For decades, construction businesses have balanced hammers in one hand and paper ledgers in the other. However, a significant shift is underway, according to Angela Nelson, a 15-year Sage veteran and three-time Platinum Club member.
In a recent episode of The Unofficial Sage Intacct Podcast, Nelson shared insights into how the construction industry is embracing technology after years of resistance.
From Support to Sales: Angela’s Construction Journey
Nelson brings a unique perspective to construction technology. Beyond her professional experience, she has personal ties to the industry—her father worked in construction, and her brother-in-law owned a concrete company.
“I’ve been with Sage for 15 years, always in construction and real estate,” explains Nelson. “I started my career at Sage in support, so I got to know the customer base very well. Then I moved to sales and have held almost every position in sales.”
For the past four years, Nelson has been a Partner Account Manager (PAM), supporting Sage’s network of partners selling to construction businesses. While most PAMs in her division manage 4-5 partners, Nelson handles 14—a testament to her expertise with legacy products and newer cloud solutions.
“I am more of a facilitator than a manager,” she says of her role. “What can I do to help you sell? What can I do to facilitate between what Sage’s goals are and what your goals are?”
Why Construction Has Resisted Technology
Construction companies have traditionally been slow to adopt new technology. This resistance has deep roots in the industry’s practical, hands-on culture.
“A lot of these guys start these businesses and they just go and they do it,” Nelson explains. “They’re not worried about reporting and all this other kind of thing until they get to a certain point.”
Many construction business owners begin with trade skills rather than technological expertise. Their focus centers on completing projects and managing crews, not implementing sophisticated financial systems. Paper-based processes and basic spreadsheets have dominated simply because they are functional enough for immediate needs.
The Generational Shift Changing Everything
A profound change is happening as aging business owners pass their companies to the next generation.
“All the people that are my age that are now like, ‘You know what, I’m getting tired of swinging a hammer. I’m getting tired of getting shocked when I’m installing an electrical outlet.’ These guys are now like, ‘I’m going to give this to my kids. I want my kids to take over the business,'” Nelson says.
This succession planning has become a catalyst for digital transformation. “These kids have grown up with technology,” she continues. “So now what we’re seeing is all of a sudden, it feels like a rush to get these companies that were using pencil and paper and Excel to do everything. Now they’re all like, ‘Nope, that’s not what we want to do. We need all these guys to be using iPads in the field and iPhones. And we want a cloud-based system.'”
The impact can be transformative. Podcast co-host Matt Lescault shared his experience working with a steel fabricator in 2005 that was still handwriting every invoice. By implementing proper systems over two years, the company grew from roughly $600,000 in revenue to $3.6 million—a six-fold increase enabled mainly through technology.
Sage’s Journey in Construction Technology
Sage’s position in construction technology has evolved significantly over time. The company entered the market in 2003 by acquiring Timberline, a construction software company that has served the industry since the early 1970s. This product, now known as Sage 300 CRE, remains popular today.
“Timberline is an amazing product,” Nelson reflects. “It may not be pretty, but it’s an amazing product. It works very well and people are very loyal to that.”
Sage expanded its construction offerings around 2008 by acquiring Master Builder (now Sage 100 Contractor), which catered to smaller construction companies. The fundamental transformation began after acquiring Intacct in 2017, followed by the launch of Sage Intacct Construction in 2020.
Recent years have seen Sage double down on construction through strategic acquisitions:
“In 2021, we acquired Corecon, now Sage Construction Management. And then last year, we acquired BidMatrix,” Nelson explains. “The thought process behind this is we want to have a product for every stage of a job, from bidding to winning that bid to handling that project to overseeing the project to doing all of the financial statements.”
This focus marks a significant shift in Sage’s corporate strategy. “This is the vertical that Sage as a whole is focusing on right now because we are the fastest growing vertical there is,” says Nelson.
What makes this evolution particularly remarkable is how the construction division earned this attention. “Up until about 4 or 5 years ago, we were kind of ignored,” Nelson remembers. “Other than the fact that we performed to our goals every year with very, very little support from anything.”
Connecting the Field to the Back Office
Sage’s construction technology is powerful because it integrates field operations with financial management, creating a seamless flow of information.
“The construction module ties in with the financial portion of it very closely,” Nelson explains. Meanwhile, “Sage Construction Management enables project managers and field techs to be able to do their jobs with information. They can record their job costs, the equipment they’re using, and do field reports.”
This integration creates significant time and labor savings compared to traditional methods. Nelson contrasts the old way—”handwriting invoices, doing an Excel spreadsheet and then transferring to another Excel spreadsheet”—with the streamlined approach where “somebody can just enter the information and it flows through easily, and then you push a button and it creates the invoice.”
Cloud-based systems also enhance disaster preparedness. Nelson has seen clients lose everything when storing data on-premise: “When everything is stored in your office, and you experience a disaster… they lost everything.” This vulnerability becomes particularly acute in construction, where project data represents historical knowledge and future revenue potential.
When Is It Time to Upgrade?
Companies typically outgrow basic systems at specific growth milestones. Nelson identifies these triggers: “Once they’re hitting about that 5 million a year mark… Sage Intacct customers average at least 5 million in revenue and about 20 employees.”
Beyond size, she points to three key factors that signal it’s time to move to a cloud solution:
- Annual revenue approaching $5 million
- Growing to around 20 employees
- Increasing job complexity
- Understanding the vulnerabilities of on-premise systems
The construction industry’s embrace of technology is evident in Sage Intacct Construction’s rapidly growing user base. “We have over 1,600 companies on Sage Intacct Construction,” Nelson reveals.
Building for Tomorrow
The construction industry has reached a pivotal moment in its technological evolution. The convergence of generational change with Sage’s strategic focus on construction has created perfect conditions for digital transformation in an industry that has historically approached technology with caution.
As founding contractors step away from daily operations, they’re handing leadership to digital natives who understand how integrated, cloud-based systems drive efficiency and growth. This generational handover is accelerating what would otherwise be a much slower technology adoption curve.
The industry’s future belongs to those who can seamlessly connect field operations with financial management through integrated, cloud-based systems. As younger leaders continue to take the reins of established construction businesses, this digital transformation will accelerate, widening the gap between technology adopters and those clinging to traditional methods.
Listen to the full conversation with Angela Nelson on The Unofficial Sage Intacct Podcast to hear more insights about construction’s technological revolution and how Sage’s solutions are transforming the industry.