer Success ManagerChoose the partner that answers these questions clearly and is willing to tell you when a company is not ready to move.
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