Custom payroll and field management software for Helmkamp Construction Co.
Challenges:
- Inefficient payroll, data entry, and expense management processes created errors and frustrations, wasting hundreds of hours of staff time per year.
- Off-the-shelf software options were costly and would require the team to make compromises in how they worked.
Solution:
Custom software and mobile apps allow time and receipts to be recorded securely in the field, with data flowing seamlessly into their accounting system.
Results:
- Intuitive custom software allows construction team members to accurately enter time in the field, and also simplifies the process of submitting receipts.
- Streamlined process reduced payroll entry time by 86% leading to significant cost savings and added value.
- Custom solution provides all the features they need at one-fifth the cost of leading commercial time-entry software.
“What Skeleton Key brought us was very unique. Our needs were very specific, and they had the ability to see within our world and know what we needed. Having Skeleton Key’s expertise and support goes a long way.”
— Kyle Runge, Vice President of Finance, Helmkamp Construction Co.
Helmkamp Construction Company has been building a reputation for excellence in construction since 1938. A full-service general contractor, Helmkamp’s team prides itself on safety and reliability. They offer full project management capabilities and are adept at customizing their offerings to industry-specific needs.
With a strong presence in Missouri and Illinois, and with projects managed across 25 US states, Helmkamp has many satisfied clients and long-term partnerships. But in the mid-2010s, their leadership recognized an internal constraint that could have prevented them from achieving the success they enjoy today: an accounting process that, while dependable, couldn’t keep up with their growing business.
Challenge: Time-intensive, inefficient payroll and data-entry processes
Helmkamp’s payroll process was running on paper, pens, spreadsheets, and lots of staff time that would’ve been better spent elsewhere.
Field superintendents spent about half an hour each day recording time on job sites. Some used spreadsheets that were emailed to the home office, but others used paper forms. This mix of approaches created a host of issues. Busy superintendents often entered the wrong employee number, job number, or other details. This put tremendous pressure on Helmkamp’s payroll clerk who had to call superintendents multiple times per week to verify or correct information.
Next, the payroll clerk spent some 15 hours a week manually entering data into accounting software. Payroll days were fire drills as superintendents rushed to get time entries in so that staff could enter data and process paychecks.
Helmkamp’s leaders knew there were software options, but none of them were the right fit. “There are quite a few time-entry applications out there in the construction world, but for us, they only covered a fraction of what we needed,” said Kyle Runge, VP of finance at Helmkamp Construction Co.
Besides the high per-user costs, those applications didn’t support options that fit how Helmkamp’s team worked.
“We wanted to approach [time entry] from the employee level, where time would be entered based upon the employee’s name and then you would assign the job for that period, along with the phase,” Kyle said.
But construction industry time entry apps usually start by defining the job, then the associated employees and phase. “We may have a worker who’s on a campus where there are three or four jobs in progress,” Kyle said. “In the course of one day, that worker may have time allocated for all four of those projects.”
Faced with these challenges, Helmkamp’s leadership saw the value in custom software solutions that would fit their unique needs. That’s when Helmkamp made a strategic decision to invest in a long-term custom solution and called on our team.
Solution: Custom mobile application for construction job management
Skeleton Key built custom software that simplified Helmkamp’s payroll and job management processes, without forcing them to compromise.
Today, field superintendents enter time and job data on ruggedized iPads that connect to Helmkamp servers via Wi-Fi or mobile data. Superintendents see information categories they’re familiar with, such as job and phase descriptions and employee nicknames that map to the proper records in the accounting system. These small details are important time-savers: superintendents can pick workers by the names they know on the job site, which can differ from legal names on pay stubs.
Also, superintendents can enter notes to flag specific situations to Payroll, such as when an employee worked through lunch or had to leave early. And since different users have their own preferences, we gave them the ability to customize dropdown lists for notes, equipment, and vendors to make repetitive entries flow more smoothly.
When we first started working with Helmkamp, iPads were relatively new and not everyone was experienced with using mobile devices. We got to know the employees who would be using this app daily, then designed an interface that would be as intuitive and user-friendly as possible. The result was software that’s easy to learn — new employees can be up and running in about half an hour.
Additional capabilities to help Helmkamp operate more efficiently
Beyond streamlining payroll processes, our custom software includes a range of other features that make superintendents’ jobs easier:
- Duplicate a previous day’s roster for an upcoming day — for example, when a crew is working the same job or phase several days in a row.
- Copy details on job, phase, and hours worked from one employee to the next, speeding up time reporting.
- View real-time information about budgeted vs. actual hours per job and phase within the app. Digitizing time entry eliminated the reporting delay as data was entered from spreadsheets or paper into the accounting system, allowing for better management of project budgets in the field.
- Access emergency contact information for all employees via the app.
Our app also supports material receiving, allowing the associated paperwork to be captured as images and made available to accounting in real time. Owner representative sign-offs can also be handled in the app, allowing change orders and approvals of completed work to be recorded on-site.
All this was possible because we asked questions to better understand Helmkamp’s business and their vision of success. The work we did up front gave Helmkamp custom software that could evolve over time to meet new needs and challenges.
For example, Helmkamp traditionally logged paper receipts for company credit card users. While not as big a bottleneck as their payroll process, the number of transactions across different teams in different parts of the country added complexity and challenges — especially if a receipt was misplaced.
Today, this system has become part of Helmkamp’s standard operating practice. Team members submit receipts via the app. This has simplified and standardized the process by linking spending to specific jobs. This additional capability improved efficiency for office staff while reducing headaches for employees in the field.
“This platform removed friction, improved accuracy, and gave our teams better real-time visibility. That operational backbone allows us to scale smarter, execute better, and stay competitive as our work grows more complex.”
— Kyle Runge, Vice President of Finance, Helmkamp Construction Co.
Results: Hundreds of thousands in cost savings and no more fire drills on payday
Right away, Skeleton Key’s custom software reduced the time Helmkamp’s superintendents spent on data entry by 50%. Saving 15 minutes per day, per superintendent, translated into $76,180 in immediate annual cost savings.
Also, time required for payroll data entry in the office was slashed from 15 hours to just two hours per week — and the app virtually eliminated the need to call superintendents for clarifications or corrections. Because their clerk only had to review information to upload instead of manually reentering it into the accounting platform, Helmkamp began saving an additional $21,000 per year in staff time.
Not only does having their own custom application generate significant savings, but the total cost of ownership is about 80% lower than the annual concurrent-user fees for comparable field time entry systems.
In the years since our initial rollout, Helmkamp’s field team has grown and the number of payroll hours being processed has doubled — but the company didn’t have to add additional accounting staff to manage the increased workload.
Most of all, since it’s designed to fit their unique needs and is evolving as they grow, the custom software we built for Helmkamp puts their leadership team in the driver’s seat. They aren’t required to change how they work to fit a software vendor’s choices, and they don’t risk having key features paywalled behind a higher service tier in the future.
“What Skeleton Key brought us was very unique,” Kyle said. “Our needs were very specific, and they had the ability to see within our world and know what we needed. Having Skeleton Key’s expertise and support goes a long way.”
Custom software for growing construction firms
Without the software Skeleton Key built, Kyle said, it would have been difficult for the company to achieve the growth they’ve seen in recent years.
“We’re doing bigger projects, which means more manpower,” Kyle said. The up-front investment in custom software has delivered significant ROI in the years since deployment because his existing team can support the company’s growth.
“Our vision has always been to build a company that can take on bigger, more complex work without losing the craftsmanship, accountability, and reliability our clients expect. Our ongoing partnership with Skeleton Key supports that vision. The system continues to evolve with us, giving us confidence that our internal processes won’t be the limiting factor as we grow.”
— Kyle Runge, Vice President of Finance, Helmkamp Construction Co.
Whether you’re leading a construction company, an enterprise business unit, or a growing organization in another industry, we work with you to understand your problems and show you the actual value custom software can deliver, now and for years to come. What challenges can we help you overcome on your path to full success?
Contact our team at Skeleton Key today — we’ll work with you to pinpoint inefficiencies and develop software that works the way your teams work, so that you can be ready for what the future has in store.
