Managing Multiple Construction Sites: A Guide for NZ Commercial Contractors

You're in the office Monday morning, trying to get a handle on your projects. There's the retail fit-out in Auckland that's behind schedule, the office refurbishment in Wellington where the client wants to add another floor, the hotel renovation in Christchurch that's waiting on delayed materials, and the mixed-use development in Hamilton where the subbies are raising concerns about site access.

Each project has its own site manager, its own budget, its own challenges, and its own set of stakeholders expecting updates. You've got spreadsheets open across three monitors, emails flooding in from all sites, and you're not entirely certain which version of which project budget is the current one.

If this sounds familiar, you're experiencing the reality of growth in construction. Winning more work is brilliant—until your systems can't keep up with managing multiple active projects simultaneously.

For NZ commercial contractors, the ability to manage multiple sites effectively isn't just an operational challenge—it's the difference between scaling profitably and scaling chaotically.

The Multi-Site Management Challenge

Managing a single construction project is complex enough. You're coordinating trades, managing materials, controlling costs, handling variations, maintaining quality, and keeping clients informed. Now multiply that complexity across five, ten, or fifteen simultaneous projects, each at different stages with different teams.

The challenges compound in ways that aren't immediately obvious:

Loss of Visibility

When you're managing one project, you can keep most information in your head or in simple tracking systems. With multiple projects, that becomes impossible. Which projects are on budget? Which are trending over? Where are your most experienced team members deployed? Which sites are waiting on materials? Which clients haven't paid their last progress claim?

Without centralised visibility, you're constantly chasing information, asking site managers for updates, reconciling different spreadsheets, and making decisions based on incomplete or outdated data.

Stretched Resources

Your quantity surveyors are spread across multiple projects. Your best site manager is splitting time between two locations. Your contracts administrator is managing progress claims and variations for eight different jobs. When everyone's stretched thin, things slip through the cracks.

A variation on the Auckland project doesn't get properly documented. Time sheets from the Wellington site arrive late and incomplete. The Christchurch project's materials order sits unapproved because no one has capacity to review it properly.

Inconsistent Processes

Different site managers might handle variations differently. Progress claims get prepared with varying levels of detail. Some projects track costs meticulously, others less so. This inconsistency makes it nearly impossible to compare project performance or identify where problems are emerging.

Communication Breakdown

Information lives in emails, WhatsApp messages, site diaries, meeting notes, and phone conversations. When someone needs to find out what was agreed about a particular variation or why a decision was made, they're searching through multiple channels hoping they can piece together the full story.

For a commercial contractor managing a retail fit-out where the client queries why certain costs weren't included in the original quote, being able to immediately produce the email chain, variation approval, and updated budget is the difference between a professional response and a costly dispute.

Delayed Decision Making

In a single-project environment, decisions can be made quickly. The project manager sees an issue, understands the implications, and acts. With multiple projects, everything takes longer. Information needs to be gathered from different sites, consolidated into reports, reviewed by management, and then communicated back to site teams.

By the time a decision is made, the situation on site may have already evolved, forcing reactive crisis management rather than proactive project control.

What Successful Multi-Site Contractors Do Differently

The commercial contractors who scale successfully—growing from managing 2-3 projects to 10-15+ without chaos—share common characteristics. They've moved beyond project-by-project management to systems that provide enterprise-wide visibility and control.

Single Source of Truth

Every project's data—budgets, actuals, commitments, timesheets, variations, progress claims, subcontractor agreements—lives in one system accessible to everyone who needs it. Site managers in Christchurch see the same information as the commercial team in Auckland and the directors reviewing performance.

This isn't about everyone having access to everything, but rather ensuring that when someone needs project information, they're looking at current, accurate data, not a spreadsheet that might be several days old.

Standardised Processes

Variations follow the same approval workflow regardless of project. Progress claims are prepared to the same standard. Cost codes are consistent across all jobs. This standardisation enables meaningful comparison between projects and ensures nothing falls through the gaps.

When a new project starts, the team isn't reinventing processes—they're following established workflows that have been refined across dozens of projects.

Real-Time Financial Visibility

Directors and commercial managers can see at a glance how every project is performing financially. Which jobs are ahead of budget? Which are behind? Where are the risks? This visibility enables proactive management rather than discovering problems during month-end reviews when it's too late to take corrective action.

For a project manager pricing a variation, being able to instantly see actual costs from similar work on other projects transforms a guess into an informed estimate.

Mobile Access for Site Teams

Site managers and supervisors aren't tied to the office. They can access project information, submit timesheets, record progress, photograph site conditions, and update project status from their phones or tablets—whether they're on a site in central Auckland or a remote location in Southland.

This mobile access means information flows immediately from site to office, keeping everyone aligned without endless phone calls and emails requesting updates.

Automated Progress Claims and Invoicing

Instead of spending days at the end of each month manually preparing progress claims—cross-referencing timesheets, materials deliveries, subcontractor invoices, and completed work—the system generates claims automatically based on recorded progress and approved variations.

This automation doesn't just save time; it ensures claims are accurate, complete, and supported by documentation, reducing payment disputes and improving cash flow.

MYOB Acumatica Construction Edition for Multi-Site Management

For NZ commercial contractors managing multiple projects, MYOB Acumatica Construction Edition provides the centralised visibility and standardised processes that enable profitable growth.

Centralised Project Dashboard

A single dashboard shows the status of all active projects—financial performance, schedule status, key milestones, upcoming activities, and issues requiring attention. Directors can see enterprise-wide performance, whilst project managers focus on their specific projects.

You can drill down from high-level summaries into detailed project information—actual costs by cost code, committed costs against budget, timesheet details, subcontractor payment status, variation history—without leaving the system or opening multiple spreadsheets.

Real-Time Cost Tracking

Every cost is captured and allocated in real-time. When a subcontractor invoice arrives, it's matched to the purchase order, allocated to the correct project and cost code, and immediately reflected in project costs. When timesheets are approved, labour costs update automatically.

This real-time tracking means you always know your current position. You're not waiting for month-end reports to discover a project is over budget—you see trends as they develop and can take corrective action whilst there's still time to protect margins.

Consistent Workflows Across All Projects

Variations follow the same approval workflow whether it's a $500 change or a $50,000 modification. Progress claims are generated using the same templates and processes. Cost codes are standardised across the business.

This consistency enables meaningful comparison between projects. You can identify which types of work consistently run over budget, which project managers deliver the best margins, which subbies are reliably profitable, and where your business performs strongest.

Mobile Capabilities

The MYOB Acumatica mobile app gives site teams access to everything they need without returning to the office. They can:

• View project budgets and current costs
• Enter and approve timesheets
• Record materials deliveries
• Photograph site conditions and progress
• Access drawings, specifications, and RFIs
• Update project status and milestones
• Review and approve subcontractor invoices

For a site manager on a retail fit-out dealing with a variation request, they can check the current project budget, see committed costs, price the variation appropriately, and submit it for approval—all from their phone whilst still on site with the client.

Integration Across Functions

MYOB Acumatica integrates project management with core financials—general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchasing, and inventory. This integration means information flows automatically between functions.

When your commercial team approves a progress claim, it automatically creates the invoice in accounts receivable. When materials are delivered to site, inventory is updated and costs are allocated to the project simultaneously. When a purchase order is issued, it immediately reflects as a committed cost in project budgets.

This integration eliminates duplicate data entry, reduces errors, and ensures everyone is working from current information.

Managing Subcontractors and Subbies at Scale

For commercial contractors, subcontractor management becomes exponentially more complex with multiple sites. You might have 30-40 different subbies working across various projects at any given time, each with their own agreements, progress schedules, and payment terms.

Clear Visibility of Subcontractor Commitments

MYOB Acumatica provides complete visibility into subcontractor commitments across all projects. You can see:

• Which subbies are working on which projects
• Original contract values versus current values (including approved variations)
• Payments made to date versus work completed
• Upcoming payment obligations
• Performance across multiple projects

This visibility enables better subcontractor management and helps identify reliable subbies worth developing long-term relationships with.

Automated Subcontractor Payment Processing

When a subbie submits a progress claim, it can be matched to their contract, verified against completed work, checked for retention requirements, and processed for payment—with all documentation automatically linked and filed.

This automation reduces the administrative burden of managing numerous subcontractor relationships whilst ensuring compliance with payment terms and retention schedules.

Performance Tracking

By tracking subcontractor performance across multiple projects—quality, timeliness, cost accuracy, safety compliance—you build data that informs future subcontractor selection and pricing.

If you're tendering for a new project requiring electrical subbies, you can quickly identify which electricians have performed well on similar projects and provide accurate pricing, rather than taking a risk on the lowest quote from an unknown provider.

Materials Management Across Multiple Sites

Managing materials procurement and delivery for multiple simultaneous projects requires coordination that manual systems simply can't provide at scale.

Centralised Purchasing with Project Allocation

Materials are purchased centrally but allocated to specific projects and cost codes immediately. This enables:

• Bulk purchasing discounts where appropriate
• Clear visibility of materials costs per project
• Reduction in over-ordering or emergency purchases
• Better management of materials in transit or on site

Delivery Scheduling and Tracking

For a commercial contractor managing multiple fit-outs, coordinating materials deliveries is critical. You need the right materials on the right site at the right time—not materials sitting on site taking up space (or growing legs) and not projects delayed waiting for materials.

MYOB Acumatica enables you to track materials orders, delivery schedules, and materials received across all projects, ensuring site managers know what's coming and when.

Materials Cost Allocation

When materials are delivered to site, costs are automatically allocated to the correct project and cost code. If materials are transferred between projects, this is tracked and accounted for properly. If materials are returned to suppliers, credits are processed and allocated correctly.

This detailed tracking ensures project costs accurately reflect materials consumed, rather than lumping all materials purchases together and losing visibility into individual project performance.

Progress Claims and Invoicing at Scale

For commercial contractors managing multiple projects, progress claims preparation can consume enormous amounts of time—especially when each project has different claim schedules, retention requirements, and variation approvals.

Automated Progress Claim Generation

MYOB Acumatica generates progress claims automatically based on:

• Completed work recorded by site teams
• Approved variations and their values
• Retention percentages and release schedules
• Contract terms and payment schedules

The system compiles all relevant information, applies correct calculations for retention and GST, and produces professional progress claims ready for client submission.

Supporting Documentation

Each progress claim is automatically supported by all relevant documentation—timesheets, materials deliveries, subcontractor invoices, photos of completed work, approved variations. This documentation is essential for claim approval and reduces payment disputes.

For a project manager submitting a claim on a hotel renovation, being able to provide comprehensive backup documentation with the claim significantly improves the likelihood of prompt payment.

Variation Tracking and Billing

Variations are tracked from initial request through approval to inclusion in progress claims. You can see which variations have been approved but not yet billed, ensuring nothing is missed in claims and all approved work is invoiced promptly.

Reporting and Performance Analysis

Managing multiple projects effectively requires understanding not just individual project performance but also enterprise-wide patterns and trends.

Project Performance Dashboards

Real-time dashboards show key metrics across all projects:

• Actual costs versus budget (overall and by cost code)
• Project margins and profitability
• Cash flow and payment status
• Schedule performance
• Resource utilisation

Comparative Analysis

With standardised processes and consistent cost codes, you can compare performance across projects:

• Which project managers consistently deliver the best margins?
• Which types of projects are most profitable?
• Where do cost overruns typically occur?
• Which subbies provide best value across multiple projects?

This analysis enables continuous improvement. If one project manager consistently brings jobs in under budget, what are they doing differently? If certain types of variations always cause problems, how can you handle them better in future?

Forecasting and Planning

Historical project data enables better forecasting for future work. When pricing a new retail fit-out, you can analyse actual costs from similar completed projects, understand where your estimates were accurate and where they weren't, and price new work with greater confidence.

The Scalability Advantage

Perhaps the most important benefit of implementing proper multi-site management systems is scalability. With robust systems in place, growth doesn't require proportional increases in administrative overhead.

A commercial contractor managing eight projects with spreadsheets might need two full-time staff just handling administration, cost tracking, and progress claims. That same contractor with MYOB Acumatica Construction Edition can potentially manage fifteen projects with the same administrative team—the system handles much of the administrative burden automatically.

This scalability enables profitable growth. You can take on more work, expand into new markets, or tackle larger projects without worrying that your systems will buckle under the load.

Real-World Impact

Consider CAMEX Civil, a NZ civil contractor using MYOB Acumatica Construction Edition. By implementing integrated construction management systems, they've achieved better visibility across all their projects, improved cost control, and more efficient processes—enabling them to grow whilst maintaining healthy margins.

The visibility provided by MYOB Acumatica means they can make informed decisions quickly, identify problems before they become crises, and ensure every project receives appropriate management attention regardless of how many other projects are underway.

Taking the Next Step

If your commercial contracting business is managing multiple sites and you're finding that spreadsheets and manual processes are holding you back, it's worth exploring what modern construction management systems could do for your business.

The difference between managing multiple projects successfully and managing them chaotically often comes down to having the right systems in place—systems that provide visibility, standardise processes, enable mobile access, and integrate across all business functions.

See how MYOB Acumatica Construction can help your business by building your demonstration below.

About Avanza Solutions

Avanza Solutions specialises in implementing MYOB Acumatica Construction Edition for commercial contractors, specialty trades, civil contractors, and construction materials suppliers throughout New Zealand. We combine deep construction industry knowledge with technical expertise to deliver solutions that genuinely solve business problems and enable profitable growth.

Our team understands the specific challenges of managing multiple construction projects simultaneously because we work exclusively with construction firms. We know what works, what doesn't, and how to configure MYOB Acumatica to support the way NZ construction businesses actually operate.