Know Your Numbers. Control Your Cash Flow. Grow Your Profits.
Complete financial visibility for your construction business—from estimates to final payment. Real-time project profitability with seamless accounting integration.
The Financial Disconnect Problem
Construction and restoration contractors struggle with disconnected financial management.
Critical Pain Points
Disconnected Financial Data
- Bills and expenses tracked separately from project records
- No connection between project operations and accounting system
- Impossible to calculate accurate real-time project profitability (P&L)
- Finance team has no visibility into project costs until paperwork arrives
Manual Data Entry Nightmare
- Accounting team manually re-enters bill and expense data
- Days of delay between expense occurrence and accounting entry
- No systematic approval process with audit trail
- Same information entered multiple times
Poor Project Cost Tracking
- Project costs not linked to specific projects in accounting
- Cannot generate accurate project P&L reports
- Budget overruns discovered too late
- No real-time visibility into project financial health
The Solution: Builder Finance Integration
An automated finance bridge connecting Zoho CRM with Zoho Books, QuickBooks, and other supported financial systems, enabling project managers to create bills and record expenses directly from project records. Built-in approval workflows and automatic synchronization ensure accuracy and eliminate duplicate data entry.
Key Innovation
Financial management happens directly within the project environment—where work is executed—rather than in a disconnected accounting system, giving teams real-time financial visibility aligned with operations.
Complete Bill Management Workflow
Where It Happens: Directly within the project in Zoho CRM
Project managers work naturally:
- Open ongoing deal/project in CRM
- Navigate to custom Finance tab
- Click "Add New Bill" button
Bill Entry Fields
- Unique bill number
- Bill amount
- Vendor name (from CRM vendor list)
- Bill date and due date
- Attach bill documents (PDF invoices, receipts)
- Add notes or special instructions
Key Benefits
- Bills created in project context—automatic project association
- No switching between systems
- All documentation stored with project records
- Standardized entry process
- Project managers control their own budgets
Automated Approval Routing
Bill Saved
Status: “Draft”/ Stage: “Waiting for Approval”
Auto-Notification
Finance Manager receives email with bill details and documents
Finance Manager Reviews
- Accuracy verification
- Proper vendor selection
- Budget availability check
- Attached documentation review
If Approved
- System automatically creates bill in Zoho Books
- Bill status updates: "Open" and "Approved" in CRM
- Bill in Books linked to project and vendor
- Project P&L immediately reflects new cost
If Rejected
- Bill status: "Draft" and "Rejected" in CRM
- Project manager notified with rejection reason
- Manager can edit and resubmit
Key Benefits:
- Enforces approval before bills enter accounting
- Complete audit trail of approvals and rejections
- Prevents unauthorized expenses from being recorded
- Finance manager sees bills in project context
Automatic Task Creation
- As soon as bill created in Zoho Books → automatic task assigned to Accounting Team
- Task includes: bill details, amount, due date, attached invoice documents
- Accounting team records payment or payment schedule in Books
- Bill remains linked to project for P&L tracking
- Payment status syncs back to CRM for project manager visibility
Key Benefits
- No bills slip through without payment processing
- Clear accountability with task assignment
- All project costs properly categorized for reporting
- Project managers see payment status in real-time
Complete Expense Management Workflow
Step 1
Expense Initiation in Project Context
Step 2
Expense Review & Approval Workflow
Step 3
Accounting Team Verification & Bank Reconciliation
Where It Happens
Directly within the project in Zoho CRM
Project managers record expenses in real-time
- Open ongoing deal/project in CRM
- Navigate to Finance tab
- Click "Add New Expense"
Expense Entry Fields
- Expense date
- Expense amount
- Expense account (from Zoho Books Chart of Accounts)
- Vendor name
- Description and category
- Attach supporting documents (receipts, invoices)
System automatically
- Associates expense with current project
- Timestamps the entry
- Captures who created it
Key Benefits
- Expenses captured in real-time, not weeks later
- Project managers maintain financial visibility
- Supporting documentation attached immediately
- Proper project attribution ensured
Streamlined Approval Process
- Expense Saved: Status: "Waiting for Approval"
- Auto-Notification: Finance Manager receives alert
- Finance Manager Reviews:
- Legitimacy verification
- Proper categorization check
- Budget compliance review
- Documentation completeness
Approval Paths
If Approved
- System automatically creates expense in Zoho Books
- Expense status: "Approved" in CRM
- Expense linked to project in Books
- Project P&L updated with expense
If Rejected
- Expense status: "Rejected" in CRM
- Project manager notified to correct and resubmit
- Rejection reason documented
Key Benefits:
- Prevents unauthorized expenses from being recorded
- Finance manager sees expenses in project context
- Immediate feedback to project managers
- Complete approval audit trail
Automated Matching Process
- Approved expense appears in Zoho Books
- Accounting team reviews against Credit Card or Bank transactions
- Matches expense to Uncategorized Bank Transactions
- If amounts match: Categorize bank transaction and link to expense record
- Review documentation and update expense account type if needed
- Expense remains linked to project for accurate P&L
Key Benefits
- Streamlined bank reconciliation process
- Automatic matching reduces manual research
- Accurate expense categorization for tax reporting
- Complete audit trail with documentation
Advanced Financial Features
Real-Time P&L
Role-Based Access
Auto Approvals
Audit Trail
Real-Time Project P&L Integration
Every bill and expense automatically linked to project
- Real-time project profitability calculations
- Budget vs. actual cost tracking
- Project margin analysis by cost category
- Cost breakdown by vendor
- Timeline of all financial transactions
Dashboard Views
Project Financial Health
Real-time P&L for each active project
Budget Variance
Actual vs. estimated costs with alerts
Cash Flow
Pending bills, scheduled payments, expected revenue
Vendor Spending
Analysis across all projects
Role-Based Permissions
Project Managers
- Create bills and expenses only
- View project financial status
- Cannot approve own items
- Full project context visibility
Finance Manager
- Approve/reject all financial items
- View all projects and financials
- Budget oversight and control
- Cannot create bills/expenses
Accounting Team
- Full access in Zoho Books
- View-only access in CRM
- Payment processing
- Bank reconciliation
- Financial reporting
Auditors
- Read-only access
- Complete audit trail visibility
- Export capabilities
Automatic Status Synchronization
Real-Time Sync Between CRM and Books
- Payment status visible to project managers
- Bill aging and due date tracking
- Expense reconciliation status
- Approval status updates
- No manual status updates needed
Document Management
All Receipts and Invoices
- Attached in Zoho CRM with project
- Automatic sync to Books for accounting access
- Searchable document archive
- Organized by project and date
- Audit-ready documentation storage
- Version control and history
Intelligent Notification System
Automated Alerts
- Pending Approvals: Email to finance manager
- Task Notifications: Accounting team payment reminders
- Rejection Notifications: Project managers with reasons
- Payment Confirmations: Status updates
- Overdue Bills: Automatic escalation alerts
- Budget Warnings: When approaching project budget limits
Complete Audit Trail & Compliance
Full History Tracking
- Who created each item
- Who approved or rejected
- Timestamp of all actions
- Supporting documentation always attached
- Approval reasoning documented
- Payment status changes logged
- Complete chain of financial activity
Real-World Results
Operational Efficiency
- 100% elimination of manual bill/expense data entry in accounting
- 80% faster bill and expense approval process
- Real-time project cost visibility instead of weeks-delayed reports
- 5-10 hours weekly saved by accounting team on data entry
Financial Accuracy & Control
- Zero data entry errors between project and accounting systems
- 100% project cost attribution - all bills/expenses linked to projects
- Accurate real-time P&L for every project
- Enforced approval workflow preventing unauthorized expenses
Process Improvements
- Centralized financial management within project context
- Complete audit trail for all financial transactions
- Standardized approval process with clear accountability
- Automatic task creation ensures timely payment processing
- Document management with all receipts attached and searchable
Management Visibility
- Real-time dashboard showing pending approvals
- Project profitability reports with accurate cost data
- Budget variance tracking by project
- Vendor spending analysis across all projects
- Cash flow forecasting with pending bill visibility
Team Productivity
- Project managers spend less time on administrative financial tasks
- Finance manager reviews approvals efficiently with full context
- Accounting team focuses on analysis, not data entry
- Faster month-end close with real-time reconciliation
- Better collaboration between project and finance teams
Financial Reports You'll Actually Use
Project Profitability Dashboard
- Real-time P&L for each project
- Margin analysis and trends
- Budget vs. actual with variance explanations
- Cost breakdown by category
Cash Flow Management
- Outstanding invoices aging
- Pending bills and payment schedule
- Projected cash position (30/60/90 days)
- Collection forecasting
Vendor Analysis
- Spending by vendor across all projects
- Payment history and terms
- Vendor performance tracking
- Spend concentration analysis
Budget Control Reports
- Projects approaching budget limits
- Overbudget alerts and analysis
- Historical budget accuracy
- Estimation improvement insights
Tax & Compliance
- Expense categorization for tax filing
- Vendor 1099 preparation
- Audit trail documentation
- Compliance reporting
Technical Implementation
Context-Aware Financial Entry
Bills and expenses created directly within project context in CRM, eliminating manual project association and ensuring accurate project P&L.
Approval-Driven Synchronization
Smart workflow creates records in Books only after approval, maintaining clean accounting data while giving project managers early visibility.
Automatic Task Assignment
Intelligent task creation in Books ensures accounting team never misses bill payment processing, improving vendor relationships.
Bank Transaction Matching
Streamlined reconciliation process linking
CRM-initiated expenses with bank transactions, accelerating month-end close.
Bidirectional Status Updates
Real-time sync ensuring project managers see payment status without accessing accounting system, improving transparency.
Integration with Complete Builder Flow System
Seamless Data Flow
Estimate approved
Project created with budget
Work orders generated
Labor costs tracked
Materials ordered
Bills created in project context
Field expenses captured
Mobile app to CRM to Books
Invoices sent
Payment tracking
Financial reports
Real-time project profitability
Connected Modules
Estimate Pro
Budget baseline for financial tracking
Work Orders
Labor cost allocation to projects
Mobile App
Field expense capture in real-time
Claim Scope
Insurance claim cost documentation
FSM
Service call profitability tracking
Integration with Complete Builder Flow System
Seamless Data Flow
Estimate approved
Project created with budget
Work orders generated
Labor costs tracked
Materials ordered
Bills created in project context
Financial reports
Real-time project profitability
Invoices sent
Payment tracking
Field expenses captured
Mobile app to CRM to Books
Connected Modules
Estimate Pro
Budget baseline for financial tracking
Work Orders
Labor cost allocation to projects
Mobile App
Field expense capture in real-time
FSM
Service call profitability tracking
Claim Scope
Insurance claim cost documentation
Pricing
Included in Professional and Premium plans
Professional Plan
$199
/month
- Basic bill and expense management
- Approval workflows
- QuickBooks integration
- Project P&L tracking
Premium Plan
$299
/month
- Advanced financial management
- Custom financial dashboards
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Multi-level approval routing
- Budget management and alerts
- Dedicated account manager
Getting Started
Implementation Process
Current Process Analysis
Document existing bill/expense workflows
Zoho CRM Setup
Custom Finance tab development
Zoho Books Mapping
Chart of accounts configuration
Approval Workflow
Role assignments and routing
Bidirectional Sync
CRM ↔ Books integration
Document Pipeline
Attachment synchronization
Training
All user roles trained on new system
Go-Live
Phased rollout with support
Optimization
Ongoing refinement based on usage
Timeline: 2-3 weeks from kickoff to production
Getting Started
Implementation Process
Current Process Analysis
Document existing bill/expense workflows
Zoho CRM Setup
Custom Finance tab development
Zoho Books Mapping
Chart of accounts configuration
Document Pipeline
Attachment synchronization
Bidirectional Sync
CRM ↔ Books integration
Approval Workflow
Role assignments and routing
Training
All user roles trained on new system
Go-Live
Phased rollout with support
Optimization
Ongoing refinement based on usage