Intuit QuickBooks: Helping Construction Firms Scale to £1m

For construction SMEs, cash flow is the make-or-break factor. Being owed money on invoices overdue by more than 30 days significantly raises the risk of cash flow failure – and many firms spend up to 30 hours every month just chasing payments.

While automation cuts manual work, AI can go further: helping construction businesses to anticipate issues before they arise and execute faster.

Intuit QuickBooks’ whitepaper – Five Tips and Tricks to Becoming a £1m Business – finds that companies scaling past £1m (US$1.35m) are not just good at delivering projects; they are great at managing money. They know their market, spot new opportunities and suppliers and understand when to invest or pull back.

Five pillars to build a construction business

To help construction businesses build the right systems, strategy and mindset to scale, QuickBooks' whitepaper outlines five pillars:

Pillar 1: Build a financial infrastructure that scales

Construction outgrows spreadsheets fast. Legacy, disconnected tools create costly inefficiencies as jobs multiply.

What a scalable setup looks like:

• Real-time visibility across jobs, WIP and margins
• Automated progress billing, retention tracking and invoice reminders
• Payroll and timesheets for site crews, expense tracking and PO management
• Centralised data for cash flow control and job costing
• Multi-user access with role-based permissions for field and office
• Automated compliance (CIS, VAT domestic reverse charge, tax reporting)

How to get there:

• Automate key financial processes end to end
• Centralise financial and project data to inform decisions
• Enable multi-user, role-based approvals and controls
• Plan for growing complexity (multi-entity, multi-project, subcontractor scale)
• Work closely with a construction-savvy accountant.

Pillar 2: Generate scalable customer acquisition

A predictable pipeline beats feast-or-famine cycles that drain cash.

Make acquisition scale:

• Identify scalable channels (frameworks, preferred-supplier lists, QS/developer relationships, tender platforms, referrals)
• Track payback period by job type and client—not just CAC
• Look beyond leads: improve prequalification, bid/no-bid discipline and win rates
• Prioritise retention: secure repeat work with main contractors and property managers

Pillar 3: Unlock consistent cash flow

Smoother cash flow means smoother growth.

Do more of what stabilises cash:

• Get paid faster: milestone invoicing, deposits, retention schedules, automated reminders and payment links
• Smooth out expenses: align supplier terms with progress payments; use POs and approvals
• Maintain a cash buffer sized to project risk and seasonality
• Forecast WIP, labour and materials needs; model “what if” scenarios
• Manage FX if importing materials or working cross-border
• Partner with accountants who understand construction cash cycles and CIS.

Pillar 4: Build a high-performing team

Scaling needs strong site–office collaboration, not just delegation.

Focus on:

• Hiring for the business you are becoming (PMs, QS, estimators, finance ops)
• Retaining top trades with clear career paths and consistent workload
• Productivity: standardised processes, mobile timesheets, clear job costing and transparent KPIs.

Pillar 5: Use automation to power repeatable processes

Growth multiplies admin unless you systemise it.

Automate to scale, not just to save time:

• Integrate field and finance: timesheets, POs, delivery notes and invoices
• Standardise approvals for POs, variations and change orders
• Auto-match supplier invoices to POs/goods received
• Automate CIS returns, VAT domestic reverse charge handling and tax reporting
• Combine automation with AI for cash flow forecasting, anomaly detection and faster decision-making

Intuit QuickBooks’ five-pillar approach helps construction businesses turn late-payment risk and operational complexity into scalable systems – so they can push confidently beyond £1m in revenue.