Cooper Steel
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The Challenge
Cooper Steel is a family-owned business with nearly 65 years of experience in steel fabrication, erection, and detailing. What started as a small welding shop operating out of the back of a truck has since grown into a 500-person company with fabrication departments in Alabama, Virginia, and Tennessee, and offices in:
- Shelbyville, TN;
- Nashville, TN; and
- Florence, Kentucky.
Over the years, this impressive growth brought unforeseen challenges to Cooper Steel’s operational workflows. The company’s disjointed billing process, in particular, struggled to keep pace with the team’s expanding workload. As Jenny Edmondson, Cooper Steel’s Assistant Controller, put it, “It was like we were running on a treadmill. Simple tasks that should’ve taken minutes—like updating and revising documents for signatures—were dragging on for hours.”
The lack of visibility into billing deadlines, project status, and payment delays was another area of concern. This made it difficult for project managers (PMs) to efficiently add their billing numbers each month and hindered collaboration between the field and back-office teams, and occasionally led to unforeseen issues that impacted payment timelines.
Additionally, Cooper Steel’s lien waiver process, while functional, involved multiple systems and steps, which could sometimes introduce complexities and delays in the payment cycle.
Ultimately, Cooper Steel needed a centralized solution that could streamline its workflows, increase visibility into its billing statuses, and ultimately save the company time and money. Enter Siteline.
The Solution
Edmondson and A/R Specialist Dana Curtis first learned about Siteline at a Sage user group conference, where our Head of Construction Solutions, Claire Wilson, was presenting on the benefits of a centralized pay application and lien waiver process. “I always felt there had to be a simpler way,” explained Edmondson. “And when I heard Claire speak, it was like our prayers had been answered—especially as our workload was set to double in the near future.”
Thanks to Siteline’s straightforward onboarding process, Cooper Steel was able to get up and running one month ahead of schedule. Plus, the system’s ease of use earned immediate buy-in from the company’s PMs. In fact, their PMs are not only submitting billings via Siteline but are also using the tool’s forecasting and billing projections modules for improved insights into their cash flow. “Our PMs love using Siteline because it’s so visual and easy for them to digest,” said Edmondson. “All they have to do is type in their project number, and all the information they need is right there for them.”
Beyond solving operational issues, Siteline has provided a true partnership that Cooper Steel deeply values. “You guys have allowed us to build personal relationships with you all, which is a big part of why we like Siteline so much,” shared Curtis.
The Results
Siteline has helped Cooper Steel’s A/R team modernize and centralize its billing workflows, resolving issues that were previously holding up their payments. Implementing Siteline has also helped lay the groundwork for a more sustainable billing system that will support the company’s expanding workload.
Specifically, Siteline has helped Cooper Steel realize the following improvements:
22 hours saved each month on A/R processes
Cooper Steel’s A/R workflows have been significantly streamlined with Siteline, saving the company a combined 22 hours per month in two key areas:
- Pay Applications: Processing time per pay application has been reduced by 15 minutes, resulting in a total monthly savings of 10 hours.
- Lien Waivers: Siteline has transformed a once arduous, two-day task for two employees into a half-day effort for just one person. This equates to a monthly time savings of 12 hours.
Regarding the lien waiver process specifically, Curtis noted, "The longer this process drags on, the more interruptions can impact it. Siteline has made this stressful process a whole lot easier.”
Improved field-to-back-office collaboration
Siteline has proved instrumental in fostering stronger communication and collaboration between Cooper Steel’s field and back-office teams. The system’s intuitive interface has especially resonated with the PMs, who have enthusiastically adopted the system, recognizing its potential to streamline their billing tasks and reduce administrative back-and-forth.
This proactive engagement from the PMs has led to a more efficient—and self-sufficient—billing process, ultimately saving time for all parties and improving the overall accuracy of the billing process.
Increased financial visibility for informed decision-making
Siteline’s data centralization, combined with its billing and cash flow projections modules, has given Cooper Steel unprecedented visibility into its cash position. “Siteline allows us to create projected billings for PMs, ensuring alignment with project progress,” said Edmondson. “These reports have also given our controller more visibility across all our jobs, helping inform his decision-making.”
Additionally, this heightened visibility has instilled greater confidence in the team’s financial data. This translates to helping them make more informed bidding decisions, allowing Cooper Steel to prioritize projects with GCs that have a demonstrated record of timely payments.
Enhanced financial control and operational performance
The combination of Siteline’s automation, efficient workflows, and collaborative capabilities has paid dividends in Cooper Steel’s overall operational efficiency and financial control. The system’s insights have been instrumental in helping the team quickly identify and resolve cash flow bottlenecks.
For instance, Siteline’s over/under billing feature pinpointed the root cause of a recurring pay app rejection—an issue with stored material costs. By adjusting its billing accordingly, Cooper Steel resolved the problem for good and streamlined its payments.
Furthermore, Siteline has given their team more bandwidth to focus on strategic initiatives rather than resolving persistent pay app errors. As Edmondson summarized, "Siteline is your A/R manager who is never going to retire, get sick, or take a vacation. You need people, but Siteline provides the stability you're looking for—it's a one-stop shop for all your A/R needs."
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